Fraser Dingwall will make his 150th appearance for Northampton Saints this Friday (24 October, kick-off: 7.45pm), as he captains the men in Black, Green and Gold against Saracens at a sold-out cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
Dingwall – who debuted in a Saints shirt at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham back in 2018 – becomes only the second player in Northampton’s current squad to hit the landmark appearance, as he follows fellow centre Rory Hutchinson into the 150 club when he starts alongside the Scotland international against Saracens.
The 26-year-old is joined in his milestone making by Alex Coles and Trevor Davison, with his Saints and England teammates both reaching 100 league appearances in Round 5 as cinch Stadium hosts its ninth consecutive sell-out match in the Gallagher PREM.
Saints and Saracens meet for the second time this season on Friday night to close out the first block of league fixtures – having already clashed in the PREM Rugby Cup last month, when Northampton ran out 34-49 victors at StoneX Stadium.
Phil Dowson’s side have lost just one of their last five outings against Saracens in the PREM, and Saints’ Director of Rugby will be hoping to extend that good run of form as he makes four changes to the side that defeated Newcastle Red Bulls last time out.
George Hendy provides one of those changes, recovering from the injury he sustained in Saints’ last home match (a 32-26 victory over Leicester Tigers) to start at fullback for the fifth time this term.
That allows British & Irish Lion Tommy Freeman to shift back onto the wing, where he will join hot-shot youngster Edoardo Todaro – who earned himself a first call-up to the senior Italy squad at the age of just 19 last week.
Lions stars Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith man Northampton’s half-back berths once again in Round 5, as they start the clash at scrum-half and fly-half respectively.
Italian prop Danilo Fischetti – who was also named in Italy’s squad for the upcoming Quilter Nations Series – makes his second start in Black, Green and Gold as he packs down at loosehead, with hooker Robbie Smith and tighthead prop Davison also retaining their places in Saints’ unchanged front row to start alongside him.
Tom Lockett moves into the starting XV for Northampton this week after featuring off the bench against Red Bulls, and partners JJ Van Der Mescht – who leads the way across the league for most metres made post-contact (2.0) – in the engine room against Saracens.
PREM centurion Coles shifts back to blindside flanker on Friday, joining the incoming England international pairing of Tom Pearson and Henry Pollock in the back row as they start at openside flanker and No.8 respectively to complete the starting line-up.
Dowson names a bench with plenty of firepower for the Saracens match-up, with the likes of front row trio Emmanuel Iyogun, Craig Wright and Luke Green all set to enter the action at cinch Stadium, as well as lock Ed Prowse and back row Callum Chick.
And there is also space amongst the replacements for England Under-20s scrum-half Archie McParland, French international Anthony Belleau – who has shone at both fly-half and fullback since joining Northampton – and Tom Litchfield (a two-time try-scorer already this term) to provide versatile backs cover against Saracens.
Tickets for Saints vs Saracens are completely SOLD OUT! There may be a limited number of re-sale tickets available, sold by Season Ticket Holders unable to attend Friday night’s game. Please note, these are only available to purchase online and can be accessed HERE.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs SARACENS
Gallagher PREM, Round 5
Friday 24 October, 2025
cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 7.45pm
15 George Hendy
14 Tommy Freeman
13 Rory Hutchinson
12 Fraser Dingwall (c) – 150th Saints appearance
11 Edoardo Todaro
10 Fin Smith
9 Alex Mitchell
1 Danilo Fischetti
2 Robbie Smith
3 Trevor Davison – 100th PREM appearance
4 Tom Lockett
5 JJ Van Der Mescht
6 Alex Coles – 100th PREM appearance
7 Tom Pearson
8 Henry Pollock
Replacements:
16 Craig Wright
17 Emmanuel Iyogun
18 Luke Green
19 Ed Prowse
20 Callum Chick
21 Archie McParland
22 Anthony Belleau
23 Tom Litchfield
SARACENS TEAM TO FACE SAINTS:
15 Max Malins, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Bracken, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken; 1 Eroni Mawi, 2 Theo Dan, 3 Marco Riccioni, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Tom Willis
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Theo McFarland, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Gareth Simpson, 23 Angus Hall.
Not considered for selection:
Emeka Atuanya, George Furbank, Curtis Langdon, Cleopas Kundiona, Elliot Millar Mills, James Ramm, Ollie Sleightholme and Charlie Ulcoq.
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Harry Walbaum and Andrew Jackson
No.4: Neil Chivers
TMO: Christophe Ridley