Director of rugby Chris Boyd has made five changes to his starting line-up for Northampton Saints’ final pool match of this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup.
The men in Black, Green and Gold travel to East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers on Derby Day – hoping to extend their winning run at Welford Road to three matches.
Saints have beaten Leicester in four of the last five meetings between the sides, but this time Northampton enter the blockbuster clash looking for their first win of the new campaign ahead of the start of the Gallagher Premiership next weekend.
Teimana Harrison leads the side again this week, but switches into the No.8 jersey to make room for veteran flanker Heinrich Brüssow – who starts his first match since April – with Saints Academy player JJ Tonks completing the back row.
England Under-20 international Alex Coles returns to the second row alongside David Ribbans, while James Fish also slots into the side at hooker and props Francois van Wyk and Ehren Painter round off the pack.
George Furbank makes his long-awaited return to Northampton’s line-up in one of two changes to the back-line, with the other coming on the wing as Taqele Naiyaravoro returns from a one-week suspension.
That means Andy Symons and Fraser Dingwall start together again in the midfield, Ryan Olowofela retains his place on the wing, and James Grayson and Henry Taylor resume their blossoming half-back partnership.
And there is plenty of experience amongst Saints’ replacements, with the likes of Ben Franks, Paul Hill, and Michael van Vuuren to come into the front row, while James Mitchell, Rory Hutchinson and Tom Collins will be hoping to bring some X Factor off the bench in the second half.
LEICESTER TIGERS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Premiership Rugby Cup, Round 4
Saturday 12 October, 2019
Welford Road
Kick-off: 3pm
15 George Furbank
14 Ryan Olowofela
13 Fraser Dingwall
12 Andrew Symons
11 Taqele Naiyaravoro
10 James Grayson
9 Henry Taylor
1 Francois van Wyk
2 James Fish
3 Ehren Painter
4 David Ribbans
5 Alex Coles
6 JJ Tonks
7 Heinrich Brüssow
8 Teimana Harrison (c)
Replacements:
16 Michael Van Vuuren
17 Ben Franks
18 Paul Hill
19 Alex Moon
20 Mitch Eadie
21 James Mitchell
22 Rory Hutchinson
23 Tom Collins
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson and Peter Allan
Not available for selection:
Harry Mallinder (knee), Dylan Hartley (knee), Alex Mitchell (knee), Reece Marshall (hamstring), Mikey Haywood (knee), Jamie Gibson (shoulder), and Paddy Ryan (knee)
International duty:
Dan Biggar (Wal), Piers Francis (Eng), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Lewis Ludlam (Eng), Api Ratuniyarawa (Fiji), Cobus Reinach (SA), and Ahsee Tuala (Sam).
Next Home Match
