Northampton v Quins: Teams
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder says his side should be wary of the threat posed by Harlequins on New Year's Day.
Last Updated: 01/01/11 9:51am
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder says his side should be wary of the threat posed by Harlequins in their New Year's Day clash.
The Saints will be in action for the first time since December 13 after their Boxing Day clash with Gloucester was frozen off.
Despite the absence, they still sit top of the Aviva Premiership table with two games in hand on second-placed Leicester ahead of the clash at Franklin's Gardens.
The hosts make only change to the starting XV from the victory over Cardiff Blues in the Heineken Cup last time out, with Lee Dickson coming in for Ryan Powell at scrum-half.
But despite the Saints boasting an unbeaten run stretching back to September, Mallinder says the league leaders will still have a tough test against seventh-placed Harlequins.
He said: "Harlequins are in a false position in the league. They've been very competitive this season and could have won several more games, including our trip to the Stoop in September.
Chances
"It could have gone either way. They had chances and we had chances and we had to hold out and show a lot of character.
"They've got excellent game managers at 8, 9 and 10. Their forwards work hard for each other and they've got good outside backs. They'll certainly take some beating."
Harlequins will enter the clash buoyed by a 28-18 win over London Irish at Twickenham on Monday.
Director of rugby Conor O'Shea makes no changes to his back division but there is a slight reshuffle in the pack, including the return of Tom Guest.
The flanker returns to the back row after recovering from a back injury he picked up against Connacht in the Amlin Challenge Cup, while Will Skinner drops to the bench.
Hooker Joe Gray is given a rest, with Matt Cairns taking over the No.2 shirt and Chris Brooker coming into the replacements.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 John Andress, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Will Skinner, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Tom Casson.