Plenty of experienced faces on show as Saints travel to Tigers for Monday night meeting

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Callum Braley will skipper Saints when they travel to Leicester Tigers for the first of their ‘Derby Day Double’ clashes.

The black, green and gold head to Mattioli Woods Welford Road tonight for a match that kicks off at 7pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And there are plenty of experienced faces involved for Phil Dowson's men, with the likes of Braley, Mike Haywood, Alex Coles, Angus Scott-Young, James Grayson and Courtnall Skosan all in the starting 15.

Braley captains Saints, having also led the side during the Premiership Rugby Cup campaign this season. Grayson will start outside him at fly-half.

Frankie Sleightholme and Callum Braley will start for Saints at LeicesterFrankie Sleightholme and Callum Braley will start for Saints at Leicester
Frankie Sleightholme and Callum Braley will start for Saints at Leicester

The backline is dominated by Saints Academy players, with Toby Thame and Tom Litchfield lining up in the centres, while George Hendy is selected at full-back and Frankie Sleightholme gets an opportunity on the wing, opposite Skosan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the pack, Haywood returns from the concussion he sustained during the league win at Leicester back in January, with props Ed Prowse and Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi either side of him in the front row.

Coles, who came off the bench in the Gallagher Premiership success against Saracens on Saturday, will get some minutes in his legs in the engine room alongside Academy player Emeka Atuanya.

Karl Wilkins, Craig Wright and No.8 Scott-Young complete the line-up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Among the replacements for Saints, the likes of Tom James, Jake Garside, Tom Lockett and Brandon Nansen will hope to make an impact off the bench.

And there is also room for four guest players from Bedford Blues, with Lewis Holsey, Osman Dimen, Alex Woolford and Charles Rylands named on the bench.

Former Saints prop Francois van Wyk will skipper Tigers.

Nic Dolly will play his first game of the 2022/23 season, starting at hooker alongside van Wyk and Will Hurd in the front row.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lewis Chessum and Rob Carmichael are the second-row pairing, while fellow England-U20s forward Finn Carnduff is at blindside flanker.

Carnduff is joined in the back row by Emeka Ilione and Sean Jansen.

Sam Edwards and Charlie Atkinson are the starting half-backs, with Joe Woodward and Phil Cokanasiga the centres.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Harry Simmons, Joe Browning and Kini Murimurivalu are the starting back three.

On an extended bench, including five forwards and four backs, are front rowers Archie Vanes, Dan Richardson, Tim Hoyt and fellow forwards Joshua Manz and Simon Koroyiadi.

Meanwhile, the replacements backs are Sam Wolstenholme, Morgan Meredith, Hosea Saumaki and Jacob Cusick.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Leicester Tigers: Murimurivalu; Browning, Cokanasiga, Woodward, Simmons; Atkinson, Edwards; van Wyk (c), Dolly, Hurd; L Chessum, Carmichael; Carnduff, Ilione, Jansen.

Replacements: Vanes, Richardson, Hoyt, Manz, Koroiyadi, Wolstenholme, Meredith, Saumaki, Cusick.

Saints: Hendy; F Sleightholme, Litchfield, Thame, Skosan; J Grayson, Braley (c); Hobbs-Awoyemi, Haywood, Prowse; Coles, Atuanya; Wilkins, Wright, Scott-Young.

Replacements: Burns, Holsey, Dimen, Woolford, Nansen, Lockett, Rylands, Garside, James, Arden, Kean.