Lock Chunya Munga is thriving in a Northampton shirt this season, and the 24-year-old has been particularly enjoying Saints’ Premiership Rugby Cup campaign – where the men in Black, Green and Gold remain unbeaten so far.
Saints are set for their toughest Cup test to date this weekend, as they make the trip to Butts Park Arena to face Championship leaders Coventry Rugby on Saturday (23 November, kick-off: 3pm).
And Munga – who reached the Final of the competition twice with former club London Irish – is hoping that Northampton can keep their winning run going in their efforts to add more silverware to the trophy cabinet at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
“This competition, I personally really enjoy it," said Munga.
“I'm a double Prem Cup final loser, back-to-back years I lost it [with Irish]. Some people say this is the third competition, but I do actually want to win this thing.
“I really do like the competition, not only because you play some rugby but because it gives the entire squad a chance to put their hand up.”
Chunya Munga
“Coventry, we've spoken a bit about them this week, and we know they're going to be really excited to play us.
“They're top of the Championship, we obviously were Premiership champions last season and irrespective of who's on the field, if they beat Northampton Saints, it's going to be a really good win for them.
“On the flip side of that, we're going up to Cov with the mindset of 'we're going to face really good players'. We know they've got good physical players, and the forwards especially are really excited for the challenge.”
Munga has started all six of his appearances in Black, Green and Gold in 2024/25, already over half the number of starts he made last season, and took over the captaincy of Saints in their opening Cup clash against Leicester Tigers.
And the lock is relishing his time in a Saints shirt as Northampton’s Cup campaign rumbles on, insisting that the extended exposure to gametime is a particularly satisfying reward for Munga’s efforts away from the pitch last season.
“This season starts with the back end of last season and seeing what everyone achieved but not necessarily being on the pitch at all times to do that," Munga said.
“The coaches were pretty honest with me as to why I wasn't playing and they told me the things I needed to be better at. Coming into pre-season, that gave me real motivation.
“Losing Courts [Courtney Lawes] and losing Moony [Alex Moon] gives you such a good chance to go and put your best foot forward. It's not to say there's not really good competition here, but it just opened doors.
“I'm just absolutely loving the start of this season. We've had some good, tough games and at home we've been pretty good. I've really enjoyed developing my own game within the system.”
Chunya Munga
“Now I look back on it, it was probably a blessing in disguise with me having that period where I wasn't playing [last season].
“It meant every week I had to turn up and just train really, really hard and try to be the player they wanted me to be within the system.
“When the opportunities of games came, it just meant I had that opportunity and being able to continue to develop is something the coaches are really hot on.
“I'm really enjoying not worrying too much about what it has to look like, it's about ‘are we getting better?’ and I find that really rewarding.”
