The big interview: Tom Vickers talks to Saints forward Sam Graham

That noise would only have got louder back in February when the affable forward suffered an injury during a training session.

"I tore my calf," Graham explained during this week's Saints media session. "After the Newcastle PREM Cup game, we were doing the lowest level skills ever and I just pushed off and it just went - I genuinely felt like I’d been shot.

"I had a grade 3C tear in my calf and you can’t do a lot with that, unfortunately!"

The injury left Graham with an uncertain spell ahead of his summer switch to Newcastle Red Bulls.

His move to Kingston Park was announced in January, and it will bring the curtain down on a largely successful four seasons at Saints.

But first, he wants to end his stay in Northampton, a place he has truly made his home, on a high.

And he was worried that the calf issue would rob him off a huge amount of time during the closing stages of his Saints career.

"I’m very acutely aware of how every minute now at the club is sort of on a countdown," Graham said.

"I just really want to make the most of it, and I think that was probably the most gutting part (about the calf injury).

"I want to play my part in the team, whether that means I get the privilege of playing on a Saturday or preparing the team Monday to Friday, and to not be able to do either is pretty gutting.

"I suppose that realisation is brilliant because it means I can make every moment count now.

"Thankfully, I’m back and I can hopefully make the most of these last eight weeks of the season."

As Graham references, he was able to enjoy a welcome return to action as he started in the 35-28 Gallagher PREM win at Exeter Chiefs last Saturday.

And he looked like he’d never been away as he showed his hunger to perform for Saints before he exits the club.

"It feels very nice to be back," he said. "In truth, it’s felt like the longest six weeks because I felt I was just hitting my stride when I got injured in training and, for me, those six weeks just passed really slowly.

"It’s safe to say I felt it on the lungs a bit on Saturday, as it was pretty frantic in the first half, but it was nice to get some good minutes under my belt and feel like I was back to somewhere near my best."

While the injury he suffered in February won't stop Graham helping Saints to win the Gallagher PREM for a third time (the second during his stay with the club), it did deprive him of the chance to prevent them exiting from Europe.

The black, green and gold suffered a dramatic Investec Champions Cup quarter-final defeat at Bath a couple of weeks ago.

And Graham, who missed last season's Champions Cup quest, which ended in the final, due to a serious knee injury sustained in a game at Leicester Tigers in October 2024, said: "I was trying desperately, from a personal point of view, to get back for that (Bath) game.

"Obviously, it’s the European Champions Cup and to have a quarter-final against the team that’s second in the PREM is pretty rare.

"I think the belief going into that game that we’d been down there before and put in a really good performance (Saints won 41-21 at Bath in December) meant we were in a great place going into it.

"It’s sad that I couldn’t quite make it but at least for me that (training with the team in the build-up to the match) was playing my part.

"I did a warm-up just to try to get enough metres in for the following week, which was last week, and fortunately I was back in the mix."

So what was it like watching the loss at Bath, knowing he couldn't do anything about it?

"It was gutting," Graham said. "That’s sport and that’s what you kind of want in those knockout games to be: you want them to be tense from a spectator’s point of view.

"From a player’s point of view, I fully believed we were still going to win it, but unfortunately when that final whistle went, we were on the wrong side of the result.

"It’s heartbreaking because the boys gave so much to it, but on the flip side of that it’s given us the opportunity to reflect on it and ultimately we weren’t good enough, particularly around our defence.

"We’ve put a real focus on that off the back of it, which I think we saw the effect of last weekend down at Sandy Park.

"It’s something we know we need to build on if we’re going to win a championship."

Saints bounced back in style last Saturday as they gritted their teeth and got the job done at Sandy Park, scoring late on to secure a bonus-point Gallagher PREM success.

And Graham said: "In a way, it was a similar game plan (to the one at Bath). We knew Exeter were going to come at us with lots of physicality, particularly through the middle, where they’re pretty upfront and confrontational.

"Ultimately, Bath picked us apart in that area of the game by going through the middle of us.

"I think having prepped it well all week and implemented it straight away, to go down there and know that the boys were on fire meant even though we went (14-0) down early doors and we had to solve a few problems on the fly, our main thing was the physicality was there and the intent to hit people was there. That’s something we are going to have to hang our hat on going forward."

Graham was described as ‘raring to go and mad for it’ by Saints head coach Sam Vesty in the build-up to the game at Exeter.

And Graham explained why that was…

"I think it’s partly knowing that my time here is coming to an end and I know I’ve got a lot to give before the end of the season," Graham said.

"I feel like a real strength of my game has been my defence, particularly here for Saints, and if that’s an aspect of the game where I can really help the team, then I’ll relish that opportunity.

"I love the physical side of the game and in defence you get that in abundance.

"I was raring to go and I think my head was in the right place as well."

It clearly wasn't an easy decision for Graham to part ways with Saints, but he is set to become a father for the first time this summer and had to take the offer that was best for his family, while looking forward to playing a part in the Newcastle project.

"It’s a very tough choice and I’m no longer that young 21-year-old, which sounds ridiculous at only 28," Graham said.

"That opportunity came and it’s one that I’m very excited about, and I feel like to be a part of a project from the ground up is really compelling.

"At this stage of my career as well, I need to look more about protecting my family. My wife is pregnant and we’re expecting our first baby in the summer, so we need to protect ourselves in the place possible because nothing goes on forever.

"This is an extremely tough club to leave – I’ve loved every single minute of my four years here, which is the the longest I’ve been at any club.

"I just think the people are fantastic, the coaches have invested so much into me and I just hope the perfect send-off would be to give something back to the supporters and the coaches who have put so much faith in me."

In 2024, Graham saw the likes of Alex Waller, Lewis Ludlam and Courtney Lawes get the perfect send-off as they helped Saints to claim the club's first PREM title for 10 years.

And Graham would dearly love a similar slice of happiness on his departure.

"That’s such a massive driver for us as a whole group," he said.

"I’ve been on the flipside of this and seen some of my mates going off to new clubs – I think of Alex Moon, Alex and ‘Beef’ (Ethan) Waller, Luds, all these guys who’ve gone off to the next step in their careers.

"We wanted to do it for them and it just becomes so engulfing because you want to do everything you can to make sure they can have a proper send-off.

"I think it’s been felt both ways, I want to give everything I can and I know the boys are giving everything they can to send us off in the right way."