Gloucester v Northampton: Teams
Gloucester will have a host of players back in contention for Saturday's Aviva Premiership clash with Northampton Saints at Kingsholm.
Last Updated: 10/02/12 2:05pm
Gloucester will have a host of players back in contention for Saturday's Aviva Premiership clash with Northampton Saints at Kingsholm.
The Cherry and Whites - back on home soil in the league for the first time since demolished Wasps on Boxing Day - welcome back quartet Freddie Burns, Rupert Harden, Jonny May and Nick Wood from England Saxons duty.
Also back in the fold after being released England and Scotland respectively are Charlie Sharples and Rory Lawson.
As a consequence, delighted Gloucester head coach Brian Redpath has plenty of options at his disposal for Saturday's clash with the Saints.
"Numbers have been pretty bare this past couple of weeks and it's good to have the boys back," said Redpath.
"I think it's going to be a very tough game - Northampton lost to Bath recently and then went out and beat Wasps by 50.
"You've got to respect what they are, they are a very good side. They're very big and physical but have added a bit of flair with the likes of Lamb and Pisi."
Improved performance
For his part, Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder says Saints will need to step up their performance levels from the win over Wasps despite putting 57 points on the Londoners last time out.
"Gloucester have shown their quality in their recent home matches, especially against Toulouse a few weeks ago," said Mallinder.
"They have a pack that can produce good ball and a set of backs that can pose plenty of problems if they get on the front foot. The Kingsholm crowd can also be a factor and the supporters really get behind their team if they start scoring points.
"We had a boost last week when we got the result we wanted to get into the LV= Cup semi-finals, but we will have to step up from that performance if we want to come home from Gloucester with a positive result."
Gloucester: 15 Jonny May, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Matt Cox 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Peter Buxton (c), 5 Alex Brown, 4 Will James, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Nick Wood
Replacements: 16 Matias Cortese, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Rob Langley, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Ryan Mills, 23 Tim Molenaar
Northampton Saints: 15 Paul Diggin, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 James Downey, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lambe, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Calum Clark (capt), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Andy Long, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Ryan Glynn, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Tom May
