In a former life, Sam Graham used to cook meals for the England rugby team.

But these days, he’s not tasting food before serving it; instead, he’s savoring the taste of success as a vital player for the Northampton Saints, who are aiming for an incredible double.

Graham, a forward, says he is “living the dream” after leading his team over South African team Bulls on Saturday to the Champions Cup quarterfinals.

With four regular-season games left, they lead the Premiership by five points as well. They are also setting the pace there.

Graham was employed at the Pennyhill Park hotel in England back in 2015, and he vividly recalls an evening meeting with a former Saints player.

He admitted to BBC Look East, “I once met Dylan Hartley.”

He came into the kitchen one night looking for a knife for some sort of social activity. I didn’t ask any questions. But years later he remembered me when I signed at Saints. It took me back a bit.

“Being a chef in and around that hotel was such a buzz. We sent out mountains of food for them.

“I was so impressed by how much they put away. Now I’m the one eating just as much.”

Graham started his playing career at Chippenham RFC and struggled for years to make a name for himself in the professional rugby game.

He trained in Bath’s academy for a while before moving on to Bristol, and he also played for Massey RFC in New Zealand.

The hard-working back rower ultimately made the move to Saints last year, having helped the Doncaster Knights place second in the Championship in 2022.

In his 20 games during his first campaign, he scored four tries, and in December, he and the team decided to extend his contract.

With 16 of his 20 games starting, including last Sunday’s 24-14 victory over Munster to advance them to the elite eight of Europe’s cup tournament, the 26-year-old is currently having the best year of his career.

Since I was six years old, this has been my dream.

The atmosphere against Munster was unbelievable. The European music comes over the Tannoy and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“At that moment I smiled. This is why I play the game. It was brilliant.

“It would mean everything if we could win [against Bulls] this weekend.”

Saints won the first Champions Cup of the 21st century, beating Munster 9-8 at Twickenham.

In their current form, they may just have the right recipe to do it again.