Date: Saturday, April 23
Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Referee: David Rose
INSTANT PLAY THIS LIVE STREAM AT HIGH SPEED (HD Quality)
Northampton Direct
or Jim Mallinder has called on the squad to regain their recent momentum when they travel to the Madejski Stadium on Saturday for a vital Aviva Premiership clash with London Irish.The Round 21 match has taken on plenty of significance, with both the Saints and Exiles both still very much in the hunt for a spot in the play-offs.
The Saints' five-match winning streak came to an end at Kingsholm on Tuesday and Mallinder said that it was important that the team got off to a good start in Reading.
"London Irish have come back into good form recently and it will be a tough game," the Saints boss commented.
"They have been playing well over the past few weeks, especially at home, and we know that we need to be fully focused right from the first whistle.
"We came literally within a couple of inches of getting something out of the game against Gloucester on Tuesday, and all of the players have been determined to go one better at the Madejski Stadium and regain the momentum which we had built up over the past month or so."
Meanwhile, London Irish have made two changes from the side that defeated Sale last Saturday.
Club captain, Clarke Dermody returns to the front row and is joined by South African Faan Rautenbach who will start at loosehead prop. Max Lahiff comes onto the bench.
"The whole squad knows what is at stake on Saturday and they will be going out there to put in a performance to be proud of in front of our loyal supporters," said London Irish head coach Toby Booth.
Form: London Irish have already beaten the Saints at Reading this season: 37-20 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on 30 January Northampton have however won their last four Premiership matches with the Exiles London Irish have won their last three matches in Aviva Premiership Rugby, and have won six in succession at Madejski Stadium in all competitions
The teams:London Irish:15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Tom Homer, 10 Dan Bowden, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 George Stowers, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Bob Casey , 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody (C).
Replacements: 16 James Buckland 17 Max Lahiff 18 Paulica Ion 19 Gary Johnson 20 Richard Thorpe 21 Jonathan Joseph 22 Chris Malone 23 Darren Allinson
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Stuart Commins, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.
