Saints Q&A: Tom Vickers talks to Rory Hutchinson ahead of the PREM semi-final

But if anyone at Saints needs calming down, they just need to look across the dressing room at surely the most laid-back man in black, green and gold.

Rory Hutchinson’s personality off the field reflects the way he plays on it.

He has a composure that many would love to possess, keeping as cool while fielding questions as he does while taking big hits and creating key moments for his side.

Hutchinson sat down with the media this week to look forward to this week’s huge home knockout clash with Leicester Tigers.

And here is his full question and answer session with this publication…

Q: How special was it to reach 200 appearances for Saints in the game against Gloucester last month?

A: "I was talking to my mum about this the other day and saying it kind of crept up on me a bit.

"You kind of look back and you're like 'wow, has it really been that long?' and I guess it has because I've been here 12 years now.

"It's a great milestone to reach and hopefully there's more to come.

"You see the names on the boards in the tunnel and on the plaque in your spot and you realise the levels you're at with some greats.

"I never thought I'd get a few caps with my boyhood club so to get to 200 means a lot."

Q: That game against Gloucester must have been a special one all round due to it being your 200th and getting the win before the leavers' ceremony?

A: "I said to Furbs (George Furbank) when he scored 'thank God you've done that!' because you've made my day a lot better.

"It was a great send-off for some boys who have been proper troopers for the club: Sammy G (Sam Graham), Rammy (James Ramm), Furbs, Tom James.

"It was a great send-off for those boys and hopefully this isn't the last week."

Q: How important was it to get that win, with it giving you a chance to rest last weekend?

A: "We’ve spoken about getting the highest number of points scored and highest number of tries so to give ourselves those records and to have that week in hand was great.

"It's deserved from the amount of hard work every player has put in, the whole squad, whether they played or not.

"It's been a proper squad effort this year and you can see that.

"In our team meeting today they had all the scores up from all the games we've played this season and it fluctuates massively. We beat Newcastle by a point here, we just beat Gloucester away with Tony (Anthony Belleau) kicking and it just shows what you go through. It's not all plain sailing.

"Winning away for us has helped us massively to get to where we are in the table.

"We looked at the Bath away game (in December) and one thing we also spoke about is how much everyone really enjoyed that Saracens game, playing in a big stadium, and that helps us moving forward into bigger games now."

Q: How do you deal with the pressure of occasions like this and have you always been this calm?

A: "I just take it week by week, I don't really look too far ahead.

"We want to make sure we get that emotion right going into the week and be firing come Friday at 7.45pm.

"I would happily rock up five minutes before kick-off and just go really.

"We've got those players in the team who drive the level, the emotion and the energy.

"It's all cogs in the wheel and everyone knows what's expected from them come game day.

"We want to put out our best game because we didn't do that a month ago (in the 41-17 defeat at Leicester), did we?"

Q: Does being so calm naturally help you play the way you play?

A: "Yeah, of course. There's obviously a level you need to get to physically but attacking wise I need to be a bit more calm and realise what's going on.

"Whatever I do, I'm just enjoying it.

"I'm not going to be screaming and shouting at people but I'm getting to that age now where I'm a bit of a calm head really.

"The boys make me feel younger, but every time I look at my ID it says I'm 30."

Q: How much are you relishing this week?

A: "We said that no matter the disappointment or frustration, everyone's got to enjoy this week.

"You just don't know whether it's going to be your last in the season but we're aiming to be coming back in on Monday next week."

Q: Were you here for the 2014 semi-final against Leicester?

A: "I was. It was the year before I joined and my dad and I managed to get some tickets.

"If the atmosphere is anything like that, it's going to be a good night.

"Hopefully we don't leave it that late!

"I remember that like it was yesterday and the atmosphere that created, the buzz around the town, it was something special.

"It was crazy and I just remember after the game all the players walking around the pitch and I high-fived Samu (Manoa). His whole hand just covered my whole hand and I was like 'oh God, I've got to train against this guy next year!'.

"It was a roller coaster game because there was the red card (for Salesi Ma’afu) and then the try to win it at the end.

"It's something, with it being my boyhood club and as a fan, that you never forget really."

Q: What do you think to this Leicester team you'll be taking on?

A: "They're a physical team, they move the ball around a bit more and two things we didn't get right the last time we played them were set piece and physicality. We came off second best.

"Those two areas, we want to get right, and we know they're going to be coming here and ready to go physically.

"A lot of teams now know that being physical and breakdown will slow our game down and that's where teams get a bit of joy so we've got to make sure we're at it."

Q: Do you have to almost view Leicester as any other opposition and take past meetings out of it?

A: "It's obviously in the background but for me, it could have been a handful of teams to come here Friday and it's just about doing what we do best, getting our game on the field, doing our process and if we do that, we'll be in a good spot."