Vass will wear the No 10 shirt this weekend in the absence of Stephen Myler, who will be sidelined for between six and 12 weeks with medial ligament damage to his right knee.

Carlos Spencer, the tournament’s top conversion taker with 10, will remain at No 13 as Saints are still bereft of both inside and outside centres with Bruce Reihana, Jon Clarke, Ben Cohen, Rhodri Davies, Luke Myring, Rob Laird and David Quinlan still on the injured list. Johnny Howard will be Saints’ sole back on the bench.

Vass said: “With the injuries and European registration situation, we have just about got a full back-line. There are a few people playing out of position but it is no big deal.

“No 9 is my favoured choice but for the team’s sake and the sake of playing some games at this level, it is good to have some time on the pitch.”

Changes have been made in the forwards with Tongan international prop Soane Tonga’uiha coming in for Tom Smith and fit-again lock Christian Short in for David Gerard. A new-look backline sees international flankers Paul Tupai and Sam Harding join No 8 Daniel Browne.

Saints beat Parma with 10 tries last weekend but the home side are not taking anything for granted.

Head coach Paul Grayson said: “The fans might be hoping for 100 points this weekend but whether we can deliver that will be an entirely different story. It depends on how Parma turn up. If they turn up ready for a fight, we will have to stick to our basics and do the things we do well.

“It was a massive disappointment to let them in for three tries. The boys will be looking for a shut-out this week.”

There are still more than 1,000 tickets left for this game which kicks off at 3pm. Call the ticket office on 01604 581000 for more details.

Northampton Saints

15 Paul Diggin
14 SEAN LAMONT
13 CARLOS SPENCER
12 Robbie Kydd
11 Chris Wyles
10 Ian Vass
9 MARK ROBINSON
1 SOANE TONGA’UIHA
2 STEVE THOMPSON
3 Pat Barnard
4 Matt Lord (capt)
5 Christian Short
6 PAUL TUPAI
7 SAM HARDING
8 Daniel Browne

16 Dylan Hartley
17 TOM SMITH
18 Damien Browne/DAVID GERARD
19 Mark Easter
20 Ben Lewitt
21 Darren Fox
22 Johnny Howard