Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Programme

RIGHT
HOOKER
CURTIS LANGDON
BELOW
WINGER
JAMES RAMM
IN OPPOSITION
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
NICKNAME
Saints, Jimmies
FOUNDED
1880
HOME GROUND
cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
DIRECTOR OF RUGBY
PHIL DOWSON
CAPTAIN
Lewis Ludlam
Northampton Saints come into this afternoon’s fixture still
searching for their first victory of the Gallagher Premiership
season.
The East Midlands outfit were defeated 20-15 at Sale Sharks on
the league’s opening weekend, with tries from wingers Tommy
Freeman and James Ramm just not enough to beat the men
from Manchester.
Last weekend’s home tie against Bristol saw the consolation of
a pair of bonus points from their 33-27 defeat, when a pair of
Tom Seabrook tries and one from Tom Pearson had put them
into a one-point half-time lead.
Two driving maul tries from the Bears after the break proved
decisive, but the Saints will have fond memories of Kingston
Park following their victory here on the penultimate round of
last season.
Director of rugby Phil Dowson returns to the club at which he
was first-team captain, and the Saints squad has a number of
familiar faces in its ranks for Falcons followers.
Prop-forward Trevor Davison is chief among those, with the
Geordie native heading to Franklin’s Gardens towards the back
end of last season after playing more than a century of games
for his home-town team.
Scottish hooker Robbie Smith and Cornish centre Joel Matavesi
have also worn the black of Newcastle, forming part of a
Northampton squad which had a relatively stable summer.
Premiership semi-finalists last season who lost away to
Saracens in the knock-out phase, their headline summer
recruit was all-action flanker Tom Pearson, with the England
international arriving from London Irish following their off-field
troubles.
Fellow Exiles Chunya Munga and Izaiha Moore-Aiono followed
the same route, while Lyon’s Finian second-row Temo
Mayanavanua adds to their bulk and athleticism.
Well-travelled hooker Curtis Langdon continued his rugby
journey by arriving from Montpellier after spells with Worcester
and Sale, while ex-Gloucester wing Tom Seabrook showed his
early impact with two tries last weekend.
South African centre Burger Odendaal returned to the Gallagher
Premiership after impressing with Wasps prior to their offfield
travails, and their coaching team also saw a shake-up
with Remaining in the ranks are a host of household names,
with former Worcester stand-off Fin Smith one of their key
attacking weapons following Dan Biggar’s mid-season move
to Toulon.
Fiji hooker Sam Matavesi provides a threat around the park
after returning from Rugby World Cup duty, with Scottish
international Rory Hutchinson among their midfield options.
There was certainly no shortage of points during their
BELOW
BACK-ROWER
TOM PEARSON
Premiership Rugby Cup campaign, scoring 240 across their five
group games at an average of 48 per match, but it was still not
enough to make the semi-finals.
Their 48-22 away loss to Ealing on the opening weekend was
followed by a 55-5 home win over Cambridge, but a 39-38
away loss at Bristol proved key key.
They defeated Bath 43-42 at home as the high scores
continued, and ended their assault on the competition with a
televised 82-12 rout at home to Doncaster prior to the start of
the league season.
IN OPPOSITION - NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
63