Saracens v Saints: Teams
Saracens welcome defending champions Northampton to Vicarage Road in the opening round of the LV=Cup on Sunday.
Last Updated: 05/11/10 2:17pm
Saracens welcome defending champions Northampton to Vicarage Road in the opening round of the LV=Cup on Sunday.
England U20s duo Jamie George and Jackson Wray both start the game for Saracens. George makes his first start for Sarries at hooker while, after a series of impressive displays on loan at Bedford Blues, Wray is given the nod at number eight.
In other news, Hugh Vyvyan captains the side while Andy Saull and Adam Powell also return to the starting XV. Nils Mordt starts at fly-half with Alex Goode reverting to full-back.
On the bench, Ethienne Reynecke, Deon Carstens and Carlos Nieto make up the replacement front-row while Kevin Barrett returns to the matchday squad after England Sevens duty at the Commonwealth Games.
Speaking ahead of the game, Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter said: "Northampton Saints continue to show their strength and quality and their performances in recent weeks have been impressive. Jim Mallinder and Dorian West have built a strong and talented squad and it should be an exciting and hard-fought game.
Saints squad
Meanwhile, Saints boss Jim Mallinder reiterated the importance of the LV= Cup to the continued development of Northampton's squad.
Mallinder and the rest of the Saints coaches used 34 players on their unbeaten route to the 2009/10 LV= Cup title. The Saints boss said 2010/11 will be no different, even though the campaign includes tough trips like this weekend's to Vicarage Road.
"There are plenty of players who have been putting in good performances in the 'A' League and are eager to show what they can do in the first team," he commented.
A number of players will be making their Saints senior debuts on Sunday, including Senior Academy players Jamie Elliott and Ben Nutley. The team will be led by Calum Clark, who skippered England's Under-20s to the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship final.
"We have full confidence in the team that we have selected to get a positive result on Sunday's game," Mallinder added.
"Everyone who has been chosen deserves their opportunity to wear the Saints jersey."
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Nils Mordt, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Jacques Burger, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 Hugh Vyvyan (capt), 3 Richard Skuse, 2 Jamie George, 1 Matt Parr.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 George Kruis, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 James Short.
Northampton: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Paul Diggin, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Matt Cornwell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Ryan Powell, 8 Mark Easter, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 Calum Clark (capt), 5 Dan Sanderson, 4 Mark Sorenson, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Brett Sharman, 1 Regardt Dreyer.
Replacements: 16 Andy Long, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Adam Parkins, 19 Tom Hicks, 20 James Ingle, 21 Stuart Commins, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Charlie Sadler.