Saints bracing themselves for battle with 'the team to beat'

And Boyd has told his Saints team to do everything they can to 'stay in the fight' at Franklin's Gardens tonight.

Sixth-placed Saints go into the game having won just one of their four league matches since the return of the Premiership last month.

They take on an Exeter side who have won every one of their games and who are now the clear leaders of the league.

And Boyd said: "You wouldn't expect anything other than 100 per cent from Exeter.

"They're a very good side, they've got great depth in their squad.

"It doesn't really matter what combination of players they pick, they've probably got the deepest squad of any club at the moment.

"They're playing really well and are tough to beat.

"We'll have to front up and try to stay in the fight.

"We've got to win some key battles."

Exeter have rotated their team once again, naming what many would see as a largely second-string side.

But that team showed just how formidable it can be during a brilliant recent win at Bristol Bears.

And Boyd said: "It (the win at Bristol) is a good indication of their strength because there weren't many guys who played in that game who make their starting 15 regularly seemingly.

"But they put in a great performance and beat Bristol, who haven't lost at home too many times.

"At the moment, Exeter are the hot ticket, the team to beat and we'll just have to see how we go."

On Saints' form, Boyd said: "I don't think we've had a bad attitude to any of the games.

"We got our game plan wrong against Wasps, particularly around the breakdown where we were trying to be a little bit more clinical because we thought the referees would react more strongly, but they haven't.

"The breakdown depends on what referee you get and it is a tough combative area.

"We've got good loose forwards.

"We haven't played what I would say is our best loose forward trio together, but we haven't been able to because we need to share the load across the teams.

"It is tough and it's open to interpretation."

Saints have opted for a two-team policy since the restart, seeking to keep players fresh by splitting their top players across two separate line-ups and making wholesale changes between matches.

The majority of the other Premiership sides have picked a full strength team and then rested those players during the next game.

And Boyd said: "If you're judging it on outcome then we've been wrong and we'll be challenging it all the time.

"We're halfway through our return from Covid and when we get to Gloucester at the end of the season, whether we're in play-offs or not, we'll sit back and reflect on how we managed our squad during this difficult time.

"As far as energy goes, we're still pretty fresh because we're able to give guys eight or nine-day turnarounds, not four.

"Teimana Harrison and Dave Ribbans both noted they found it pretty hard to back it up four days later so there's a realism that has to sit around that.

"If we're not strong enough yet as a group to put out two equalish teams then so be it."

And Boyd added: "It's a bit like a little chip kick - often you judge that on the outcome.

"If you score from a little chip kick when you're close to the line everyone thinks it's a great decision and when you don't, everyone thinks it's a s*** decision.

"Outcome wise we certainly haven't got the results we wanted.

"Time will tell."

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