Heineken Cup Pool 1: Northampton Saints VS Scarlets match preview - Rugby News
Northampton Saints are taking on Scarlets in their second clash of the Heineken Cup 2011-12 on November 18, at Franklin's Gardens. The sides have played one match each in the competition in which Scarlets clinched victory whereas Northampton failed after
a close fight. This is a must win game for Northampton in order to qualify for the next stage of the tournament. On the other hand, early triumph in the event has put Scarlets on top of ladder and they are motivated to expand their winning streak.
Northampton Saints played well in their opening game against Munster and dominated their rivals most of the time in match. They had done all the hard work to register inaugurating victory but a last minute three pointer ruined their efforts. Their boss,
Jim Mallinder, expressed his disappointment over the early defeat of his side but praised his men for their brilliant efforts.
Talking to the reporters after the turmoil of his side at the hands of Munster, Mallinder said that his side played extremely well as was expected. The boss further said that the rout has left his side with no other option than to win the upcoming game against
Scarlets.
He further said that, “Games like last Saturday's don't disappear from your mind straight away, but you learn very quickly in this game to move on. You have to move on to the next game, which for us is Friday night's game against the Scarlets." Meanwhile,
Mallinder has maintained his combination to take on Scarlets. The coach said that his latest blend is quite capable of dealing with the Scarlets.
On the other hand, Scarlets has also decided to enter the field with the same team they defeated Casters in opening match. Their head coach, Nigel Davies, revealed his roster a day before the encounter and featured an unchanged side.
Talking about the preparations for Friday’s battle, Davies said that, “We have got some momentum now over the past six games and the players have been playing for the jersey and on Friday night they'll need to show real intensity in their performances and
put everything into the battles they face.”
The Scarlets have a slight advantage over Northampton because of their overall experience. The presence of Matthew Rees and Rhys Thomas makes the side very tough both in forward and back bunches. At the same time Northampton has also got some reliable names
in their squad. They will be largely depending on English striker Chris Ashton, who is very famous or his flying tries. Ben Foden, Tom Wood and Courtney Laws are the other notable men to watch for in the Northampton Saints.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Vas Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan
Hartley, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Steve Myler, 23 George Pisi.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jon Edwards, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Sione Timani, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew
Rees, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Matt Gilbert, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Daniel Evans.
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