Preview: Northampton v Perpignan

Northampton will meet the only last-four outfit not to have lifted the Heineken Cup trophy, Perpignan, in Sunday's clash at stadium:mk.

Northampton Saints will meet the only last-four outfit not to lift the coveted Heineken Cup trophy, Perpignan, in Sunday's showdown at stadium:mk.

USAP have only once made it to a European final and that was in 2003 when they fell to a 22-17 loss to the been there, seen it, done it, Toulouse.

This year they've somewhat slipped under the radar in their route to the semi-finals, finishing top on points difference to Leicester Tigers before progressing in a hotly-contested quarter-final fixture against Toulon in front of 55,000 fans.

Next on the schedule are the in-form Saints. The 2000 champions have become many people's competition favourites of late, with their blend of power up front and class behind ticking the boxes. Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder will be the first to credit a lot of their success to his tight five. Soane Tonga'uiha, Brian Mujati, Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Christian Day have been superb for Northampton both domestically and in Europe to give their back-row a steady platform to run.

It was of little surprise then that they finished the Pools top of the ranking system and then went on to beat Ulster 23-13 in the last-eight. Northampton and USAP have met recently in Heineken Cup action and shared the honours one-apiece in the Pool stage of the last term's competition. However, the Catalans are struggling for momentum coming into this one following a hammering at the hands of Toulon over in the Top 14 this past weekend.

However, Mallinder is understandably cautious of what the Catalans will throw at them when it comes to kick-off on Sunday despite their failure to make the Top 14 play-offs.

“Perpignan have got to successive French championship finals, winning one of them, and they are used to playing in big occasions. They have plenty of quality players, a big pack and lots of strike runners out wide, and their overall team will take some stopping,” he said after naming his selection.

“We may have played each other last season, but those matches will have no bearing on Sunday's game. It is a semi-final and in knockout rugby it only comes down to who can score more points on the day. Nothing else matters.

“But we have had some good performances and are capable of getting a positive result.”

Mallinder has rolled out his strongest available side for the clash, with England flanker Tom Wood the only absentee from the matchday 22. Veteran wing Bruce Reihana also fails to make the squad as Joe Ansbro is preferred on the bench alongside pivot Shane Geraghty.

Perpignan meanwhile have chosen to bench power runner Henry Tuilagi and instead go for a back-row of Damien Chouly, Bertrand Guiry and Grégory Le Corvec. Quarter-final hero Perry Freshwater gets the one jersey in what should be a cracking front-row match-up.

Those personal battles are going to be critical on Sunday and to the victor will go the prize of running out against either Leinster or Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium on May 21.

Ones to watch:

For Northampton: There is little doubt that Perpignan pride themselves on their forwards and that will mean Saints' pack must be firmly at the races for this one. Courtney Lawes will be making tackle after tackle and Northampton will need his physicality for the 80 minutes.

For Perpignan: So often big games such as this one are won and lost due to the kickers. Jerome Porical has to be on the money on Sunday if Perpignan are to progress to the final in Cardiff. If he is not, the usually solid Stephen Myler will make him pay. Big pressure.

Head-to-head: Both excellent rugby brains, Roger Wilson and Damien Chouly collide in Milton Keynes. Saints eight Wilson will run all day while the versatile Chouly is a real thinker and will probably shift in the second-half when Henry Tuilagi makes his big entrance.

Prediction: Northampton just seem to have more of the stuff that it takes to make it through to the final. Saints by 7!

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 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 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.

Perpignan: 15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 David Marty, 12 Gavin Hume, 11 Julien Candelon, 10 Nicolas Laharrague, 9 David Mele, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bertrand Guiry, 6 Grégory Le Corvec, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Jérôme Schuster, 19 Henry Tuilagi, 20 Kevin Boulogne, 21 Manny Edmonds, 22 Joffrey Michel, 23 Guillaume Vilaceca.

Date: Sunday, May 1
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Venue: stadium:mk
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland). Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Tony Redmond (Ireland)
Timekeeper: Brian Abrahams (England)

By Adam Kyriacou