Northampton side stacked with stars in bid to avenge Champions Cup exit

Northampton renew their intense rivalry with Bath at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday night, with a star-studded team looking to avenge their heartbreaking 43-41 Champions Cup quarter-final defeat at The Rec a fortnight ago.

Even with four frontline frowards – Alex Coles, Trevor Davison, Curtis Langdon and Tom Pearson – still absent through injury, and the likes of George Furbank, Edoardo Todaro and James Ramm missing from the backline, Saints have still put out a strong-looking matchday 23.

The PREM leaders have opted to swap Callum Chick for Henry Pollock at No.8, while tight-head Luke Green returns from injury in the only other change to the pack from the one that won at Exeter last weekend.

Tommy Freeman’s inclusion on the right wing is the only alteration to the backline for this first-versus-second clash.

Saints have not been defeated at Franklin’s Gardens in over 12 months, and are looking to complete a season’s league double over their West Country opponents for the first time since the 2021/22 season, having won 41-21 in the first meeting earlier this season.

Meanwhile, have opted to rest several of their key players ahead of next weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux-Begles. Finn Russell and Thomas du Toit, for example, aren’t present in a heavily-rotated 23.

Northampton team:

15 George Hendy
14 Tommy Freeman
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Fraser Dingwall (c)
11 Ollie Sleightholme
10 Fin Smith
9 Alex Mitchell

1 Emmanuel Iyogun
2 Craig Wright
3 Luke Green
4 Tom Lockett
5 Ed Prowse
6 Josh Kemeny
7 Sam Graham
8 Henry Pollock

Replacements:
16 Robbie Smith
17 Danilo Fischetti
18 Cleopas Kundiona
19 JJ Van Der Mescht
20 Chunya Munga
21 Callum Chick
22 Archie McParland
23 Rory Hutchinson