Preview: London Wasps v Northampton
London Wasps coach Dai Young has made one change for Sunday's Aviva Premiership clash with Northampton at Adams Park.
London Wasps coach Dai Young has made just one enforced change for Sunday's Aviva Premiership meeting with Northampton at Adams Park.
Steve Thompson has failed to shake off a knock picked up in the win against Worcester at Sixways so Rob Webber starts in the number two shirt with Tom Lindsay coming onto the bench.
Apart from that, Young has kept faith in the team that earned the last gasp win last time out, as his side go in search of their third win a row in this competition following victories over Bath and Worcester in the previous rounds.
The backline is composed of the familiar back three of Hugo Southwell, Tom Varndell and the Aviva Premiership's top try scorer Christian Wade, with Chris Bell and Riki Flutey in the centres alongside Nick Robinson and Joe Simpson, whose break in the last minutes of the game last weekend helped secure Wasps a two-point win.
Webber joins Tim Payne and Ben Broster in the front-row, with Ross Filipo and Marco Wentzel in the second-row, and Jonathan Poff, Richard Birkett and captain John Hart make up the back-row.
Northampton's first ever victory at Adams Park came last October in the same competition, and Young believes this weekend presents the biggest challenge yet on home soil this season.
“I have a lot of respect for Northampton and they are going to be a huge challenge for us,” said Young.
“They have one of the best scrums in Europe and we are going to be massively tested in that department. They have a very dangerous backline as well who will punish us if we kick poorly so we need to be very accurate.
“We have gathered some momentum in the Premiership with a couple of good wins under our belts in the last two games but nothing is going to come easy on Sunday.
“In saying that, I was very pleased with the character of the team to come through and win in the last few minutes last weekend and anyone who was at Sixways could really see how much it meant to the team. It's important that we show that same fighting spirit and togetherness this weekend,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chris Ashton will make his hundredth appearance for Northampton Saints against Wasps.
Ashton will hit three figures just over four years after he made his debut in the first game of the Saints' season in National League One.
That game, against London Welsh, saw the wing score with his first touch of the ball and since then he has gone on to cross the whitewash 88 times, as well as kick one conversion.
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder said that while Ashton has improved in his time at Franklin's Gardens there was still plenty the winger could do to get better as a player.
“We've seen Chris develop a lot as a rugby union player over the past four years, but there is still plenty for him to learn and his 99 appearances for the Saints represent just about his entire experience in the sport,” Mallinder commented.
“Chris may have scored twice last week but he will have to keep playing at the top of his game to stay in our team, as will every other player. We've got a lot of competition for places and players like Scott Armstrong, Paul Diggin and Jamie Elliott are all eager for Chris's spot in the first team,” he added.
Turning his attention to London Wasps, Mallinder also said that this weekend's game represents a stiff challenge for the Saints.
“Adams Park is a very tough place to play, and although we won there last season it was the first time the Saints had got the points,” he explained.
“Wasps have started the season well and shown they can compete at the top end of the Premiership table. They have also had some excellent results against the likes of Saracens and Worcester.
“Dai Young is an experienced coach and he has got a team which combines experienced players like Hugo Southwell and Nicky Robinson with young talent such as Christian Wade and Joe Simpson.
“We will have to be at our best to get a positive result on Sunday. However there has been a good atmosphere in training this week and everyone is focused on this weekend's game.”
Form: London Wasps have won their last two Aviva Premiership Rugby matches but have not won three in a row in the competition for twelve months. Wasps have won just two of their five home games this season. Northampton Saints have won their last four matches in all competitions but have lost their last four away matches in the Premiership. Northampton have won their last three games against Wasps, including a first ever victory at Adams Park gained last October.
The teams:
London Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Chris Bell, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 John Hart (c), 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Richard Birkett, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Zak Taulafo, 18 Jeremy Castex, 19 Joe Burton, 20 Matt Everard, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Ryan Davis, 23 Chris Mayor.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 Tom May, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 George Pisi.
Date: Sunday, 6 November
Venue: Adams Park, London
Kick-off: 14:15 (13:15 GMT)
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth