A look ahead of Saints v Saracens

With Bristol and Sale playing each other, Saracens have a real chance to burst into the top four with a win. But they need to stamp out the inconsistency that has plagued their season. 

One week, Mark McCall’s side look unstoppable, the next, disappointing. Injuries haven’t helped the squad this season, but after a huge win over the Falcons last time out, there seems to be an air of confidence around the team. 

Nine wins and seven losses this season, including slip-ups against the bottom-two sides, shows that they are good when they are at their best, but it is a matter of reaching that level on a regular basis. 

Saints are gearing up for their Champions Cup final and won’t see a win as essential; however, spoiling the party in their last game of the season at Franklin Gardens could be on the agenda. 

It is also their first home game after their huge win over Leinster, so the crowd will be massively up for it. 

Team Lineups:

Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall (c), 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Litchfield, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Curtis Langdon, 3 Trevor Davison, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 5 Tom Lockett, 6 Alex Coles, 7 Josh Kemeny, 8 Henry Pollock

Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Jake Garside, 23 Tom Seabrook

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl; 1 Eroni Mawi, 2 Jamie George, 3 Marco Riccioni, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Nick Isiekwe, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Tom Willis

Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Theo McFarland, 21 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 22 Charlie Bracken, 23 Angus Hall