Saints v Perpignan: Teams
Northampton will meet the only last-four outfit not to have lifted the Heineken Cup, Perpignan, in Sunday's clash at stadium:mk.
Last Updated: 29/04/11 2:07pm
Northampton Saints will meet the only last-four outfit not to lift the coveted Heineken trophy, Perpignan, in Sunday's showdown at stadium:mk.
USAP have only once made it to a European final and that was in 2003 when they fell to a 22-17 loss to the been there, seen it, done it, Toulouse.
This year they've somewhat slipped under the radar in their route to the semi-finals, finishing top on points difference to Leicester before progressing in a hotly-contested quarter-final fixture against Toulon in front of 55,000.
Next on the schedule are the in-form Saints. The 2000 champions have become many people's competition favourites of late, with their blend of power up front and class behind ticking the boxes.
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder will be the first to credit a lot of their success to his tight five. Soane Tonga'uiha, Brian Mujati, Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Christian Day have been superb for Northampton both domestically and in Europe to give their back-row a steady platform to run.
Little surprise
It was of little surprise then that they finished the Pools top of the ranking system and then went on to beat Ulster 23-13 in the last-eight.
Northampton and USAP have met recently in Heineken Cup action and shared the honours one-apiece in the Pool stage of the last term's competition.
However, the Catalans are struggling for momentum coming into this one following a hammering at the hands of Toulon over in the Top 14 this past weekend.
They have opted to name No.8 Henry Tuilagi on the bench, meaning Damien Chouly, Bertrand Guiry and Gregory Le Corvec start in the back row.
Former England international Perry Freshwater starts in the front row - an area that could decide who comes out on top in the mouthwatering clash.
The two teams are no strangers to each other having faced off in Europe last year; Northampton won the home tie but lost at Stade Aime Giral in last season's pool stage.
"We are lucky we played them in the Heineken Cup last year so we know what they are capable of. We tasted defeat at their place but also victory at ours so we know what it takes to beat them," full-back Ben Foden said.
"It is going to be a very physical game at the weekend. Hopefully the rain will stay off the pitch - which is in really good condition here at Milton Keynes - and we will throw the ball around and play some really flowing rugby."
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Stuart Commins, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro
Perpignan: 15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 David Marty, 12 Gavin Hume, 11 Julien Candelon, 10 Nicolas Laharrague, 9 David Mele, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bertrand Guiry, 6 Grégory Le Corvec, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Jérôme Schuster, 19 Henry Tuilagi, 20 Kevin Boulogne, 21 Manny Edmonds, 22 Joffrey Michel, 23 Guillaume Vilaceca.
