Saints boss Boyd discusses impending Burrell departure

Burrell will exit Franklin's Gardens this summer, having spent seven years at Saints.He joined from Sale Sharks in 2012 and has gone on to make 158 appearances so far, helping Saints to claim their first Premiership title in 2014.Burrell's contract was up this summer and he has opted to make the move back to rugby league, which is the sport he started in as an age-grade player for Huddersfield Giants.Boyd said: "Luther had a frustrating time to start with as he had a couple of niggles that kept him out but he's found some really good form in the last month or six weeks."He's been really important for us, particularly when Piers (Francis) went down injured and then we had him and Dingers (Fraser Dingwall) and Hutch (Rory Hutchinson) together. He held that together really nicely for us."He's really keen to finish his time at the Gardens very positively."And when asked for his reflections on his time with Burrell at Saints, Boyd said: "When I first came here and was introduced to the players it was a little bit of a difficult situation but the first guy that came and introduced himself was Luther."He shook my hand and said he wished me well at this club and he's a really amiable guy, he's a popular member of the Saints."He's been here for seven years from the north and the fact he's been able to control his exit and decide how he wants his career to go has been fantastic."He'll be missed here because he's popular on and off the field and we hope he goes well in the future."