Northampton v Toulon: Teams
Northampton hand England new-boy Ben Foden a start at scrum-half for the visit of Toulon.
Last Updated: 23/01/09 2:54pm
Northampton hand England new-boy Ben Foden a start at scrum-half for the visit of Toulon.
Foden has been in outstanding form at full-back recently, however he remains determined to make the No.9 shirt his own - starting against the big-spending French giants.
Foden's move to scrum-half opens the door for captain Bruce Reihana to come back into the starting XV at full-back having recovered from injury.
Talented winger Chris Ashton also returns from injury.
Toulon have opted to send a weakened side to England, having already been eliminated from the competition.
There is a rare start, though, for South African hooker Tiaan Liebenberg after missing a large part of the season through a broken hand.
Northampton: 15 Bruce Reihana (c), 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Ben Foden, 8 Mark Easter, 7 Scott Gray, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Paul Shields, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Tom Smith, 18 Alex Rae, 19 Mark Hopley, 20 Alan Dickens, 21 Barry Everitt, 22 Chris Mayor.
Toulon: 15 Luke Rooney, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 12 Mafileo Kefu, 11 Clement Imbert, 10 Damien Vidal, 9 Matt Henjak, 8 Sisaro Koyamaibole, 7 Thomas Sourice, 6 Olivier Missoup, 5 César Delarue, 4 Esteban Lozada, 3 Alessio Galasso, 2 Christiaan Liebenberg, 1 Benjamin Basteres.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Nicolas Agnesi, 18 Soane Toevalu, 19 Fotunuupule Auelua, 20 Orene Ai'i, 21 Tusiata Pisi, 22 Anthony Giacobazzi.