BOYD ZONE

CHRIS BOYD is in his fourth season as Northampton’s director of rugby, achieving positions of fourth, eighth and fifth in his previous Gallagher Premiership campaigns as well as a Premiership Rugby Cup triumph in 2019.

The 63-year-old New Zealander has Scottish ancestry and an impressive coaching CV that includes stints in South Africa, Tonga and, of course, his home country, where he memorably steered Hurricanes to their first-ever Super Rugby title in 2016.

He played full-back for Tawa seniors straight out of school and ran the ball from everywhere. His father Gordon died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 48 when Chris was in his late teens.

Married to Linda and a father of four, Boyd has had Saints playing a hugely entertaining brand of attacking rugby. We sat down for a chat…

How did you get into coaching?

I fell into it, at Tawa. I had a traditional overseas experience, lived in London 1984 to 1988, went home,