Northampton v Saracens: Teams
Northampton have named a host of internationals in their squad to face Saracens in the LV= Cup at Franklin's Gardens.
Last Updated: 14/10/11 4:29pm
Northampton have named a host of internationals in their squad to face Saracens in the LV= Cup at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.
Tonga's Soane Tonga'uiha and Russia's Vasily Artemyev both returned last week and they are joined this time by England trio Tom Wood, Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes.
Of the three, only Wood is thrust straight into the starting XV after his country's premature exit from the World Cup, with Hartley and Lawes both being named among the replacements.
A number of first-team regulars are rested, however, and Tom May has been chosen to captain the side.
"We want to get a good start in the LV= Cup, continue the momentum that we got from the promising performance against Exeter last week, and give players some game time in a Saints shirt for the first time since the end of last season," director of rugby Jim Mallinder said.
Mark McCall has also rested several of his big names, with lock making his first start of the season while prop Deon Carstens and flankers Andy Saull and Justin Melck are also given a chance in the starting XV.
After being sidelined for nearly a year by a knee injury, Fijian centre Kameli Ratuvou returns to a team that will be captained by hooker Jamie George.
Northampton: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 Scott Armstrong, 12 Tom May (c), 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 James Craig, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Soane Tonga'uiha, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Adam Eustace, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Stephen Myler, 23
Cesar Sempere.
Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Duncan Taylor, 10 Nils Mordt, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Justin Melck, 5 Hugh Vyvyan, 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Harry Allen, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Rodd Penney, 23 James Short.