Director of Rugby Phil Dowson has made six changes to his starting XV this weekend, as Northampton Saints travel to Twickenham Stoop to face Harlequins on Friday evening (kick-off 7.45pm).
The men in Black, Green and Gold enter the crucial Gallagher Premiership clash off the back of a thrilling 34-32 European victory over Munster last time out, needing to maintain their momentum to climb the domestic standings.
Josh Kemeny will skipper Saints for the second time in three weeks, with the flanker starting in an unchanged back row alongside Tom Pearson and No.8 Juarno Augustus.
Fiji international Temo Mayanavanua recovers from an injury sustained against Bath earlier this month to start in the second row, and is joined in the engine room by Tom Lockett – who earns his third consecutive start for Northampton.
Up front, Saints’ props remain unchanged with Trevor Davison and Tarek Haffar packing down at tighthead and loosehead respectively, while Henry Walker comes into the starting line-up at hooker to make his third start in Black, Green and Gold.
Northampton’s backline has been reshuffled with a number of players on international duty this week, but Tom Seabrook stays on the wing following a sensational hat-trick and man-of-the-match display against Munster.
The only two other survivors from that match, Rory Hutchinson and James Ramm, remain at inside centre and fullback respectively this weekend.
That means Archie McParland and George Makepeace-Cubitt partner up in the half-back berths for Saints for the first time since November, having delivered three Premiership Rugby Cup wins over Leicester Tigers, Nottingham and Coventry. The duo also featured together in four of England Under-20s’ victories in last season’s Six Nations Championship.
In the midfield, Northampton call Charlie Savala into the centres alongside Hutchinson, while Tom Litchfield completes the starting line-up on the wing.
Dowson opts once again for a six-two split amongst the replacements, with the likes of Tom James, Angus Scott-Young, and Callum Hunter-Hill all hoping to make an impact from the bench, while 19-year-old wing Will Glister is set for his first Gallagher Premiership appearance should he enter the action.
HARLEQUINS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Gallagher Premiership, Round 11
Friday 24 January, 2025
Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 7.45pm
15 James Ramm
14 Tom Litchfield
13 Charlie Savala
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Tom Seabrook
10 George Makepeace-Cubitt
9 Archie McParland
1 Tarek Haffar
2 Henry Walker
3 Trevor Davison
4 Temo Mayanavanua
5 Tom Lockett
6 Josh Kemeny (c)
7 Tom Pearson
8 Juarno Augustus
Replacements:
16 Craig Wright
17 Tom West
18 Luke Green
19 Ed Prowse
20 Callum Hunter-Hill
21 Angus Scott-Young
22 Tom James
23 Will Glister
Not available for selection:
Emeka Atuanya, Alex Coles, George Furbank, Sam Graham, George Hendy, Emmanuel Iyogun, Chunya Munga, Burger Odendaal, Toby Thame, and Robbie Smith.
International duty:
Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock, Ollie Sleightholme, and Fin Smith (all England)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Calum Howard and Simon Harding
No.4: Matthew Carley
TMO: Dean Richards
