Northampton v Castres teams: Springboks hopeful and England ace among six changes for Fin Smith-less Saints as Henry Pollock shifts position
Fraser Dingwall (right) and JJ van der Mescht (left) are among six changes to the Northampton Saints line-up this weekend.
Northampton Saints have made six changes to their starting XV to face Castres, with Springboks hopeful JJ van der Mescht and England international Fraser Dingwall among them.
Elsewhere, Castres have also named a strong team for the round-of-16 clash at Franklin’s Gardens, with ex-All Black Jack Goodhue the headline name for the French side.
This is another chapter in the growing Investec Champions Cup rivalry between the sides, who will meet for the third time in the space of 12 months.
Northampton Saints make six changes
For Northampton, George Furbank again captains the side from full-back, with Tommy Freeman named alongside James Ramm on the wings. Tom Litchfield continues at outside centre, with the aforementioned Dingwall slotting in at 12 for his first start since for the club since returning from Six Nations duty. French international Anthony Belleau gets the nod at fly-half in place of Fin Smith, who suffered a head knock last weekend against Saracens, while Archie McParland continues at scrum-half.
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In the pack, Callum Chick returns to number eight, which sees Henry Pollock push out to openside flanker in the process. Former Wallaby Josh Kemeny again wears six. Recent Springbok call-up Van der Mescht comes straight into the starting group at lock, joining Tom Lockett in the engine room, while Luke Green, Craig Wright and Danilo Fischetti get the nod in the front-row.
Curtis Langdon again features on the bench as he continues to make his return to full fitness after a lengthy injury layoff, while Cleopas Kundiona replaces the injured Trevor Davison on the bench. Elsewhere, Phil Dowson has named Tom West, Ed Prowse, Chunya Munga, Tom Pearson, Investec Champions Cup debutant Jonny Weimann and Rory Hutchinson on the replacements list.
Jack Goodhue headlines Castres team
Northampton will face a tough test against a Castres side who are much-improved on their travels. Theo Chabouni starts at full-back, with Christian Ambadiang and Vuate Karawalevu named on the wings. Vilimoni Botitu gets the nod at outside centre, joining the aforementioned Goodhue in midfield, while Enzo Herve partners Jeremy Fernandez in the halves.
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Abraham Papalii starts at number eight, with Tyler Ardron and skipper Baptiste Delaporte named on the flanks. Florent Vanverberghe and Guillaume Ducat partner in the second-row, with Nicolas Corato, Teddy Durand-Pradere and Quentin Walcker in the front-row.
Pierre Colonna, Lois Guerois-Galisson, Aurelien Azar, Gauthier Maravat, Baptiste Cope, Veresa Ramototabua, Santiago Arata and Geoffrey Palis are named as the replacements.
Northampton Saints v Castres teams in full
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 James Ramm, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Henry Pollock, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Luke Green, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom West, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Chunya Munga, 21 Tom Pearson, 22 Jonny Weimann, 23 Rory Hutchinson
Castres: 15 Theo Chabouni, 14 Christian Ambadiang, 13 Vilimoni Botitu, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Vuate Karawalevu, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Jeremy Fernandez, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Tyler Ardron, 6 Baptiste Delaporte (c), 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Teddy Durand-Pradere, 1 Quentin Walcker
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Lois Guerois-Galisson, 18 Aurelien Azar, 19 Gauthier Maravat, 20 Baptiste Cope, 21 Veresa Ramototabua, 22 Santiago Arata, 23 Geoffrey Palis
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 20:00 BST/21:00 CEST
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SA), Jonny MacKenzie (Sco)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)
TV: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby / epcrugby.tv