Summer reflection was so key as Moon enjoys resurgence at Saints

But, with the help of his girlfriend, he took an extra-long look at his game during the summer.

And it is something that seems to have paid off so far this season.

Moon has played a big part during the first half of the campaign, featuring in all nine – 10 if you count the win at Wasps – Gallagher Premiership matches.

He has started six times, becoming a staple feature of the Saints second row once again.

And Moon explained how his work behind the scenes has been paying off.

He said: “Over the off-season, I talked to my girlfriend a fair bit about it and we had a good discussion about what the plan was going forward.

“For me, I just went 'I can't have what's happened for the past couple of years happen again'. From where I was back in 2019/2020 where I was going well, the last two seasons I've actually started to creep back up because last season was better than the season before.

"I knew something had to change because it was getting better but it wasn't getting better quick enough for me.

"I've been playing at 128kg for the past couple of seasons to try to be a big, heavy tighthead lock, trying to emulate the likes of Joe Launchbury and Will Skelton.

"I was trying to think of myself as that size, but that's not what we want out of me here and it's not my game.

"I dropped the best part of a stone over the off-season, trained like mad and it stood me in good stead for pre-season.

"Having a good off-season into a good pre-season has got the ball rolling for me coming into this season.

"It's as a result of me having a good, hard look at myself during the off-season and I'm enjoying it now.

"I've played in every Prem game this year and I've nearly played as many games this year as I did the whole of last year - and it's not even the halfway point yet.

"I've been enjoying this season a lot more, it has to be said.”

While his girlfriend has clearly been a big help to Moon, his parents have also played their part, thanks to their searing honesty.

"My family is pretty honest with me - they always have been," said the 26-year-old

"I look back at when I got my A/S Level results and my dad did not hide his emotion when he was pretty angry with me.

"He honestly looked like he was going to kill me, and my parents have never been ones to boost my ego - they've always been honest with me my whole life.

"They were pretty open, saying I wasn't playing my best rugby and asking why I thought that was.

"As soon as I started making changes, they supported me and backed me through it so they've been awesome."

Such was Academy graduate Moon's rise at Saints that he was called up by England ahead of the Six Nations in 2020.

But while he never won a cap, he has since seen Alex Coles and David Ribbans take their first steps in the Test environment as both played a part for the Red Rose this autumn.

And Moon says that has added extra motivation for him as he bids to work his way back into the international picture ahead of next year's World Cup.

"I think I was Colesy's age when I first got into the squad back in 2020 and I didn't get capped, I didn't travel for a game," Moon said.

"I saw Colesy get into the squad and that's been off the back of some great form now, not just this season but a lot of last season as well.

"Dave Ribbans has basically been our starting second row for a few years now and he didn't get back into the starting side because Colesy was calling so well and Api (Ratuniyarawa) was awesome for us last year.

"For Colesy, it (the England selection) has been off the back of a year and a half of awesome form so it's completely deserved for him to get in there and start.

"I very much look at that and think 'why not me?' because clearly the opportunity is there to go and play so on one hand I'm really happy for Colesy because I've grown up with him but it also really lights a fire under your backside.

"It's another thing that we circled with my family and my girlfriend over the summer - look, at the back end of 2023 with the World Cup, there's a clear goal there.

"This starts now so it's about what I start doing from the minute go all the way to there to give myself the best opportunity to get myself there."

The likes of Moon, Ribbans and Coles has been joined in the Saints pack by Australian ace Lukhan Salakaia-Loto this season.

And Moon said: "He's hilarious, so funny.

"You wouldn't think he's one week younger than me. You'd think he was 35 years old and a father of 10, but that's not the case - he's actually really young.

"He's class.

"We got our half-term report stats sent out two weeks ago and you can see on the weekend that he gets through so much work ball in hand.

"As soon as I see him around, I just want him to go and carry and I'll do the clear-out tackling for him so he can focus on that and get us going forward.

"We bounce off each other and he's been an awesome addition to the club."