Northampton Saints chief Chris Boyd has barely had time to get his seat warm at Franklin’s Gardens but the New Zealander has already made a huge impression according to youngster Toby Trinder.

Following a hugely successful stint at Super Rugby side Hurricanes, the new Saints director of rugby arrived in England over the summer for his first spell in charge of a Gallagher Premiership side.

And despite a mixed start to the season that has seen his side win only once from their opening three fixtures, 20-year-old Trinder believes there is much more to come from after Saints finished as low as ninth in the league last season.

“It has been good for the boys to get some new faces in and hearing different voices,” explained Trinder, who was showing his support for the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, hosted this week by the Saints

“It’s always good to refresh the mind and crack on and see some new people and learn some new things.

“Training is fresh and everyone is really enjoying it.

“We have spoken briefly about last year, but there are so many new people that have come in that it is all in the past.

“Things that we have been speaking about recently has been about keeping our discipline and focusing on our individual roles.

“If we can focus on those two key points, we are confident and we are happy that we can get results when it comes to every Saturday.”

Despite suffering a foot injury that has seen him miss out on the opening weeks to the season, England U20 international Trinder and teammate James Fish are both confident that they will have ample opportunity to impress the new director of rugby.

Fish, who is also out of action with an ankle injury, made two first-team appearances last season, but the hooker is hopeful he can have more involvement this campaign.

The pair were on hand to offer their support at the weekend’s Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, an event that has seen more than 82,000 children take part to date and continues to grow, providing developmental experience for young players to excel in a professionally run environment.

“It’s different this year. I am going into the season with a clean slate and treating it like I am at a new club almost and I’ve been knuckling down in pre-season,” said Fish.

“My target this year is to play more than 10 first-team games. That’s a big motivation for me and so far, I’ve unfortunately been missing with an ankle injury and hopefully I will be back in a few weeks.

“For players in my position it’s great because Chris hasn’t seen much of us apart from a few videos. As he said “he’s come in and there’s no hierarchy”, everyone is being looked at equally.

“If you are playing well then you should get chances.”

Land Rover has heritage in rugby at all levels; from grassroots to elite, sharing and understanding the values at the heart of the game. Follow @LandRoverRugby