Boyd looks back on a tough 12 months as Saints get set to go to Worcester again

The game at Worcester Warriors last March was the last before the Premiership was put on pause for more than five months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Saints won 16-10 at Sixways and little did they know that it would be their final match before the big sporting shutdown.

Thankfully, rugby and other sports have found a way through the global pandemic.

The Premiership campaign was completed during August and September last year, and 14 league games have been played so far this season.

And Boyd said: "The whole league's done pretty well to still be playing, and it's been a blessing.

"The world's been brought to its knees around this pandemic by deaths and hospitalisations and lots of lockdowns and people losing their jobs and their businesses.

"It's been hard for clubs - we've lost a lot of money here, like all the clubs - but yet we've still been able to continue and that's been a tremendous effort by a lot of people.

"It has been difficult and it has been frustrating.

"The camaraderie that exists inside sports teams is really tough when there's been no social interactions.

"We haven't had a unified meeting and we don't sit in the same changing room and eat our lunch together and we haven't done for 12 months.

"It's a really important part of the fabric of the group so it's been tough but it brings a level of resilience to people and I'm sure when we reflect back on it, it will be something people will remember."

It has been far from easy for Boyd and his wife as they have family back home in New Zealand who they have only been able to visit once since he took over as Saints boss in the summer of 2018.

"It certainly wasn't the plan," Boyd said. "We were trying to get home and see the kids at least once a year but I've been here for about three years and I've only been home once.

"I'm very lucky I've got some wonderful people in the little village I live in down in Cottesbrooke, but even then you can't socialise in the village.

"You still bump into people and have a yarn from an arm's length, but you can't even have a social tipple with people in the village.

"It's been tough and it's tough for everybody, but we're thankful we've been able to continue to work."