Friday evening’s skipper Chunya Munga is excited to get back on the pitch after a long preseason in a test against Bedford Blues for a young Northampton Saints squad.
The men in Black, Green and Gold get their preseason fixtures underway this Friday night (5 September, kick-off: 7:45pm) at Goldington Road against Champ side Bedford.
Captaining the side on Friday night from lock will be Chunya Munga, who’s entering his third season in a Saints jersey.
The former England age-grade international joined from London Irish ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, and having previously captained the side during PREM Rugby Cup fixtures for Northampton, he will once again lead a young outfit in the opening fixture of the 2025/26 season.
“I understand my responsibility more in the team from when I joined, which allows me to just play freely,” Munga said.
“I would say that's where I’ve probably made the biggest improvements in terms of adding value to the team. I'm looking forward to trying to improve as much as possible, because the lads around me are also trying to fight to play.
“I’m quite a vocal, high-energy human being, and that's the way I like to add value. So if that helps the lads get going and revs boys up, then perfect.
“The mantra of what we do at Saints is; how can you compete every day? How can you get better every day? And those extra things will take care of themselves. So that's what I'm looking forward to. And I genuinely really enjoy just the competition for opportunities to play; it has made me get better.
“The truth is, I just want to try and improve as much as possible. I just want to get better. And when I look back to periods last season when I felt like I was playing well and performing, it was just about trusting the process of trying to improve.”
Chunya Munga
Friday evening will see a squad full of youth heading to Goldington Road, while also providing an opportunity for several new signings – such as Anthony Belleau, Thomas Rowe, Cleopas Kundiona, Amena Caqusau, and James Martin – to pull on a Saints shirt for the first time.
“Since the back end of the last season, we have had some young guys come in. Henry Lumley started against Gloucester in the PREM, and he'd never played men's rugby before and played really well, and now you see him in training, he’s so comfortable and confident,” Munga added.
“Not only have we brought in new additions that are going to add to the balance of the squad, but there are these guys who have developed quickly and are playing and training well. These 18-year-olds are raising the level for boys even more experienced like me, and it’s making the group as strong as possible.
“Friday’s going to be a good contest. Bedford are obviously always a side that always turn up. We have such a good relationship with them, we send boys to them all the time, so the standard of what they produce is really high.
“I'm looking forward not only just as a personal test, but also for the boys that are going to go down, some new faces, new signings, boys who are coming into the environment from the Senior Academy. It is an exciting game to see where we're at.
“It’ll be an opportunity to test not only the quality of the boys we have at the top of the squad, but also to test the entire squad depth.”
Tickets for the clash remain available to purchase directly from Bedford Blues HERE.
