Head coach Wayne Smith has made two changes to the side which beat Newcastle Falcons last weekend as the Saints look forward to a visit to their old East Midlands rivals, Leicester Tigers.
The last time Saints visited Welford Road they became the first side in five years to win a league game there. This time the Tigers face an unprecedented fourth successive league defeat while Saints aim to win a second consecutive away win at Leicester for only the third time in the club’s history, and the first time for exactly 30 years.
Former England wing Jon Sleightholme brings experience to the wing in the place of 19-year-old John Clarke, while All Black scrum half Mark Robinson gets the start in the number nine jersey ahead of Johnny Howard.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS15 NICK BEAL14 JON SLEIGHTHOLME13 Mark Tucker12 JOHN LESLIE11 BRUCE REIHANA10 Shane Drahm9 MARK ROBINSON1 Brett Sturgess2 Dan Richmond3 Chris Budgen4 Matt Lord5 Rob Hunter6 MARK CONNORS7 Darren Fox8 ANDREW BLOWERS
REPLACEMENTS16 Matt Miles17 Jon Golding18 Jon Phillips19 Grant Seely20 Johnny Howard21 James Brooks22 Chris Hyndman
CAPS indicates international
ENDS