Alex Moon: Northampton lock suited to Lee Radford coaching approach
- Published
Alex Moon halped Saints reach the Premiership play-offs in the last two seasons
Northampton Saints lock Alex Moon says new defence coach Lee Radford is already making his presence felt at Franklin's Gardens.
Radford has switched codes from rugby league, having previously been head coach of Hull FC and Castleford.
And he has been working to change their approach in defence.
"On the defensive side, albeit we've conceded a bunch of points, but the stuff we're really going hard at has improved," said Moon.
"Radders with his background coming in, our D [defensive] system has changed a little bit. Previously we were just trying to put bodies on the floor and compete in that respect.
"Now with Radders, it's a bit more about holding guys up, keeping them in the air - 'time the tackle' is a phrase we use all the time - and it just gives our D line time to set everywhere else," he told BBC Radio Northampton.
It is a method which suits 27-year-old Moon, who is 6ft 7ins (2m) tall and weighs over 19 stone (123 kgs).
"That's something I love, just being a tall, strong guy, I get to go high on people, hold people up, wrestle people, keep them in the air, buy time for us to go and get set, which means we can go again off the line," he said.
"That's a change of philosophy for us and it's going to take some time (to bed in). We can see week on week, it's gone a lot better."
Moon 'proud' of circuitous route into the game
Moon made his 100th appearance for the club in a 39-38 defeat by Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup on Saturday.
He said having to work so hard to make the best use of his physical attributes and establish himself in the first team made the milestone "all the sweeter" - but there is still room for improvement.
"I went through in the natural way, played National 2, played National 1, played in the Championship, did a small stint over in Australia on loan, came back and played my way into the first team from there," Moon said.
"I'm proud of that route that I've had to take. A lot of guys in my position hit the ground running from a young age but I've always been a big freak and I've had to grow into my body as I've got older.
"It probably took me until I was 21, 22 to figure out how to use my body. Last year was the best I've been able to figure that out. It's been a long road.
"I went quite hard in the off-season, I saw a couple of areas - like my ball carrying and leg drive - that had to be better.
"I tend to get quite high in the carry. It was nice to see coming back into pre-season, the stuff I'd worked on helped."
Lee Radford was set to join Dallas Jackals rugby union side in 2020 but the job fell through because of Covid