Wins are all Saints centre Hutchinson wants as new year comes into sight

And that is exactly what the Saints centre is setting his sights on when 2022 becomes 2023 on Sunday.

Lying in wait for Hutchinson and Co on New Year's Day will be a clash with Harlequins at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

And when asked for his hopes for the 12 months ahead, Hutchinson simply said: "We'd like to get some results - that's the most straightforward answer I can give.

"We want to keep pushing, getting better and there's been quite a lot of chat over the years that we're a young squad coming through, but we can't really say that any more.

"We want to be pushing for top four because that's what it's all about - we want to be competing for silverware.

"My hope is that I can play some good rugby because it's a big year but you can't look too far ahead.

"You've got to take it week by week and hopefully good things will come if you play well."

The Gardens is set to welcome a big crowd on Sunday for a game that should bring plenty of entertainment.

Saints and Quins both play an entertaining brand of rugby, and both will be desperate to secure victory to boost their respective top-four bids in the nip and tuck Gallagher Premiership.

"It's one of those games that brings quite a lot of excitement because you expect there will be lots of running rugby involved," Hutchinson said.

"I'm really looking forward to it, hopefully the weather holds out and we can have a successful game of rugby.

"We both play quite an expansive game. They've got some very dangerous players, we've got some very dangerous players and it will be an exciting match-up."

Saints go into this weekend's game on the back of three successive defeats in all competitions, having lost to Gloucester, La Rochelle and Munster during a difficult December.

And Hutchinson said: "The most frustrating thing is that we haven't got a full 80-minute performance together, whether that be in attack or defence.

"The stats don't lie - we're conceding too many tries at the moment so it's always going to be an uphill challenge for us.

"If we can get a full 80-minute performance or near enough, we'll be in a good space.

"We're sitting in mid-table (Saints are currently seventh in the Premiership) and it's pretty congested around there.

"We can't look back at a game and say 'that's been a full 80-minute performance' so for us it's about that concentration and consistency.

"Things like discipline and defending well are important and we know we can do it, but can we do it for a longer period of time?"