Vesty: Saints leaving no stone unturned in bid to start better

But the coaches are ‘leaving no stone unturned’ as they look to cure a problem that has seen their side held scoreless in the first 40 minutes four times so far this season.

Saints failed to score a single point before the break at Bath in October, at La Rochelle last month and in their past two matches, at Exeter Chiefs and Munster.

They also had difficulty at Sale Sharks at the start of the season, scoring just three points, and at home to Munster in December, notching just six.

It means there have been six occasions in 20 matches in all competitions where Phil Dowson's side have failed to hit double figures in the first half.

And when asked why he felt Saints had been slow starters on so many occasions, head coach Vesty said: "We were timid in the first half last weekend and the frustration is that we make some really simple errors that when we're switched on we're not making.

"We're giving teams a bit of a leg-up and Munster are a great example of how to do it when you give them a leg-up, another leg-up and then help them over the line, pretty much.

"It's really frustrating because you can see when we're sharp and when we're moving really well, there's no chance of a leg-up. We're not giving them anything and we're putting our game on the field.

"The biggest frustration is that we're not swinging many punches in those first halves - we're dipping our toe in to see whether it's hot or not.

"Actually, we need to get out there and be swinging.

"Fundamentally, we need to attack straight away rather than just testing the water."

So do Saints need to change anything in the preparation for matches to help them resolve the issue?

"We've looked at it and there are a few little things we're focusing on," Vesty said.

"I'd also say there's been plenty of times where we've started really well and then maybe had a poor patch at a different time so there's no silver bullet.

"We need to get in the right mindset and go and put our game on teams - that's the key.

"We have lacked consistency and when you give yourselves too many point to get back into it, you're going to struggle.

"We've looked into it and we've left no stone unturned, but ultimately you can't just suddenly eat chicken thighs the night before - there's nothing practical like that which works.

"Ultimately, we need to be better at rugby, we need to be in the right mindset to give us the best chance of being good at rugby, and that's what we're focusing on."