'Great feeling' at Saints as they bid to bounce back from difficult December

The black, green and gold endured a difficult December, in which they lost all three of their matches, against Gloucester, La Rochelle and Munster

And things don't get any easier in January, with Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Munster, La Rochelle and Leicester Tigers lying in wait.

But Hill is remaining typically upbeat and he says recent defeats haven't dampened the spirit at Saints.

"There's a great feeling around the club and the boys really play for each other," the prop said.

"We just need that consistency and that swing because we do things really positively but then we fall of the boil.

"It's about consistency of not just week in, week out, but within the game itself.

"We've got to keep the pressure on and convert once we've entered the pressure zone. We've got to work on that and be more clinical in that area."

So what are the aims for Saints and Hill in 2023?

"Start off with a win - that's all I want," Hill said.

"For me, I feel like I'm playing some good rugby at the moment.

"I do want to work on my ball carrying, I want to break the line a bit more.

"We've got some really strong ball carriers like Lewis (Ludlam), Dave (Ribbans) and I want to be someone who can help them in that area."

Saints had a chance to press the reset button over the festive period as they did not have a game.

And Hill said: "We were very fortunate to get that Christmas period off and it's the first time in seven years that I've had it so I think everyone enjoyed it, but we're looking forward to getting back to work now.

"We're hoping to get a bit of a momentum swing.

"We put in a huge shift against Munster, they really fronted up defensively and really tested us but there's certainly some positives to take from the game.

"We've got Quins next and they're always going to be a threat.

"They can play from anywhere but a lot of that is built on the foundation of a very solid set piece, which is where we've got to challenge them as well.

"When a team puts their pack under pressure in certain areas, that's where you can get some ground on them.

"I'm looking forward to the game on both sides of the coin."