'We believe we can break history in Dublin', says Saints boss Boyd

The black, green and gold will be huge underdogs against a Leinster side who are unbeaten so far this season.

Saints have lost their past 11 matches in all competitions and have lost four successive encounters against Leinster.

But Boyd is refusing to write off his team's chances of claiming a shock win at the RDS Arena this weekend.

"Everybody goes there with hope, like you do in every game," said the Saints boss.

"Nobody turns up to a game of football and thinks 'we want to keep it (the deficit) to 20 points' - it's not how you think.

"We're going there to challenge ourselves against a Test-match-strength organisation, as everybody does.

"History tells us over the last three years that nine and a half times out of 10 the victor is going to be the home side, but that's history and we go there with optimism to try to break history."

Boyd has shuffled his pack as he seeks the perfect formula following last Friday's agonising 16-12 defeat to Bordeaux-Bègles.

But he insists there are no thoughts of what lies ahead after this week's game, with Saints squaring up to fellow strugglers Worcester, London Irish and Leicester in the Premiership over Christmas and the New Year.

When it was put to him that those matches appear big because of Saints' current standing and the league positions of the opposition, Boyd said: "I don't subscribe to that theory at all.

"I think every team in the Premiership is capable of beating anybody on their day.

"The minute you start to say 'this team is beatable, this team is not beatable and this team may be beatable' you're in trouble.

"Clearly there are a couple of sides who are very good at the moment and very successful, but apart from one or maybe two, everyone is beatable on their day.

"You can't afford to adopt that approach."