Saints name team for Derby Day clash with Leicester Tigers

Northampton Saints welcome local rivals Leicester Tigers to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday (20 April, kick-off: 3.05pm), with Phil Dowson today naming his side for the Derby Day clash. 

Saints have won their last ten matches at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens in all competitions, and return to league action looking to add another victory to their tally and cement their place at the summit of the Gallagher Premiership. 

The men in Black, Green and Gold – who currently sit five points clear at the top of the league table – lost out to tomorrow’s visitors 26-17 in the reverse fixture back in November, with Tigers currently occupying seventh place in the Premiership after 14 rounds of matches. 

Lewis Ludlam leads Saints out on Saturday, with Alex Coles shifting into the back row to join the Northampton skipper and No.8 Juarno Augustus there. 

Alex Moon and Temo Mayanavanua pair up in Saints’ engine room, while Alex Waller and Elliot Millar Mills come into the starting line-up to join in-form hooker Curtis Langdon in the front row. 

George Furbank makes his return to Saints’ starting XV to start at fly-half for the second time this season, partnering Alex Mitchell in Northampton’s half-back berths. 

Meanwhile Fraser Dingwall shifts to inside centre this weekend, with Tom Litchfield selected outside him in the midfield and Tom Seabrook featuring in his first Premiership match since December – the wing lines up alongside George Hendy and James Ramm in Saints’ back three.

There’s plenty of firepower on Northampton’s bench, as the likes of Robbie Smith, Trevor Davison, Sam Graham, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman are all primed to enter the Derby Day action from amongst the replacements on Saturday.

We’re expecting a full house at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday – tickets for the clash between Saints and Tigers are completely SOLD OUT, so please allow plenty of time to get into your seat or place on the Terrace! 

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs LEICESTER TIGERS
Gallagher Premiership, Round 15
Saturday 20 April, 2024
cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 3.05pm

15 James Ramm
14 George Hendy
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Fraser Dingwall
11 Tom Seabrook
10 George Furbank
9 Alex Mitchell

1 Alex Waller
2 Curtis Langdon
3 Elliot Millar Mills
4 Alex Moon
5 Temo Mayanavanua
6 Alex Coles
7 Lewis Ludlam (c)
8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:
16 Robbie Smith
17 Tarek Haffar
18 Trevor Davison
19 Tom Lockett
20 Sam Graham
21 Tom James
22 Fin Smith
23 Tommy Freeman

Not available for selection:
Callum Braley, Paul Hill, Rory Hutchinson, Sam Matavesi (Navy), Burger Odendaal and Tom Pearson.

TIGERS TEAM TO FACES SAINTS:
15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 James Cronin, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Harry Wells, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Finn Carnduff, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Jasper Wiese. 
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Kyle Hatherell, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Mike Brown.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Joe James and Jamie Leahy
No. 4: Peter Allan
TMO: Andrew Jackson