Boyd not expecting big changes at Saints next summer

Chris Boyd is not planning to make too many changes to his Saints squad next summer (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

There was an avalanche of change at Franklin’s Gardens during the most recent close-season.Boss Boyd arrived from Super Rugby side the Hurricanes to take up the role of director of rugby, following Jim Mallinder’s departure last December.A total of 17 players left Saints during the summer, with the likes of long-serving stars Jamie Elliott, Ben Foden and Stephen Myler among them.But Boyd is not expecting similarly sizeable alterations next summer, with many members of his squad already contracted beyond this season.“The short answer is probably not a massive amount of change and the reason for that is that a significant number of this year’s squad is already contracted,” Boyd said.“The general length of a contract these days is two or three years and the market moves from one cycle to another.“You don’t get many people signing a contract for four years and you generally don’t get many signing a contract for one because it shows a lack of commitment from both parties.“If there’s some uncertainty around what you need or what the person might deliver you might offer them a one-year contract, but generally two years or three years is the way the market place works.“We run a squad of 38-40 players and probably middle 20s of those are already contracted for next year.“There will be some changes but I think there’s a really good core of good players here at Northampton and when you add young players with potential to fill some of those spots, we’ve got a pretty good roster.”