The 23-year-old loosehead prop made his debut in the LV= Cup trip to the Ospreys almost four years to the day before his hundredth appearance, and he lines up in a team that shows several changes from that which won at London Irish last Sunday.
Former Otago duo Glenn Dickson and Rob Verbakel both make their senior bows, as does Senior Academy wing Howard Packman, who follows in the footsteps of his father, Frank, in playing for the Saints first team. Packman comes in for Tom Collins, who picked up a knock in the game at the Madejski Stadium.
Meanwhile there is a first start for scrum-half Ryan Glynn, while half-a-dozen other players make their first starts of the season. There are four more potential debutants on the bench – Senior Academy trio Matt Williams, Alex Day and Sam Olver, and lock Alex Woolford, who is on loan from Moseley for the weekend.
Centre Dom Waldouck wears the captain’s armband for the first time.
There are still tickets remaining for Saturday’s game. Prices start at £10 and can be booked online by CLICKING HERE and following the straightforward instructions!
England’s game against Argentina is being shown on the screens in all the bars at Franklin’s Gardens before the Saints game gets underway.
Saturday’s game will also be preceded by the annual Remembrance ceremony, which will see players and supporters alike pay their respects while wreaths of poppies are laid on the Franklin’s Gardens war memorial.
You can hear Tom Stephenson and Tom Mercey talk about Saturday’s game on the official Saints podcast. This week also sees Ben Foden and Tom Wood look ahead to England’s clash with Argentina, Ben Nutley reflect on the Wanderers’ Aviva ‘A’ League campaign and former Saint Ben Cohen describe what it’s like to be judged on the dance floor. Listen for FREE by CLICKING HERE!
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY GLOUCESTER
LV= Cup Round 1
Franklin’s Gardens
Saturday, November 9th, 2013
Kick off 5:00pm
15 James WILSON
14 Ken PISI
13 Tom STEPHENSON
12 Dom WALDOUCK (capt)
11 Howard PACKMAN
10 Glenn DICKSON
9 Ryan GLYNN
1 Alex WALLER
2 Mike HAYWOOD
3 Tom MERCEY
4 Rob VERBAKEL
6 Ben NUTLEY
7 Teimana HARRISON
8 GJ VAN VELZE
Replacements
16 Ross MCMILLAN
17 Ethan WALLER
18 Gareth DENMAN
19 Alex WOOLFORD
20 Matt WILLIAMS
21 Alex DAY
22 Sam OLVER
23 Vasily ARTEMYEV