Boyd a busy man as he continues to shape Saints plans

In fact, the Saints boss is finding plenty of ways to fill his days, with planning upon planning taking place from his kitchen table in Cottesbrooke.

"We couldn't be in a better part of the world really," Boyd said. "We're in Cottesbrooke, north Northampton, rural, beautiful little spot, weather has been unbelievably good.

"We just rent a little place and the only chore I've got really is to mow the lawn so my lawn is getting mowed relentlessly.

"We've had plenty of things to keep us busy.

"We can get out and do a bit on our bikes every day and it's between that and about four or five hours a day sitting at my kitchen table in front of my computer talking to people and making sure we're all aligned.

"We're planning on when we need a planning meeting to plan to go into a mode for return to play.

"There's been a lot of navel-gazing.

"We've had a series of guidelines and what ifs from all sorts of different people.

"You can spend a lot of time putting a plan into place but it's highly likely to change so it can play on you mentally and physically.

"You think you've got a little target there and then it shifts again.

"We have to be as flexible and pliable as a good breeze would need us to be, but if you don't plan and organise then when something comes into concrete you're behind the eight ball.

"We very much want to hit the ground running and if and when it happens, we'll be in the best situation we can be.

"I've got to say credit to the players and the management because people have taken this very seriously and there's been an incredible amount of hard work going on behind the scenes to make sure that when we're ready to go, we're ready to go."

There remains huge uncertainty about when and if the current Gallagher Premiership season can be completed.

The situation continues to hit the finances of clubs, with Saints CEO Mark Darbon recently confirming the black, green and gold are losing approximately £400,000 for every home game that isn't played.

And Boyd said: "The PRL are certainly very keen (for the season to be completed).

"The big issue for us, as for all the clubs in all the sports, is the financial implications of not being able to host events and the TV revenue that sits behind those events that are not happening, so we're not delivering content to BT to put on TV.

"It's just a massive throwdown like it is for people in the service industry and retail industries and entertainment areas and you wouldn't want to own an airline at the moment, would you?"

But even the Covid-19 pandemic has not been able to steal the standard humour from Boyd's interviews.

He joked: "They (those in charge) have been doing some work on whether they can do a new scrummaging technique where you do observe social distancing two metres apart but I don't think they've got the binding quite right yet..."

Although he is clearly enjoying his Northamptonshire surroundings, Boyd undoubtedly misses life in New Zealand.

But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, he is keeping up with events back home.

"When we started (lockdown) it was a 13-hour time difference, then it went to 12 and now it's 11 so most mornings we speak to the family at home at night time and most of the evening time here we speak to other people," Boyd explained.

"I'm probably making three or four or five calls to New Zealand either in the morning or at night to satisfy that need. The family is all good.

"New Zealand has done really well. They locked down pretty tight and I think they've only had a few deaths so they've managed to nip it in the bud hopefully.

"Hopefully everyone else can stay below the curve and life can go on with some degree or normality sooner rather than later."

Boyd believes the powers-that-be in rugby should be using this time away from live action to improve the game.

And he said: "Everybody right from the top of the tree down has complained about player workload and too many games and stuff.

"Rugby as a sport has a very vigorous international programme, more so than just about any other sport I can think of, so how you satisfy the needs of World Rugby, the RFU down to the PRL, the clubs and the Championship and getting them all aligned in a logical window from both hemispheres and around the globe is the most important thing to do for sustainability.

"What that looks like I really don't know. Everyone's got agendas and it's a very difficult situation.

"But because things have got to be re-jigged and reorganised because of Covid it is an opportunity to say 'let's have a look and see if we can make this a slightly better product'.

"There have been some big shifts: you look at rugby league going from a winter game to a summer game to keep their sport going so we do have to think out of the square.

"There's tradition you'll always fight against.

"It might be better that there's 10 Premiership clubs instead of 12 or that there's two leagues of 20, I don't know.

"But there will always be a better way to do it without constraints so we've got to keep open-minded and do the best we can."

Boyd would dearly love to be back in charge of Saints games at a packed Franklin's Gardens as soon as possible, but he knows that is a distant thought right now.

"It looks like the first bit's going to be behind closed doors," he said.

"Our first dollop of the Premiership, when it gets going, looks like it will be on the TV and that's the way most sport is going in England.

"It's not certain but it's looking that team sport will probably get underway before social gatherings are allowed."

For now, Saints' social gatherings take place online, as Boyd explained.

"We've got almost 100 people on Zoom conference at 10am with all our players and all our management where we just lay down the masterplan," he said.

"We're going to keep well connected so everyone's kept informed about return to training, return to play and whatever else we need to return to will look like.

"We're making sure people are safe and people who are high risk environments, i.e. people who might live with a partner in a medical situation, are okay.

"There's an awful lot that's going on behind the scenes."