Boyd gives injury update after Saints' attritional win at Harlequins

Saints are now nursing more than 20 injuries after Saturday's attritional game against Harlequins at the Stoop added yet more men to the treatment room.
Saints boss Chris BoydSaints boss Chris Boyd
Saints boss Chris Boyd

Boss Chris Boyd spoke about the lengthy injury list after the match, which Saints won 20-19 thanks to a last-gasp Alex Mitchell try and James Grayson's nerveless conversion.

Boyd was forced to make several changes during the game, with George Furbank stretchered off due to a head injury, Piers Francis suffering a knee problem and Courtney Lawes and Paul Hill clashing heads.

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Lawes and Hill were able to come back on, but Ahsee Tuala came off late on with cramp.

It meant Saints finished with Grayson at full-back, Andrew Kellaway at centre and Cobus Reinach on the wing.

But Mitchell, who was on for Tuala, and Grayson, who replaced Furbank after just 15 minutes, both made big impacts when it mattered.

And after the game, Boyd spoke of the injury issues Saints have endured of late.

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"We had Mitch Eadie strain his back yesterday afternoon - he couldn't even touch his toes, and we brought Devante (Onojaife) into the squad on the bench," Boyd said.

"At that stage, we had 19 out of our roster that we couldn't select from and it was getting pretty thin.

"George Furbank took a nasty shoulder to the head on a little chip kick so there was no malice in that.

"Courtney (Lawes) and Paul Hill collided head on head when they were both going for a tackle and they both had to leave the field for a time.

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"Piers strained a knee, but I don't think that's significant.

"Dan was hobbling around with an Achilles problem and he couldn't kick at the end but he didn't find running too bad.

"We got some bumps and bruises but they obviously had a couple of major injuries with a knee (Nathan Earle) and an elbow (Cadan Murley).

"I spoke to their coaches afterwards and they're feeling the strain around their roster so this is why it's really important to have 30 plus guys who can do a job for you.

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"We're a long way from being at full strength but the really pleasing thing is we keep asking guys to do a job for us and by and large they've been doing that."

Saints held their nerve at the Stoop after seeing a 13-6 half-time lead turn into a 19-13 deficit late on.

And Boyd said: "The first half was over an hour long, it was stop-start and hard to get momentum.

"They got on a good roll in the second half but we got there in the end.

"It would have been disappointing if we'd lost, but we're not in any way pleased about a lot of how we played and the injuries we had."