Ospreys v Saints: Teams
Northampton have five of England's World Cup squad in their starting XV for the LV= Cup fixture against the Ospreys.
Last Updated: 21/10/11 4:53pm
Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder wants his team to continue their recent momentum in Saturday's LV= Cup trip to the Ospreys.
The Saints head over the Severn to Bridgend with wins over Exeter Chiefs and Saracens under their belt.
And with the likes of Ben Foden and Chris Ashton being reintroduced into the Saints team - following hot on the heels of Dylan Hartley, Soane Tonga'uiha and Tom Wood last weekend - Mallinder says that there is a lot for the players coming in to live up to.
"The entire squad has played well in the past two games and we have had difficult selection decisions throughout the team," he said.
"The wins over the Chiefs and Saracens have set the standard for the next few weeks, especially in how we have played.
"There is plenty of competition for places and this has driven our standards up. The players are getting used to how each other play and we're beginning to see that on the field.
"But we are not viewing this as the end of the process. It is only the beginning and we have to get better and better with each game, starting on Saturday evening.
Talented
"The Ospreys have shown themselves to be a talented outfit this season, winning all their games in the Pro 12. They may have had a bad result last weekend, but we have been looking at their previous six matches and preparing for that.
"They have got plenty of talented players who will challenge us all over the field, and we will have to be on top form from the first whistle."
Ospreys: 15 Ross Jones, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Ben John, 12 Sonny Parker, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 James King, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Tom Smith, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Cai Griffiths
Replacements: 16 Mefin Davies, 17 Joe Rees, 18 Duncan Jones, 19 Richard Kelly, 20 Chauncey O'Toole, 21 Tom Grabham, 22 Will Price, 23 Barry Davies
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Scott Armstrong, 12 James Downey, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Paul Doran Jones, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Jon Clarke
