The Saints welcomed back their England contingent this week, with three of the players who starred against New Zealand – full back Ben Foden, scrum-half Lee Dickson and lock Courtney Lawes – donning black, green and gold to take on the Falcons.
Meanwhile Jamie Elliott and Sam Dickinson have both recovered from their respective knocks to take their places on the wing and at number eight, while Luther Burrell, Stephen Myler, Alex Waller, Mike Haywood and Phil Dowson all come into the team after missing last week’s trip to London Irish. Calum Clark, who was a replacement at the Madejski Stadium, wears the number six shirt.
Dylan Hartley and Tom Wood both miss tomorrow’s game after picking up knocks in the clash with the All Blacks. Also unavailable are Alex Corbisiero (knee), James Craig (shoulder), George Pisi (suspended), Kahn Fotualii, Ken Pisi (both on international duty with Samoa), Samu Manoa (with the USA), Vasily Artemyev (with Russia) and George North (with Wales).
There are still plenty of tickets remaining for tomorrow’s game, but early booking is strongly advised to avoid disappointment. Prices start at £18, so CLICK HERE to book and Print@Home to beat the queues and save the admin fees!
You can hear the thoughts of coach Alan Dickens, James Wilson and Alex Waller on the game right now on the official Saints podcast, available for FREE by CLICKING HERE
And don’t forget that Saturday’s game is a big charity day at Franklin’s Gardens, with Dylan Hartley’s kit sale raising money for the Front Mo Union’s Movember campaign, and the Travis Perkins Big Christmas Toy Collection helping to brighten the lives of children in care and in need in Northamptonshire this Christmas.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY NEWCASTLE
Aviva Premiership Round 8
Franklin’s Gardens
Saturday, November 26th, 2013
Kick off 3:15pm
15 Ben FODEN
14 Jamie ELLIOTT
13 James WILSON
12 Luther BURRELL
11 Tom COLLINS
10 Stephen MYLER
9 Lee DICKSON
1 Alex WALLER
2 Mike HAYWOOD
3 Salesi MA’AFU
4 Courtney LAWES
5 Christian DAY
6 Calum CLARK
7 Phil DOWSON (capt)
8 Sam DICKINSON
Replacements
16 Ross MCMILLAN
17 Ethan WALLER
18 Tom MERCEY
19 GJ VAN VELZE
20 Ben NUTLEY
21 Alex DAY
22 Glenn DICKSON
23 Dom WALDOUCK