Preview: Northampton v Stade Français
Northampton have named their line-up for their Champions Cup qualifying final against Stade Français at Franklin's Gardens on Friday.
This is the first time that the two clubs have met in European competition; indeed, the only previous clash between the Saints and Stade was a pre-season friendly in 2002 that ended 33-all.
The stakes are high, with the winner earning a place in the 2017/18 European Rugby Champions Cup.
The Saints coaches have made just the one change to the starting line-up from last Saturday’s win over Connacht, with Tom Wood returning to captain the side from the back-row.
Meanwhile, Stade Français have made several changes to their side for the pivotal clash as Sergio Parisse does not feature.
Djibril Camara, Geoffrey Doumayrou and Jules Plisson come into the backline in place of Meyer Bosman, Sekou Macalou and Morné Steyn.
Up front Zurabi Zhvania comes in for Heinke van der Merwe at loosehead, with Jonathan Ross and Raphael Lakafia replacing Parisse and Matthieu Ugena in the back-row.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Harry Mallinder, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Tom Wood (c), 6 Teimana Harrison, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Rory Hutchinson
Stade Français: 15 Djibril Camara, 14 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jérémy Sinzelle, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jonathan Ross, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Paul Alo Emile, 2 Remi Bonfils, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Mathieu De Giovanni, 20 Sekou Macalou, 21 Clement Daguin, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Meyer Bosman
Date: Friday, May 26
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)