Northampton Saints have made 15 changes to their starting XV for the second match running, with Lewis Ludlam set to lead out the side against Harlequins on Sunday.
The men in Black, Green and Gold were beaten on home soil by Bath on Wednesday, but enjoyed a resounding win over London Irish at Sunday’s venue – Twickenham Stoop – last weekend, and Saints have lost just one of their last five league meetings against the Londoners.
A special milestone also beckons for Northampton wing Taqele Naiyaravoro; the Australia international will make his 50th appearance in Black, Green and Gold should he come off the bench.
Flanker Ludlam skippers the side with Jamie Gibson and No.8 Shaun Adendorff also in the back row, with Alex Moon and last weekend’s man-of-the-match Nick Isiekwe packing down in the engine room for Saints.
A powerful, home-grown front row of Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, Mikey Haywood, and Ehren Painter round off the pack, with young English duo James Grayson and Alex Mitchell stepping into the half-back berths for Northampton.
Scotland international Rory Hutchinson and All Black Matt Proctor line up together in the centres, with plenty of pace out wide in Ryan Olowofela and Tom Collins and England’s George Furbank behind them at fullback.
There’s plenty of firepower to come off the bench for Boyd’s side too – the likes of Naiyaravoro, Teimana Harrison, Fraser Dingwall, and Dave Ribbans will hope to make an impact if they enter the action.
HARLEQUINS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Round 17
Sunday 30 August 2020
Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 2pm
15 George Furbank
14 Ryan Olowofela
13 Matt Proctor
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Tom Collins
10 James Grayson
9 Alex Mitchell
1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
2 Mikey Haywood
3 Ehren Painter
4 Alex Moon
5 Nick Isiekwe
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Lewis Ludlam (c)
8 Shaun Adendorff
Replacements:
16 Reece Marshall
17 Nick Auterac
18 Paul Hill
19 Dave Ribbans
20 Teimana Harrison
21 Henry Taylor
22 Fraser Dingwall
23 Taqele Naiyaravoro
Not available due to injury:
Alex Coles (ankle), Harry Mallinder (knee), Ollie Sleightholme (hamstring), Connor Tupai (wrist), Alex Waller (achilles), and Tom Wood (illness).
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant Referees: Simon Harding and Dean Richards
TMO: David Grashoff
No.4: Alex Thomas
