| Northampton Saints head coach Budge Pountney has had to name the same squad from last weekend’s cup game ahead of Monday’s league match against London Irish due to the injury situation at Franklin’s Gardens.
Late fitness tests will be made on Andrew Blowers, Corne Krige, Ben Cohen and Bruce Reihana, but until then Pountney has named the side that took on Bedford Blues in the Powergen Cup last weekend.
He said: “We are waiting for guys to come back from injury. The players who have stepped in have done fantastically well, and a lot of them have played out of position. It would be nice to have a healthy squad but there are not many of those around in the Premiership.”
After two cup game wins in the last three weeks, Pountney added: “We have had the league table taped up in the team room for whole cup period. The players know where they are and they are chomping at the bit to get out of that bottom spot.
“But London Irish work hard for each other and back each other up. They are extremely dogged and are a hard team to play against, and they will have 20,000 fans spurring them on.”
NORTAHMPTON SAINTS
15 Jon Clarke
14 John Rudd
13 Mark Tucker
12 Marc Stcherbina
11 Wylie Human
10 PAUL GRAYSON
9 MARK ROBINSON
1 Chris Budgen
2 STEVE THOMPSON (capt)
3 ROBBIE MORRIS
4 Grant Seely
5 Damien Browne
6 ROSS BEATTIE
7 Brett McNamee
8 Mark Soden
16 Dan Richmond
17 Brett Sturgess
18 Simon Emms
19 Johan van Wyk
20 Johnny Howard
21 Shane Drahm
22 Neil Starling | 
