Northampton welcome back England duo for Champions Cup final

Club captain George Furbank is set to play for the first time since April after being named at full-back for Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup final vs Bordeaux-Begles in Cardiff on Saturday, while fellow England international Ollie Sleightholme is on the bench.

It is a measure of how highly Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson rates Furbank that he has opted to throw him straight back into the starting line-up despite missing the last five games.

Since breaking his arm against the Bulls in December, Furbank has only made one appearance, against Castres, in the Champions Cup quarter-final. Furbank took a heavy blow to the affected arm after scoring in that match and has been sidelined ever since.

Ollie Sleightholme has been unavailable since undergoing a minor ankle operation in March, but the winger has now proved his fitness and is one of three backs among the replacements. If he comes on, it will be Sleightholme’s first action in black, green and gold since December.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Northampton

20 - 28

Full-time

Bordeaux

All Stats and Data

Fraser Dingwall will lead Saints for their first game at the Principality Stadium since featuring in the competition’s final back in 2011 – that day Northampton ended up runners-up to Leinster, with Dowson the only remaining face at the club from that time across the squad and senior coaching staff.

But having defeated the Dubliners for only the second time in Saints’ history to book their spot in this year’s final three weeks ago, Dowson and his side will be aiming to go one better this time around and lift European rugby’s top trophy for the first time since 2000.

The incoming Furbank starts at fullback for Saints, while in-form wingers James Ramm and Tommy Freeman retain their spots in the back three against Bordeaux. Ramm hasn’t started on the left wing since the home game against Bath back in January.

Dingwall has Rory Hutchinson inside of him in midfield, while Saints select the soon-to-be British and Irish Lions half-back duo of Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith, with the latter having scored some 71 points throughout the competition so far.

Northampton remain consistent in the front row, naming props Emmanuel Iyogun and Trevor Davison there, with Curtis Langdon – who makes his 50th Saints appearance in Cardiff – starting alongside them at hooker.

Locks Temo Mayanavanua and Tom Lockett start in the engine room for Saints against Bordeaux, as Alex Coles remains in the back row alongside Josh Kemeny and No.8 Henry Pollock.

NORTHAMPTON: 15. George Furbank, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Fraser Dingwall (c), 12. Rory Hutchinson, 11. James Ramm, 10. Fin Smith, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Emmanuel Iyogun, 2. Curtis Langdon, 3. Trevor Davison, 4. Temo Mayanavanua, 5. Tom Lockett, 6. Alex Coles, 7. Josh Kemeny, 8. Henry Pollock.
Replacements: 16. Craig Wright, 17. Tarek Haffar, 18. Elliot Millar-Mills, 19. Ed Prowse, 20. Angus Scott-Young, 21. Tom James, 22. Tom Litchfield, 23. Ollie Sleightholme.