Hutchinson ready to hit the ground running after 'up and down' season at Saints

It did end in Gallagher Premiership glory for the Scotland centre, but he wasn't selected for either of Saints' league knockout matches.

Instead, his final two games of the campaign ended in heavy defeats.

Hutchinson started at centre in the 52-21 loss at Bristol Bears in March, trying to play through a back problem.

He then returned to fitness to line up at fly-half for the final day of the regular season, but Bath were resounding 43-12 winners at The Rec in a game that mattered little for Saints, who had already secured a home play-off semi-final.

Such was the depth that the black, green and gold had built through the campaign that Hutchinson wasn't needed for the play-off semi-final against Saracens or the final against Bath.

And while he was disappointed not to be involved, Hutchinson understood the coaches' calls.

"You never want to miss out on these big games but it was testament to the coaches and the squad they've built," Hutchinson said.

"We've got a really competitive team, really competitive people in those positions and it brings the best out of us.

"We were doing an identity meeting last week to discover what we were and we spoke about last year being the first year that we really used our whole squad effectively.

"There's been previous years where players haven't quite got the game time they wanted and we haven't got the results, but last year as a collective it was brilliant.

"There was a stat that we used about 27 or 28 forwards in the games last year, which is a lot to use.

"It was a whole squad effort last year."

On his 2023/24 campaign as a whole, in which he started 15 times, came off the bench once and scored one try, Hutchinson said: “It was a bit up and down.

"I thought I had a really good start to the season.

“Unfortunately, I picked up that injury at Leicester (in November) when my ankle went through the advertising board, I came back from that, managed to play well and got into the Six Nations fold (with Scotland).

“I then unfortunately hurt my back in that and from there it was a bit of a bummer, really.

“But that’s part of the game and, touch wood, I’ve had a pretty good run in the last few seasons and unfortunately last season wasn’t to be.

“I look back at it and I can’t change what happened, so that’s why I’m looking forward to this season and hitting the ground running.”

Hutchinson looks ready to play a key role for Saints at the start of the new campaign, especially with Burger Odendaal now sidelined due to a long-term knee injury picked up in the Premiership final.

And the 28-year-old is ready to pack a punch in the midfield in the weeks and months to come, having worked to add extra strength to his game this summer.

"I feel good," Hutchinson said.

"I'm heavy at the moment, which is good. I focused on putting a bit of weight on and I've probably put on about five kilos in the last two years. It's a great area for me so I have a bit more weight and a bit more punch behind me. I'm happy with where I'm sitting.

"It's something the coaches looked into last year and when we had such a long pre-season we were doing seven or eight gym sessions a week, not that much running.

"We all put on about three kilos in size, we managed to maintain it and it really helped us last season with our physicality.

"A lot of teams thought we were just quick and small backs but we managed to bring a bit more punch to the game and it definitely helped us in those areas to be more physical.

"We've tried to keep that.

"It's obviously a more compact pre-season but we've managed to replicate last year.

"Fitness wise it's good. Gone are the days of running straight lines and I've definitely got what I want out of it."

Hutchinson started in the 12 shirt last Saturday as Saints took on Leinster in a pre-season clash at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

And though the home side were beaten 54-26, Hutchinson felt it was a productive first run-out for the team, who will host Bedford Blues on Friday night before starting their Premiership title defence at Bath next Friday.

"Pre-season has been a lot shorter than last year but we've got exactly what we want out of it," Hutchinson said.

"It was nice to have a bit of a hit-out last week and we got some good learnings from that, some good things and some not-so-good things but that's the beauty of pre-season games.

"Now we're looking forward to playing against Bedford this weekend."

Saints will be the team to beat this season as they now carry the champions tag.

But Hutchinson is happy with that and he can't wait to get started against Bath.

"It (being champions) is great," he said.

"We were saying last year is done, it's a fresh group now, we're going to have new memories and connections.

"For us it's about trying to replicate it but teams will definitely be after us so it's a challenge we're looking forward to.

"The game at Bath will be good, looking forward to that.

"It's the start of the Prem, Friday night lights and it couldn't get much better really."