Northampton v Castres: Teams

England duo Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley return to the Northampton line-up for the visit of Castres to Franklin's Gardens.

The Saints also welcome back Brian Mujati and Tom Wood to the side, with director of rugby Jim Mallinder relishing the start of this season's Heineken Cup.

"Playing in Europe gives you the opportunity to come up against new sides, and this is what we will be doing when we play Castres tomorrow night," said Mallinder.

"It has given the players something new to focus on, as Castres will pose us different problems to what we have faced in the Premiership so far.

"They have beaten some big teams like Toulouse this season, and their coaches have put together a very strong outfit. They have some big ball carriers in the back row and a fast back line that likes to move the ball.

"We have been working hard on every aspect of our game this week, and everyone in the squad has put in the effort to try and get selection in the team. The Heineken Cup is a great competition that all the players want to play in."

Castres have opted to name international trio Marc Andreu, Benjamin Kayser and Seremaia Bai on the bench for the trip.

Castres have named a largely second string XV for the match, although Sébastien Tillous-Borde and Chris Masoe offer plenty of experience for the Top 14 strugglers.

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Shane Geraghty, 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 Euan Murray, 19 Calum Clark, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Joe Ansbro.

Castres: 15 Pierre Bernard, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Pierre-Manuel Garcia, 12 Romain Cabannes, 11 Vincent Inigo, 10 Cameron McIntyre, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Yannick Caballero, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Scott Murray, 3 Daniel Saayman, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Michaël Coetzee, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Matthias Rolland, 20 Jannie Bornman, 21 Thomas Sanchou, 22 Seremaia Bai, 23 Marc Andreu.