Preview: Northampton v Harlequins

After the excitement of the Big Game 3, Harlequins turn their attention to Franklin's Gardens and Northampton on Saturday.

After the excitement of the Big Game 3, Harlequins turn their attention to Franklin's Gardens and league leaders Northampton on Saturday.

Victory at Twickenham on Monday over London Irish, in front of 75,000 fans, sees Director of Rugby Conor O'Shea opting to mostly keep the faith.

The only changes to the side which started on Monday are seen in the pack. Tom Guest, having recovered from his injury picked up against Connacht, returns to the back-row alongside Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter, with Will Skinner dropping to the bench. Joe Gray is rested, with Matt Cairns starting in the number two shirt and Chris Brooker coming onto the bench.

Meanwhile, Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has warned of the dangers posed by Harlequins.

A sold-out Gardens will welcome these two as they see in the New Year and Mallinder said the visitors are a good team with threats all over the field.

“Harlequins are in a false position in the league,” Mallinder said.

“They've been very competitive this season and could have won several more games, including our trip to the Stoop in September. It could have gone either way. They had chances and we had chances and we had to hold out and show a lot of character.

“They've got excellent game managers at 8, 9 and 10. Their forwards work hard for each other and they've got good outside backs. They'll certainly take some beating.

“Our Cardiff result showed that we are maturing as a team, but there's still unfinished business. We've done well, we've had a good end to 2010, but we're not halfway through the league programme yet, we've not qualified for the Heineken Cup yet and we're bottom of our LV= Cup pool, even though we haven't lost in it yet.

“There's still a long way to go and we've got to keep working hard.”

Mallinder also praised the attitude of the Saints' players during the recent disruptions for snowy weather.

“The players have got on with the snow and ice, which has been pleasing for us as coaches,” he added.

“Whatever the conditions they know they have a job to do and that they've got to get on with it. The attitude of all the squad has been very good.”

Form: The last six clashes between the two clubs have been evenly split with three wins apiece, however Quins' only win at Franklin's Gardens since 1997 was 28-15 on 17 February 2007. Northampton Saints' impressive eleven game unbeaten run in all competitions continues despite their trip to Gloucester on Boxing Day falling foul of the weather. The Premiership pacesetters are just one point clear of second placed Leicester with two games in hand. Saints have won all eight games they have played at Franklin's Gardens this season.Harlequins have won their last three matches in all competitions. Quins are winless in their last eleven away games in the Premiership since their 30-27 victory at Leeds on 4 December 2009.

The teams:

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 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 John Andress, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Will Skinner, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Tom Casson.

Date: Saturday, January 1
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Referee: Dean Richards