Harlequins will be a handful, says Saints boss Boyd

Chris Boyd knows Harlequins will be ready to get stuck into Saints at The Stoop this afternoon (kick-off 2pm).
Chris BoydChris Boyd
Chris Boyd

Both teams were wounded by midweek defeats as Saints lost 18-3 at home to Bath and Harlequins were beaten 29-14 at Worcester.

Quins boss Paul Gustard, who saw his side ship 26 unanswered first-half points at Sixways, was far from happy with the display of his largely second-string outfit, saying: “I’m embarrassed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We never saw that coming. That’s not to say we are an arrogant team and we think that we are going to dominate teams physically."

And he added: “Everyone is hurting. That first 40 minutes is one of the lowest points of my coaching career.

"We never got to fire a shot, we were on the back foot all the time. It was a sobering 40 minutes for sure.”

And when he was asked what he is expecting from Harlequins today, Boyd said: "They've changed a bit under Gustard - they've gone from that free-flowing, cavalier game to kicking a lot and not playing a lot at the back end of their field.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"They kick very well and they're always there or thereabouts.

"They're into you, they niggle and they've got some very good individual players so they are a handful."

Saints have once again made wholesale changes this week, continuing their two-team policy as they try to give members of their squad the right amount of rest during a hectic schedule.

And Boyd said: "We couldn't tweak it for this week because we'd already done it and then the next problem is that we've got Exeter and Bristol just four days apart.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"If it was five or six days you could get away with it, but four days makes it incredibly difficult to back up the same people four days later so we've got little option really."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Related topics: