Northampton Saints travel to Bath Rugby for the last round of the regular Gallagher Premiership season on Saturday (18 May, kick-off: 3.05pm), with Lewis Ludlam, Rory Hutchinson and Burger Odendaal all returning from injury for the clash.
Saints secured a first home semi-final in the Gallagher Premiership since 2015 last weekend, defeating Gloucester in a record-breaking 90-0 clash at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to secure their spot in the league’s top two.
Northampton have lost only one of their last five encounters with Bath in the league and require just two points from their Round 18 match to guarantee a top-of-the-table finish to the regular season.
Angus Scott-Young and Ollie Sleightholme are the two remaining faces from Saints’ starting XV that faced Gloucester last weekend, starting their 12th and 15th matches of the season at the Recreation Ground.
Emmanuel Iyogun, Sam Matavesi and Elliot Millar Mills form the front row for Northampton on Saturday, with Temo Mayanavanua and Tom Lockett manning Saints’ engine room behind them.
Scott-Young stays on in the back row in Bath, shifting to blindside flanker to allow Ludlam to take up his spot and lead the side at the Rec, while Sam Graham completes the pack at No.8.
Hutchinson also makes his return from injury to start at fly-half on Saturday, the first time the 28-year-old has started a match in the No.10 shirt for Saints.
Scrum-half Tom James – fresh from scoring a try-of-the-season contender against Gloucester – starts alongside Hutchinson in the half-back berths, while returning Odendaal and Tom Litchfield partner in Saints’ midfield together for the first time since January.
Last week’s hat-trick scorer Sleightholme is joined by Tom Seabrook on the wings on Saturday, with James Ramm starting at fullback for the sixth time this season to round off the starting line-up.
And there’s a welcome return among Saints’ replacements as Tom Pearson is set to enter the action at the Rec, with Tarek Haffar, Paul Hill, Chunya Munga, Archie McParland and Charlie Savala also among those named on the bench for Northampton.
BATH RUGBY vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Gallagher Premiership, Round 18
Saturday 18 May, 2024
Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 3.05pm
15 James Ramm
14 Tom Seabrook
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Burger Odendaal
11 Ollie Sleightholme
10 Rory Hutchinson
9 Tom James
1 Emmanuel Iyogun
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Elliot Millar Mills
4 Temo Mayanavanua
5 Tom Lockett
6 Angus Scott-Young
7 Lewis Ludlam (c)
8 Sam Graham
Replacements:
16 Robbie Smith
17 Tarek Haffar
18 Paul Hill
19 Chunya Munga
20 Tom Pearson
21 Archie McParland
22 Charlie Savala
23 Toby Thame
BATH TEAM TO FACE SAINTS:
15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c); 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Josh Bayliss.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Alfie Barbeary, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Miles Reid.
Not available for selection:
Callum Braley.
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe and Andrew Jackson
No. 4: Jamie Leahy
TMO: Ian Tempest
