Moon and Hutchinson: A Saints household on the up

That was during the Six Nations when both players were given call-ups to their respective international squads.

It's fair to say the Moon-Hutchinson household is one that is very much on an upward curve.

And it is a friendship that continues to flourish, just as their performances on the field have done since emerging from the Saints Academy.

"Yeah, the household's alright!," Moon says, smiling broadly.

"Hutch cracks me up.

"I was sitting there with England when we were previewing Scotland and saying 'he doesn't like to do this, he doesn't like to do that, he loves to do that so watch out for this'.

"They asked me how I knew and I said it's because he's my house-mate and I cook him breakfast every morning because he can't cook.

"You get that with boys here because Nick (Isiekwe) has come in here and he lives with Tom Whiteley from Sarries so he'll talk about that.

"I find that with rugby that boys share houses with each other, it brings them together, it helps them save money and it's a smarter thing than everyone moving in their own direction.

"Mitch (Alex Mitchell) lives with Dave Ribbans, Alex Coles lives with Furbs (George Furbank) and you end up being best mates with people.

"Hutch just said he had a couple of free rooms if I fancied it and it worked for me, it's just how it goes."

It has been a crazy calendar year for both Hutchinson and Moon who have not only made Saints first-team spots their own but who also impressed international coaches.

Moon was named in England's EPS squad not long after Saints claimed a stunning win at Lyon in January.

But after some time spent with Eddie Jones' men, things turned sour for Moon as he suffered a knee injury against Bristol Bears while back at Saints in February.

"We won at Lyon and qualified for the Champions Cup quarters and then one week later I found out I was in the EPS squad and two weeks later I did my knee and a month later we went into Covid," Moon said.

"It was a mad couple of months for me and then I got back, playing well and it's been a bizarre 2020."

Moon finally made his return to action against London Irish at The Stoop last weekend, producing a typically towering display in a 27-3 success.

And the lock said: "It was like full first-day-at-school vibes for me - I was so excited.

"I hadn't played a full 80 since Lyon away on January 18 because I was with England and then came and got game time against Bristol and then I got injured in the first two minutes.

"There hadn't been anything since then so I was really excited.

"In the first half, we lost lineouts in their 22 through skill execution and drill error and it just stalled us.

"But once we got it fixed, we executed a lot better and it got us over the line with four tries."

Such is the nature of Saints' current two-team squad rotation that Moon hasn't played in either defeat since the resumption of Gallagher Premiership rugby.

He still has a 100 per cent record since the restart, winning his one match so far.

And when asked what it is like to be part of a squad that has been split into two separate sides in a bid to keep players fresh, Moon said: "We've got 30 to 40 Prem-ready players and it's massive.

"Some other clubs don't even have 40 players in their entire playing department so we're super fortunate to be able to do this.

"It means we end up having eight and nine-day turnarounds.

"I've seen some clubs have put out similar starting 15s on a Saturday and a Tuesday so we're in a real fortunate position to be able to do what we're doing.

"It is weird though because you go for days without seeing some of the boys.

"I can't remember the last time I saw Api (Ratuniyarawa)! He and I are usually in each other's pockets and in the second row room day to day, doing everything together.

"But I can't remember the last time I saw him - the same with Dave Ribbans - it's just bizarre because we are on our usual Saturday to Saturday schedule.

"Our training days are how they would be and if you end up being aligned with each other you train together, but a lot of the time you aren't.

"It means the Academy boys are putting in a massive shift because they're running as the opposition, attack and defence, twice a week, learning new stuff.

"(Transition manager) Jake Sharp is running all of that with those boys and fair play to them because they're putting one heck of a shift in."

Moon made a real impact against Irish, using his physicality to put pressure on the home side.

And he has clearly benefited from being in the England camp, even though it was only for a short time.

"It was awesome, just being around a completely different group of guys and learning so many different things," said the second row forward, who turns 24 on September 6.

"George Kruis was awesome with me when I first went in because there is so much stuff.

"Lewis (Ludlam) went in and had a massive World Cup camp, a couple of months, but we had four days and then it was prepping for France away.

"We had four days to get everything in and it was an intense learning experience.

"It was awesome to see Furbs come in and start a couple of games because I've grown up with him.

"I loved it."

Saints have not had a happy time at home in recent months, losing five successive league matches at Franklin's Gardens in 2020.

But they have fared well at The Stoop, winning at Harlequins in dramatic fashion last season before seeing off Irish last weekend.

"With the whole Covid protocol stuff on a game day, it's worked out quite nicely for us that we have two games at the same stadium because we know what we're heading into," Moon said.

"It's not a new stadium with a whole new bunch of protocols where you'll be sent off to change in a restaurant or something.

"We know what the deal is and it's helpful, for sure.

"We had a game down there when Mitch scored late on to basically help us into the Premiership semi-finals.

"I also remember a game there where a kick went into the wind, Fodes (Ben Foden) caught it and scored in the corner.

"It's eventful every time Saints play there because it's two teams who like to play."

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