London Irish v Northampton Saints: Tom Vickers' big match preview

Competition: Premiership Rugby Cup (semi-final)

Venue: Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford

Date and kick-off time: Friday, February 10, 2023, 7.45pm

Weather forecast: 7c, mostly cloudy

Live television coverage: BT Sport 3

Referee: Sara Cox

London Irish: Loader; Cinti, Williams, Jennings, Dykes; Atkins, Englefield; Gigena, Ruiz, Chawatama; Caulfield, Munga; Cooke (c), Basham, Fa’aso’o.

Replacements: Cornish, Haffar, Parker, Scragg, Donnell, O’Sullivan, Poolman, Stokes.

Saints: Collins; O Sleightholme, Hutchinson, Litchfield, Skosan; J Grayson, Braley (c); E Waller, Cruse, Petch; Nansen, Coles; Wilkins, Hinkley, Graham.

Replacements: Burns, Hobbs-Awoyemi, Painter, Lockett, Sylvester, James, J Matavesi, Hendy.

Not considered for Saints selection: Fraser Dingwall, James Fish, Joseph Gaffan, Mike Haywood, Emmanuel Iyogun, Sam Matavesi, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.

On international duty: Tommy Freeman, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Alex Mitchell, David Ribbans, Fin Smith.

Most recent meeting: Tuesday, September 27, 2022: London Irish 28 Saints 26 (Premiership Rugby Cup pool stages)

Tom’s preview: On Friday night, Saints go back to where it all began for them in this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup.

In September, they made the journey down to the Gtech Community Stadium, and the signs were good after the game kicked off.

London Irish could barely get out of their own half as a Saints side containing the likes of David Ribbans and James Ramm took control.

The black, green and gold built a 19-0 lead by the break, and it could have been even better than that.

It seemed Saints were well on their way to victory, but they opted to withdraw key men at half-time to give some talented youngsters their chance on the senior stage.

Eventually Irish got a foothold in the game, so much so that when Saints let the ball slip in the final seconds, the hosts pounced to secure a penalty try that completed a remarkable comeback.

Had Saints got over the line in that pool-stage opener, they would have been hosting a semi-final this weekend.

As it is, they know they will have to do it the hard way if they want to win the Premiership Rugby Cup for the first time since 2019.

They will have to go on the road against Irish on Friday night and, should they win, they would travel to Exeter Chiefs or Sale Sharks for the final next month.

It is a tough ask, but one that this group of Saints players will relish.

The coaches have kept faith with many of the squad members who got them to this position in the cup, allowing them to simultaneously rest some key men for another crucial run of league games in the weeks to come.

It is a shrewd move, and whatever the outcome this week, it will be good experience for this Saints group to play in another knockout game.

They will fancy their chances as their squad showed it could step up when winning at Leicester Tigers last time out.

And how the black, green and gold would love to maintain that momentum this week.

There is no more European rugby action for Saints this season so they only have two trophies to play for.

And you can bet they will be doing everything they can to avoid that becoming just a single piece of silverware come the end of Friday night’s game.

They have already showed they can dominate at the Gtech Community Stadium this season, and they secured a comfortable win there in the league during the previous campaign.

So it is a ground that holds no fear, simply excitement. And these Saints players will be full of that as they bid to book a final spot while claiming a little slice of revenge in the process.

Tom’s prediction: Saints have named a nice blend of youth and experience for this game and I’m backing them to secure a place in the showpiece. London Irish 28 Saints 37.