Boyd: Saints still have plenty of fires to put out after success at Bristol

Saints boss Chris Boyd insists there are still plenty of fires for his team to put out after they picked up their first away win of the season.
Chris Boyd saw his side beat Bristol (picture: Sharon Lucey)Chris Boyd saw his side beat Bristol (picture: Sharon Lucey)
Chris Boyd saw his side beat Bristol (picture: Sharon Lucey)

Boyd's men scored six tries as they beat Bristol 45-40 in a thrilling encounter at Ashton Gate.

Summer signings Taqele Naiyaravoro and Andrew Kellaway both claimed their first tries in Northampton colours, with Ehren Painter, Lewis Ludlam, Alex Waller and Mike Haywood also scoring.

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Saints were porous defensively, but their attack did enough to ensure the Bears could only secure two losing bonus points rather than a victory.

And Boyd said: "It was like a basketball game with the way both sides defended, but I think Bristol and Northampton will prove to be two of the more optimistic sides in the competition.

"Whether that will continue into December, January and February remains to be seen but while we can play across the top of the ground, we're happy to do that.

"But we're also capable of playing a game of contact. Our lineout drives have been good, we've mauled well.

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"One of the encouraging things for me is that balance between playing territory versus possession and contact versus space, we've yet to find that balance and sweet spot for our team, but we're capable of playing more than one style of game.

"The most pleasing thing for us today is that we got some points on the road.

"From a pure performance point of view, there are as many fires for us to put out this week as there were last week, but if we can keep in the pack and stay alive while we're sorting that out then in the back half of the season we'll be okay."