All the Best for Saturday

It's stretching a point to say that, whilst Northampton are trickling towards the play-offs, Saracens are surging into the end of season finish, but there seems to be a clear difference in momentum at the moment. Most obviously, there is the respective scorelines which the sides suffered in defeat to Clermont Auvergne, where Saints were comprehensively outplayed, but Saracens, although beaten in the end by a moment of real craft for the game's only try, kept in the game and might have snatched it just like in Paris.

 

The twists and turns in matches against the Saints have been well-documented, and it is Sarries who have the psychological advantage having denied their opponents a home LV= Cup Final with a tight semi win at Allianz Park which ebbed and flowed between the sides. Saints still enjoy a six point lead at the top of the table, but the visitors will not need to be reminded that a win here not only cements a home play-off but could see a push for the summit, not that it always makes a difference. Although there have unsurprisingly been many highlights for the Saints this season, most notably the home and away wins against Bath, and an ability to grind out results when not playing especially well, most notably the home wins against Harlequins and London Irish earlier this year, when they have been poor, they have been very poor, in particular the European clashes with Racing Metro and Clermont Auvergne, where their defence was unlocked with ease and they failed to make an impact in attack at all.

 

That said, they undoubtedly have something to prove. Even in what emerged as a 52-30 home win over Wasps, Saints found themselves trailing 20-8 to the Coventry side, before the visitors had Nathan Hughes sent off and the complexion of the game changed entirely, although it was only a late flurry of points which made the game safe. However, defeats at Clermont and Exeter followed subsquently, showing worrying defencies in the scrum and defence, and lack of composure in attck respectively. Saracens know from last season, though, that the Saints forward power can be immense, and, even with the huge gap left by George North's absence with concussion, there are plenty of assured finishers in a team which thrives when forward dominance is turned into quick ball for an electric backline.

 

With a full-strength line up assured for both sides, given the importance of not only points, but momentum too, the Saints will probably not make many changes from the side which travelled to Exeter last week. In the backs, James Wilson should feature at full back, with Ken Pisi on the right wing, and Jamie Elliott on the left, and a centre partnership of George Pisi and Luther Burrell, completed by a half-back combination of Stephen Myler and Lee Dickson. Into the forwards, and a formidable front row should feature Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley and Gareth Denman, with Samu Manoa and Courtney Lawes at lock, and a back row of Tom Wood, Calum Clark and Tom Dickinson.

 

Buoyed by new long term contracts for Brad Barritt, George Kruis and Owen Farrell, all three should start here, and there may be some changes after a gruelling few weeks. However, Alex Goode should continue at full back, with Chris Ashton and David Strettle on the wings, alongside a centre pairing of Barritt and Marcelo Bosch, and a half back combination of Farrell and de Kock. Looking at the forwards, Mako Vunipola and Petrus du Plessis could feature either side of Schalk Brits, who may be in a position to return, giving Jamie George a break after week upon week of fine displays. Kruis should feature alongside Alistair Hargreaves in the second row, with a back row of Jackson Wray, Jacques Burger and Billy Vunipola completing the picture.

 

Both of Saturday's sides have a mixed run-in, as the Saints host London Welsh after this game, and then travel to Leicester on the last day of the season, whilst Sarries are at home to Exeter and then travel to Welsh on the closing day. Bath are seen as having a slightly easier end to the campaign, and, though they start with London Irish at home, a trip to Harlequins and home tie with Gloucester are unknown quantities. Exeter have to travel to Wasps before their visit to Allianz Park, and finish the campaign at home to Sale, while Leicester, who are fighting the Chiefs for fourth spot, host London Welsh ahead of a match at Wasps and that closing clash with Northampton.

 

stadium:mk has largely been good to Northampton and Saracens, although not always at the same time. Despite this being the Saints' fourth match here, it was Saracens who introduced what is now a Rugby World Cup venue to the sport. With Vicarage Road being unavailable due to Watford featuring in the Football League Championship play-offs, it was up the M1 for Richard Hill's 288th and last game for the club against Bristol on 10 May 2008, in front of over 8,000. Showing that late drama is not a new thing for Sarries, they took an early 15-3 lead through Richard Haughton and Noah Cato, but the visitors fought back to lead 20-18 going into the last minute. Kameli Ratuvou scored a match-winning try, duly converted by debutant fly half Alex Goode.

 

With the capacity of Franklins Gardens short of that required for a Heineken Cup Quarter Final, and dispensation for remaining there turned down, Saints switched this, and their ensuing Semi-Final to Milton Keynes in 2010/2011. The first match brought a 23-13 win over Ulster, watched by over 21,000 before USA Perpignan were the visitors in the semi-final, and a comfortable passage to the Cardiff final, with a 23-7 success, in front of 18,231. With crowds encouraging, and well in excess of the football club based at the same site, the following season, Saints voluntarily opted to move their January pool clash with Munster to the new town, and what resulted was a bizarre 51-36 win for the Irish province, setting up a new ground record which was only broken by the football club's match against Manchester United last year. That was not their last visit, though. Although a home game, in the "globetrotter" season, Saracens switched their home Aviva Premiership match with the Saints, in December 2012, to Buckinghamshire, with Northampton even assuming responsibility for ticket sales. Sarries collected a 17-16 win as Stephen Myler struck the woodwork with a long-range penalty which would have won the game for the "visitors".