Saints Q&A: Tom Vickers talks to Scotland star Rory Hutchinson

The Scotland centre admits he'd 'never been so ill' as he ended up in hospital during pre-season.

But Hutchinson was able to get back to full health by the time the new campaign began, and he has since been a crucial cog in the Saints wheel once again, knitting attacking play together with his typical style and swagger.

This week, Hutchinson was at Saints' weekly media session as he spoke to this publication about the formative stages of the season, the illness he had to overcome, testimonial activities, Saturday's trip to Leicester Tigers and more…

Q: Let's start with your testimonial year – can you talk us through how it's all going so far?

A: "It's my 13th season now so it seems to have gone very quickly! It's been amazing and the support for it has been great. The lads have been great whenever they've been asked to contribute in whatever way they can. We’ve got some exciting stuff planned, had a golf day a few weeks ago - it was a bit wet, but everyone turned up with great energy and it was a great day - then we've just finished shooting for the calendar so look out for that. It's some exciting stuff with some of the lads wearing some Step One boxers so it's been crazy on that front. Hopefully that (calendar) will be out in the next few weeks."

Q: How nice is it for you to have such support from your team-mates and your committee?

A: "The committee has been amazing. When I first joined the club, there were quite a few (testimonials) going on. There was Christian Day's, Stephen Myler's, Woody's (Tom Wood), Sue (Alex Waller), Courtney (Lawes) and everyone got behind them and helped them whatever way they could. It's just nice to know you've got the support of your team-mates because that's one of the biggest things."

Q: Did you ever dream back then that it would be you having the testimonial year?

A: "Never, never, so I've got to make the most of it. It's been a great year so far so hopefully we can have some fun and raise some money for charity."

Q: What has this club and the people here meant to you?

A: "Everything. It's my boyhood club, I watched them before I joined and one game that stands out for me was the (2014 PREM) semi-final here against Tigers when we went down to 14 men because of the (Salesi Ma’afu) red card and we won. That was before I joined the club, I joined the following year. We'd been through it all and the next year we finished top and the year after that we finished much lower down the table. A few people have changed and now we're in the position we are, and it's a privilege to be part of such a historic rugby club and to have been here throughout the good days."

Q: How do you reflect on your own journey?

A: "When I first joined, I was about 18 years old and I looked at the quality that was ahead of me and I thought ' how am I ever going to get anywhere close to this?', but then injuries happen, people move on, I stuck with it and then Boydy (Chris Boyd) came in, gave me a new lease of life and gave me an opportunity to play after some injuries the year before. That's kind of accelerated me to the position I'm in now."

Q: Who were the players you looked up to when you first joined?

A: "How long have you got? The backline was Kahn Fotuali'i, Lee Dickson, as the two scrum-halves, Stephen Myler, George North, Luther Burrell, George Pisi, Ben Foden, Ken Pisi and that was just in the backline. Then you had your Dylans (Hartley), Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood and I'm very fortunate to be able to say I've played with some very talented players, and just look at the new crop now, which is as good if not better, so I'm lucky in that sense."

Q: How special is this current squad?

A: "We're playing some really exciting rugby and I feel like we've been together for a few years now as a core. We understand how each other work, the fundamentals and what we're trying to get out of it so I feel like we're in a really good spot. Obviously we're coming off the back of the success of last season and now it's about can we do it again?

Q: How have you felt about your own start to the season?

A: "It's been alright. I didn't have the best pre-season. Obviously it was short anyway off the back of the summer tour (with Scotland) then we (Saints) went to Sri Lanka, then I was bed-bound and I went to hospital the week after because I was pretty ill so that kind of cut two weeks out of my pre-season. Then it's just trying to find your feet as quickly as you can. I'm happy but there's still more growth. Overall I'm building back in and there's never enough time to slowly build you back in but I'm happy so far."

Q: How did that illness affect you? Did you lose a lot of weight?

A: "I was so ill. I've never been that ill. I was on a drip and everything. I don't know what it was. I did all the blood tests and nothing too serious came back. It was not ideal but hey, we're here now and we're all good."

Q: How are you feeling about the challenge that awaits you at Leicester on Saturday?

A: "Obviously the last time we played there, it wasn't a great day at the office for us (Saints lost 41-17 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road back in May). We just want to be able to go and put performances on teams that we can do at home. It should be no different away. There's obviously huge history behind it - this is one of the biggest derbies in the PREM – and it's two good teams going at it. They play a bit more rugby now so we're aware of that, but both teams will be wanting to win physically on the day. The physical battle will be the indicator of who comes out on top."