Cold showers have helped Scott-Young to settle at Saints

After all, the conditions the leagues are played in are typically very different, lending themselves to contrasting styles of play.

But that hasn't been the case for Angus Scott-Young, who has literally thrown himself into the English winter.

The Australian ace has revealed that jumping into ice-baths and having ice-cold showers has helped him to acclimatise since arriving from the Queensland Reds last summer.

And there can certainly be no complaints as to how he has adapted, with Scott-Young's combative and energetic style of play seemingly perfect for the Gallagher Premiership.

"I've always been someone who's very dedicated and when I put my mind to something, I'm 100 per cent in," Scott-Young said.

"Some of the games I've played here I've made 20-plus tackles, a few carries and a few lineouts but that's how I want to play the game. I want to get involved as much as I can.

"For me, naturally I guess my strong suit was defence. I really enjoy the physical side of it, putting my shoulder into people has always been my skillset.

"I'm working a lot to improve my ball carrying, and the Saints guys have helped me a lot with that.

"I just love getting involved and I don't really think about it, it just happens because it's naturally who I am.

"Whatever play we're doing, I want to put my name out there and do something for the team."

Scott-Young's stamina has really stood out as he seems to be tireless in his pursuit of victory.

He is like Saints' very own version of the Duracell bunny, possessing endless amounts of energy, but he says his secret lies in water rather than food.

"It's not some special diet I've got," he said, smiling.

"The one thing that I've been doing that has been helping me is I've been having an ice-bath dunk or a cold shower every morning.

"Previously I'd get to training and I'd just freeze.

"I'd be like 'f***, this sucks, it's freezing, I can't train today' but then I had the idea that if I do a bit of cold exposure it would condition me to be used to it.

"I now do it every morning and it actually helps quite a lot.

"I have a 20-second ice shower after my shower or an ice bath, just shove my head under just to wake up and I don't feel as cold any more.

"Maybe that's helping me play better!"

Scott-Young is one of three Australian players Saints recruited last summer, joining former Queensland Reds team-mate Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and ex-NSW Waratahs winger James Ramm in England.

The trio have all hit the ground running, becoming crucial cogs in the black, green and gold wheel.

And Scott-Young said: "It's been very good.

"It's been a crazy experience moving across the world to play rugby but it's been something I've really enjoyed.

"I feel I've grown a lot both on and off the field, I've met some awesome people and the main point of moving over here, my rugby, has been improving so it's been awesome.

"I wasn't really ready for the winter - it's a bit crazy.

"I'd spoken to Bryce Hegarty, who played at Leicester, just to suss out what it was like and he said to make sure I look after myself over the winter.

"I'd never experienced the level of darkness and cold so that was an interesting challenge, to keep myself preoccupied and positive in those moments.

"But the easiest way to do it was to hang out with friends and there are plenty of good guys in the team who are welcoming and who will have you round for a roast on a Sunday.

"I've played with Lukhan for ages, since 2015 when we started playing for Queensland Reds Under-20s.

"We obviously progressed to the main squad at the Reds so I've known him for a long time. I know he throws horrible banter as well all of the time.

"I knew it would be good to have a wingman coming in here, and I'm also really close to James Ramm because I played Under-20s with him.

"He lives really close to me, in Abington, so I go round to his place all the time and annoy him.

"It's good to have a few Aussies to bounce between and we've got a bit of a motley crew together with Robbie Smith as well. The random Scotsman has joined on so that's cool.

"I've got plenty of good guys to hang out with here and it's made my transition a lot easier."

Scott-Young added: "It's often the way that a lot of Australian rugby players come over here and play really good footy.

"Maybe it's the new stimulus, the new way of life and a new way of playing rugby.

"It is refreshing to be honest.

"I'd played five years professionally with the Reds in Australia so to be in a new environment, being with new people and being exposed to new ideas and different ways of playing rugby has definitely improved my skillset.

"It makes me a little bit more confident as a player because I know I've got that breadth of knowledge from Australia, a bit from New Zealand when I went there and now I'm over in England.

"It makes me feel like more of a hollistic player and that makes me more confident.

"It's probably why all of us Aussies have been playing well because we feel confident, we're settled now, we have good friends around us and it helps us perform to the best of our ability."

Scott-Young's stand-out games for Saints are no coincidence.

He came to the fore in huge defensive showings against Exeter Chiefs and Leicester Tigers, making an incredible amount of key contributions in both matches.

And the indefatigable flanker said: "They were awesome, both similar in the sense they were massive physical battles.

"There were a lot of box-kicks, working back to get onside and hitting brick walls.

"That probably typifies English rugby quite a bit and that does suit my skillset, the stamina side of things, being able to get up and keep going and hitting people.

"I really enjoyed those games.

"Leicester away was incredible because we lost earlier in the season when I was still pretty fresh and I didn't really understand the significance of the East Midlands derby.

"Going there and beating them in the way we did was unreal.

"Rammy was playing incredibly well that game so it was good to see a few Aussies doing some good things for the team.

"To win the way we did, was unreal.

"The Exeter game was a similar story, here on a Friday night.

"The Friday night games here under the lights are awesome."

Saints now have another Friday night home game to look forward to as they welcome Bath to the Gardens this week.

Phil Dowson's side, who currently sit fourth, know they must win to maintain their hopes of finishing in the Premiership play-off places.

"It's a bit daunting, the table at the moment," Scott-Young said.

"We're sitting fourth but there are about five teams who could get in there.

"You can sit and theorize about what the formula is for teams to get in but we know if we perform and win, the formula works itself out.

"The easiest thing to worry about is our performance and we don't have to worry about who is below us.

"We've got four games and the next one up is Bath so that's all we're focused on."