This week sees only one change to last week’s starting XV and therefore one change to the bench also.

Mike Brown starts at full back alongside Tom Williams and Sam Smith on the wings. Jordan Turner-Hall and George Lowe continue in the centre outside Nick Evans and Karl Dickson. Dickson comes into the starting line up in place of Danny Care who hasn’t recovered from an injury picked up against Sale Sharks last weekend.

The forward pack is unchanged with Joe Marler, Joe Gray and James Johnston in the front row. Olly Kohn and George Robson start in the second row. Maurie Fa’asavalu, Nick Easter and captain Chris Robshaw complete the forwards in the back-row.

The replacements see Rob Buchanan, Mark Lambert, Will Collier, Tomas Vallejos and Tom Guest covering the forward pack. Richard Bolt comes onto the bench alongside Rory Clegg and Matt Hopper who cover the remaining backs.  

15. Mike Brown
14. Tom Williams
13. George Lowe
12. Jordan Turner-Hall
11. Sam Smith
10. Nick Evans
9. Karl Dickson
1. Joe Marler
2. Joe Gray
3. James Johnston
4. Olly Kohn
5. George Robson
6. Maurie Fa’asavalu
7. Chris Robshaw (c)
8. Nick Easter
16. Rob Buchanan
17. Mark Lambert
18. Will Collier
19. Tomas Vallejos
20. Tom Guest
21. Richard Bolt
22. Rory Clegg
23. Matt Hopper

ROUND 21 FIXTURES

Friday 20th April

• Newcastle Falcons v Saracens (Kingston Park 7.45pm)  Live on ESPN

Saturday 21st April

• Bath Rugby v London Wasps (Recreation Ground, 2.15pm)
• Gloucester Rugby v Sale Sharks (Kingsholm, 3pm) 
• Worcester Warriors v London Irish (Sixways, 3pm)
• Harlequins v Leicester Tigers (Twickenham Stoop, 3.15pm)   Live on Sky Sports

Sunday 22nd April

• Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints (Sandy Park, 2pm)  Live on ESPN

Highlights show on ITV4 8pm Sunday evenings.

Newcastle Falcons v Saracens

Newcastle Falcons have now won back-to-back Aviva Premiership Rugby matches against Sale and Gloucester, but have not won three in succession in the competition since November 2009.

Saracens were victorious at London Irish on Saturday but slipped to 3rd place in the table – their lowest position since round three. Sarries only defeat in their last eight away games in all competitions was 11-16 at Worcester on 24 February. The reigning champions need just three more points to guarantee a semi-final spot for a third successive year.

Saracens have won their last six encounters with Newcastle in all competitions, with the Falcons most recent victory in the series being 13-9 at Kingston Park in February 2009.

Bath Rugby v London Wasps

Bath Rugby have slipped to four straight reversals in all competitions since beating Worcester at The Rec on 3 March. Bath have lost three of their last four home games.

London Wasps’ only win in their last four matches was 26-24 at home to Gloucester in Aviva Premiership Rugby on 1 April. Wasps only away victory since November was 32-11 at Rovigo in the European Challenge Cup on 14 January.

Wasps won 27-24 when the two teams met at Adams Park in round six, but have not achieved a season’s double over Bath since 2007/08. The Londoners have won on their last two visits to The Rec.

Gloucester Rugby v Sale Sharks

Gloucester Rugby have slipped to four consecutive reversals in Aviva Premiership Rugby but have not lost five in a row in the Premiership since early 2001. Gloucester have not lost three in a row at Kingsholm since April 2005.

Sale Sharks ended a three match losing run with their 16-9 victory at home to Bath on Friday. The Sharks’ solo away win in the Premiership since September was 16-13 at Bath on 3 December.

The last nineteen encounters between the two clubs in all competitions have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Sale have not been victorious at Kingsholm since a 19-18 victory on 26 August 2000.

Worcester Warriors v London Irish

Worcester Warriors only win in their last four games was 19-9 at home to Newcastle on 23 March.

The Warriors’ five match winning run at Sixways in all competitions ended at the hands of Exeter on Saturday.

London Irish have slipped to seven straight defeats in Aviva Premiership Rugby – their worst ever sequence in Premiership history. The Exiles have won just once on the road this season in the tournament: 14-13 at Northampton in round three.

The Warriors are winless in their last ten Premiership encounters against London Irish since their 20-15 victory at Madejski Stadium on 11 September 2005.

Harlequins v Leicester Tigers 

Harlequins have already qualified for the semi-finals, and if they prevent Tigers winning this game it will be at home, whilst their only reversal in their last seven Aviva Premiership Rugby matches was 23-29 at Gloucester in round 16.

Leicester Tigers have picked up maximum points from their last five Premiership matches and require just two further league points to reach the playoffs for the eighth successive season. Tigers have suffered just one defeat to an English side since Harlequins visited Welford Road on 8 October.

Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints

Exeter Chiefs have won six of their last seven matches in Aviva Premiership Rugby including four victories in a row, whilst victory over Saints would guarantee them a first ever semi-final spot.

Northampton Saints have won just two of their last five away games in all competitions and must prevent the Chiefs winning this game if they are to keep their own hopes of a playoff spot alive.

Exeter’s only competitive victory over Northampton came in this equivalent fixture at Sandy Park last season.

“All the players did well at the weekend and got a lot of game time, which was what everyone wanted, and we are looking forward to seeing them play again in what should be two great LV= Cup semi-finals," said England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster.

Further players will be released after training tomorrow.

LV= Cup semi-finals
Friday, March 9: Bath Rugby v Leicester Tigers, Recreation Ground, 7.30pm
Sunday, March 11: Northampton Saints v Scarlets, Franklin’s Gardens, 1pm

In team news ahead of the game, Saracens include England returnees Charlie Hodgson and Matt Stevens in their 23 with Hodgson starting the match and Stevens on the bench.

Steve Borthwick also returns from injury to lead the side and other changes see Duncan Taylor, James Short, Rhys Gill and Justin Melck come into the starting XV. Peter Stringer starts at scrum half in what will be his final Saracens appearance before his loan spell ends.

Joining Stevens on the replacement’s bench are John Smit, Hugh Vyvyan, Jackson Wray, Joel Tomkins and Neil de Kock who all started last weekend.

Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall said: “We have played some good rugby in our past two matches and although we have come up just short in both games, there have been some very good performances from a number of players. We have enjoyed an excellent week of preparation and are really looking forward to the game against a very strong Northampton Saints side.”

Saracens line-up vs Northampton Saints

15 Alex Goode
14 Duncan Taylor
13 Chris Wyles
12 Adam Powell
11 James Short
10 Charlie Hodgson
9 Peter Stringer
1 Rhys Gill
2 Schalk Brits
3 Carlos Nieto
4 Steve Borthwick ©
5 George Kruis
6 Justin Melck
7 Andy Saull
8 Ernst Joubert

16 Jamie George
17 John Smit
18 Matt Stevens
19 Hugh Vyvyan
20 Jackson Wray
21 Neil de Kock
22 Joel Tomkins
23 Joe Maddock

Five hundred thousand shares in Northampton Saints plc, which are currently held in trust on behalf of the membership as of February 12th, 1996, will now be made available for general sale, with all proceeds being contributed towards the costs of the development of the new North Stand at Franklin’s Gardens.

In 1996 former chairman Keith Barwell invested £1 million into Northampton RFC to ensure the club’s viability going into the professional era. This represented two thirds of the club as it existed then; the other third was converted into a shareholding on behalf of the club’s membership at the time.

The share issue in 2000 saw the old members’ 500,000 shares converted into 500,000 shares in Northampton Saints plc, which remained under the control of the Trustees. This represented approximately five percent of the overall company.

Although the old members’ club committee has continued to meet in the intervening years, its decision-making powers have been superseded by the board of directors of Northampton Saints plc.

Following the decision that the members’ club as it stood is to be formally dissolved, the membership last night ratified the proposition to release the shares for public sale for investment into the Saints’ facilities.

Northampton Saints chairman Leon Barwell today thanked the membership for their show of support for the continued development of the club.

“Keith Barwell’s original decision to give the members’ club ownership of a large number of shares reflected the important role the members had played in making Northampton Saints one of the biggest clubs in the country,” he said. “So we are very grateful to the members, who put their trust in Keith so many years ago, for continuing to support the club and our plans to keep Franklin’s Gardens as the best rugby stadium in the country.”

Further details regarding the sale of the shares, including price, any minimum purchase, how they can be bought and timescale, will be made as soon as the Trustees of the old members’ club have received the necessary advice.

Lawes will remain at Northampton Saints for the time being and will be treated by the club in consultation with the England medical team before being reviewed in due course by the specialist, along with further imaging.

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: "It’s unfortunate for Courtney as he had just really got back into training with us. But we have to listen to expert medical opinion and if that means he has to keep the weight off his right leg to help him recover then we have to respect that and work with Saints to manage his recovery."

Topsy Ojo returns on the wing with Dan Bowden moving to inside centre. Adrian Jarvis and Ross Samson form the half back combination. Matt Garvey moves to the second row with Danaher and Hala’ufia returning to the back row alongside Richard Thorpe.

London Irish head coach Toby Booth said: “We were bitterly disappointed with our performance last Saturday and this has given us strong focus for training this week. The Premiership table is tight with only six points separating fourth and eighth positions. There is still a lot of rugby to be played and there is still everything to play for.”

London Irish team to face Northampton:

15. Delon Armitage*; 14. Topsy Ojo*; 13. Jonathan Joseph; 12. Daniel Bowden; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Adrian Jarvis; 9. Ross Samson; 1.Max Lahiff; 2. David Paice*; 3. Faan Rautenbach*; 4. Nick Kennedy* (Captain); 5. Matt Garvey; 6. Declan Danaher; 7. Richard Thorpe; 8. Chris Hala’ufia*

Replacements: 16. James Buckland; 17. Clarke Dermody*; 18. Paulica Ion*; 19. Kieran Roche; 20. Jebb Sinclair*; 21. Tom Homer; 22. Jonathan Spratt*; 23. Darren Allinson

Head Coach: Toby Booth; Attack Coach: Mike Catt; Defence Coach: Justin Bishop

*Denotes Internationals

The later kick-off has been requested by Premiership Rugby to ensure the broadcast of the match live on ESPN does not clash with the rescheduled RBS 6 Nations match between France and Ireland.

Saracens apologises for any inconvenience caused to supporters.

Dowson has been charged with acting contrary to Law 10(4)(J) in that he “lifted a player off the ground and dropped or drove that player in to the ground whilst that player’s feet were still off the ground such that his head/upper body came in to contact with the ground first," following a report by the citing officer Tony Lanaway.

He has been summoned to appear before an RFU Disciplinary Panel of His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett (chair), Jeremy Summers and Dr Julian Morris at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, December 6 at 4pm.

David Seymour, who returned from injury off the bench against Leeds Carnegie last week, makes his first start since October 31st. Rob Miller has recovered from the injury that caused his late withdrawal against London Wasps in March, and takes his place on the bench.

Sharks:

Nick Macleod; Ben Cohen, Chris Bell, Kyle Tonetti, Mark Cueto (capt); Charlie Hodgson, Dwayne Peel; Lee Imiolek, Neil Briggs, Henry Thomas, Chris Jones, Wame Lewaravu, James Gaskell, David Seymour, Sisaro Koyamaibole.

Replacements:

Marc Jones, Eifion Roberts, Jack Forster, Nic Rouse, Neil McMillan, Will Cliff, Rob Miller, Iain Thornley.

Sharks’ Executive Director of Sport Steve Diamond said, “Over a period of three years, I recruited many of the players who have done so well for Northampton Saints. They may have hit a lean patch earlier this year, but are sure to benefit from the return of their international players, as they showed in the big win against London Wasps last Sunday. I fully expect the Saints to have a strong end to the season, including a good run in the Heineken Cup.”