Boyd tells Saints not to get left behind

Chris Boyd knows Saints will get left behind in the battle for a Gallagher Premiership play-off place if they don't start picking up points as soon as possible.
Chris Boyd takes his team to Welford Road on Friday nightChris Boyd takes his team to Welford Road on Friday night
Chris Boyd takes his team to Welford Road on Friday night

The black, green and gold have suffered defeat in their past two league matches, against Saracens and Bristol Bears, having won four of the previous five.

They now prepare to head to Welford Road on Friday night with more than just points on the line.

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Both sides will be desperate to secure the east midlands bragging rights as well as a win that would enhance their chances of a strong league finish.

Saints are currently seventh in the Premiership standings, nine points adrift of the top four.

Tigers are 10th, three points behind Saints.

And Boyd said: "Where we end up will depend on what other teams do as well.

"All we can do is concentrate on our own performances, and there's still 30 points up for grabs.

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"Someone could get a bit of a flyer at it and if anybody manages to pick up another 30 points they're going to be in a good situation.

"But if you don't start accumulating you're going to be left behind so it's pretty tight.

"Obviously like most of the teams in the competition at the moment, ourselves and Leicester are in a big bunch in the middle of the pack.

"Leicester have had some good wins and some not so good performances, like we all have.

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"The big change for them is they've got six England internationals coming back and four or five guys coming back from injury.

"It's been a little bit of a hard read on them because we understand their framework but the bodies that sit inside that can make a big difference. That's going to make it extra tough.

"We were very disappointed with our performance in the Rob Horne game at Twickenham in October.

"There's a lot to play for but it will come down to the normal crucial incidents and minutes that you dominate or get dominated in that will make the difference.

"We're all expecting a pretty tough battle."

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Saints go into the game on the back of lifting a trophy last Sunday as they beat Saracens 23-9 in the Premiership Rugby Cup final at Franklin's Gardens.

But Boyd refuses to believe that will be a big boost ahead of this week's game at Welford Road.

"I don't think the two are related to be honest," he said.

"It was good that we were able to win the inaugural PRC and for us to be able to discover some young guys and give them the opportunity to play.

"From the development point of view, it's been really helpful for us as a club.

"But I don't think that has any correlation to what happens in the Premiership or Europe."

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