Leicester v Northampton: Teams
Leicester have been buoyed by the return of England scrum-half Ben Youngs for Saturday's derby against Northampton.
Last Updated: 02/12/11 4:40pm
Leicester have been buoyed by the return of England scrum-half Ben Youngs for Saturday's Aviva Premiership derby against Northampton.
A knee injury has so far limited Youngs to bench duty over the past two weeks but he has been passed fit to make his first start of the season.
Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill has also made a couple of changes to his back-row with Steve Mafi and Julian Salvi replacing Tom Croft and Ben Woods.
"It's great to see Ben Youngs back on the field. He's a world-class player and has looked sharp in his work over the last few weeks. Sam Harrison has had a run in the team and has done a really good job too," said Cockerill.
"Crofty took a bit of a knock at Gloucester so we've kept him out. It's nothing serious but Steve Mafi has been in good form too and he brings his own strengths to that position."
Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has made four changes for the encounter.
Tom May and Jamie Elliott come into the back division, with Phil Dowson and Brian Mujati added to the pack.
And despite a thumping win over Saracens last time out, Mallinder knows it will not be easy against the resurgent Tigers.
"Going to Leicester is always tough," he said. "Since the end of the World Cup they have been playing some good rugby and have got back in the winning habit.
"There are two evenly matched teams and every little competition around the pitch will matter. There will be a lot of passion in the stands - there always is for an East Midlands derby - so for us it's about concentrating on the rugby and getting things right on the field.
"But we are making the trip in a positive frame of mind after a good week of training and a solid performance last weekend. It's all about putting in another performance like that and this is what we've been concentrating on this week."
Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (capt), 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 George Skivington, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Ben Woods, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Scott Hamilton.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom May, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Jon Clarke.
