Standard is getting higher says Boyd

NORTHAMPTON Saints DoR Chris Boyd hopes the return of fans will help turn Franklin’s Gardens into a fortress.

Having an empty stadium appeared to hit Saints harder than most teams and they only avoided going a whole calendar year without winning on home turf when they beat Worcester in the final game of 2020.

“The harsh reality is that we didn’t do well at home last year,” Boyd said. “The thing that most irritated us is the close games that we were ahead with 20 minutes to go, that we went on to lose.

“Was the lack of spectators a part of that? I suspect it probably was.

“Our record at home in the last couple of years hasn’t been good enough and it is something we want to improve.”

Saints’ recruitment has focused on retaining the talent they already have while continuing to promote from within. Two-thirds of the 58-strong squad have come through the club’s academy system.

Whether this policy bears fruit and they can improve on last season’s fifth-place remains to be seen. Boyd says pre-season predictions are harder this year than ever before.

“It is a tough league and a very even league and I think the fact there is no relegation this season is going to make it an even tougher league,” he said.

“I think the difference between finishing fourth and eighth is going to be a couple of bonus points.

“If you look at where squads are at, there is a better distribution of talent. The top end will always be the top end but as the standards of the middle-tier guys and the bottom-end guys all improve then the average standard gets higher and higher and that’s what happening at the moment.

“There’s a hardly a situation now where you’d put your house on Team A being 100 per cent certain of beating Team B.

Boyd confirmed all his squad were in place other than two new recruits. Fijian scrum-half Frank Lomani is due to arrive from Queensland this weekend, while Lions winger Courtnall Skosan will be required to quarantine for a couple of weeks.