Preview: Premiership, Round 16
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Harlequins scrumhalf Karl Dickson believes his side will be up for the fight under the lights at Franklin's Gardens on Friday.
The Saints have been marching on in the Premiership this year – top of the tree having only lost three matches all season and scoring 52 tries.
Quins have not beaten Northampton since their 22-19 victory at the Stoop in May 2013 and have not won at the Gardens since December 2012, so it will be a tough task come Friday.
But Dickson, who will make his 84th Premiership appearance, says there is plenty of mettle left at Quins.
"We will go up there with a game plan. We've played them plenty of times and we've beaten them there before," said Dickson.
"Friday night games are a different kettle of fish and we will just see how we go but we have a plan and if we implement it and play the style of rugby we know we can then hopefully the result will go our way.
"We know Saints are a very physical side and ultimately that is what it will come down to, a battle.
"If we don't front up it will be a very difficult night but that will be the big battle – the physicality up front and in the backs.
"As a team we are always confident regardless of what is going on. We have plenty of belief and we will see what happens this weekend.
"One thing I can promise is that the boys won't just lie down and roll over, we will fight to the end and credit to the boys, that's how we are down here."
The Saints will take confidence in the fact that they have only lost twice since Round Two, to Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks, and will look to stretch their nine-point lead at the Premiership summit.
But despite having not lost in any competition in over a month, since European defeat to Racing Metro, Sam Dickinson will not take Quins' form for granted.
"We beat Quins down at Twickenham but that was a tough old game and they did a job on us with regards to possession, and in defence we know we have to right that," he said.
"We won't be looking at their form going onto the game. We never concentrate on how a team are doing but on how they have been playing – where they like to attack and things like that – so we focus on our own performance and how to deal with them.
"It's always brilliant to play in front of the Gardens, especially on a Friday night where the atmosphere is electric."
All of the Premiership match details:
Friday, February 27
Northampton Saints v Harlequins
(Franklin's Gardens – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Gareth Denman, 2 Mike Hywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Ahsee Tuala.
Harlequins: 15 Ugo Monye, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Karl Dickson,8 Netani Talei, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 George Robson (captain), 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Matt Shields, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Ian Tempest, Gareth Copsey
TMO: Sean Davey
Saturday, February 28
London Welsh v London Irish
(Kassam Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
Teams:
London Welsh: 15 Elliot Kear, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 James Lewis, 12 James Tincknell, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Will Robinson, 9 Rob Lewis, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Ben Pienaar, 5 Matt Corker (captain), 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Jack Gilding, 2 Rob Elloway, 1 Eddie Aholelei.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Taione Vea, 19 James Down, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Alex Davies, 22 Olly Barkley, 23 Nic Reynolds.
London Irish: 15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 James Short, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 David Paice, 1 Matt Parr.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 Tom Court, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Luke Narraway, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Chris Noakes, 23 Eoin Griffin.
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Ross Campbell, Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Sainsbury
Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Vereneki Goneva, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Jordan Crane (captain), 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Laurence Pearce, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Jack Whetton, 21 David Mele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Christian Loamanu.
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Nick Macleod, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Maxim Cobilas, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 Mark Easter, 20 David Seymour, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Tom Brady.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick, Simon McConnell
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Saracens v Newcastle Falcons
(Allianz Park – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil De Kock, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Nick De Jager, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Matt Hankin, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Nils Mordt, 23 Tim Streather.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Gonzalo Tiesi, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Will Welch (captain), 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Mark Irving, 19 Calum Green, 20 Chris York, 21 Ruki Tipuna, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Alex Tuilagi.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Robin Goodliffe
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Exeter Chiefs v Bath
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Matt Jess, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Tom James, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Carl Rimmer.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Brett Sturgess, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Ben White, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Byron McGuigan.
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Sam Burgess, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Ollie Devoto, 9 Micky Young, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Kane Palma-Newport, 3 Kane Palma-Newport, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Alafoti Faosiliva, 20 Matt Garvey, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Luke Arscott.
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Thomas Foley, Paul Burton
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
Sunday, March 1
Teams:
Wasps v Gloucester
(Ricoh Arena – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00)
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 James Downey, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 James Cannon, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan (captain).
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Sharples, 14 Jonny May, 13 Mark Atkinson, 12 Bill Meakes, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 James Hook, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Tom Savage (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 James Hudson, 20 Jacob Rowan, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Gareth Evans.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Roger Baileff
TMO: Trevor Fisher
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