Munga's influence continues to increase as he enters third season at Saints

He went from 10 starts to 15 as his influence on the squad continued to grow.

And another sign of how highly the coaches rate him came in the form of the captaincy as Munga was able to lead the black, green and gold for the first time in a cup clash with Leicester Tigers last November.

You can see why the Reading-born lock, who will skipper Saints again in Friday’s pre-season opener at Bedford Blues (kick-off 7.45pm), is so respected as he is an extremely eloquent talker who backs up his words with actions on the pitch.

And taking a leadership role is something that Munga clearly relishes.

"I like to contribute in any way I can and the lads will find it funny but I've always been someone who will just say something if I think I should," said Munga, who turned 25 earlier this week.

"I'm not afraid to look stupid if it means me saying something and I like to think I can add value to the team in that way.

"Some guys are excellent leaders even though they're a bit quieter, but I'm a vocal, high-energy human being and that's the way I like to be.

"If that helps the lads get going and it revs boys up then perfect, but you have to pick and choose your moments."

Munga moved to Saints following the sad demise of London Irish ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

And he feels he has developed both physically and mentally since arriving at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

"First and foremost, my physical condition is better and I understand the game better than I did when I first got here," Munga said.

"The way the forwards are coached to understand and see the game, I personally really enjoy it.

"But also, we're challenged a lot and the competition is something you don't see on a day-to-day basis.

"You see it when we play and compete against other teams but the day-to-day competition helps me grow as a rugby player in a holistic sense.

"I would definitely say that having understood more and more about the way we play and my responsibility in the team, it allows me to just play freely and there's where I've made big improvements and it's where I can add value, whether that's in set piece, open play, breakdown, defensively.

"I'm looking forward to trying to improve as much as possible because the lads around me are also fighting to play."

When asked for his personal aspirations ahead of the new season, Munga said: "I just want to get better and when I look back to period last season when I was playing well, it wasn't about doing this or that, it was about the process of trying to improve and adding value to the team.

"I obviously want to make higher levels in the Premiership and push, but that comes from the mantra we have here and it's about how we can get better every day so those things will take care of themselves.

"I genuinely really enjoy the competition and my goal is to compete as much as I can this year to see where it gets me."

Munga and his team-mates, who have not played since the Gallagher PREM final-day defeat at Gloucester on May 31, are now finally ready to return to action this week.

Saints will go to Bedford for the Mobbs Memorial Match on Friday, with Phil Dowson's men playing two pre-season fixtures before starting the new campaign with a PREM Rugby Cup trip to Saracens on September 19.

"It was May 31 when we last played, on a sweaty, hot day down at Kingsholm," Munga said.

"It will be nice not to travel as far this week and it's going to be a good contest at Bedford.

"They're a side who always turn up well and we have such a good relationship with them because we send boys down there all the time.

"The standard of what they produce is really high.

"I'm personally really looking forward to it because it's a really good test and we've got some new faces, new signings, boys who are coming into the team from the Senior Academy and this is a really exciting game to see where we're at.

"We know the quality we have at the top of the squad so this will be a really good test of the depth we have and it's going to be a really exciting game on Friday night."

Looking back on the work done during pre-season so far, Munga said: "Pre-season's been good.

"Obviously every year it's a challenge coming back and there's always a few nerves, wondering where you're at and whether you're fit enough but that's the purpose of pre-season, to get in a good physical condition and iron out what you want to do during the season.

"It's about the building blocks so it's been good but it's been tough.

"It's my third pre-season, my seventh as a professional rugby player, which I sometimes find a bit crazy.

"It's gone really fast during pre-season and I was saying to a few mates I moved up here with that it's mad we're into our third pre-season here.

"I'm loving it."

Unlike during previous pre-seasons, Munga is now living alone – and it’s fair to say he’s enjoying it!

“I was living with Tarek (Haffar), God rest his soul, before he moved up to the old enemy (Leicester Tigers), but I now live by myself,” Munga explained.

“With all due respect to the lads I've lived with, it's been six and a half years of living with rugby lads and I'm quite happy to now have a bit of my own space.

“I haven't deleted Tarek's number and if he reads this, Tarek, you're always welcome!”