Bath v Northampton: Aviva Premiership preview
Last Updated: 20/02/15 5:04pm
Semesa Rokoduguni and Ross Batty will both reach milestones for Bath in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership meeting with Northampton Saints at the Recreation Ground.
Rokoduguni will make his 50th appearance for the club in this top-of-the-table clash, while hooker Batty will rack up a century of appearances if introduced from the bench.
Bath head coach Mike Ford has made four changes to the team that lost at Saracens last weekend, with three of them coming in the pack.
Paul James returns from international duty to start at loosehead, with Rob Webber preferred to Ross Batty at hooker, while Carl Fearns is named at No 8.
Scrum-half Micky Young is promoted from the bench to partner Ollie Devoto, and full-back Tom Homer will make his home debut after kicking nine points against Sarries.
Northampton have also made a change at scrum-half, with Lee Dickson captaining the side as they look to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership.
Gareth Denman starts at tighthead in place of the suspended Salesi Ma’afu, with Samu Manoa switching to blindside flanker to accommodate James Craig’s inclusion at lock.
Bath will be holding a minute's silence ahead of the game in memory of those who tragically lost their lives and were affected by the accident in the city a couple of weeks ago.
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Sam Burgess, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Ollie Devoto, 9 Micky Young; 1 Paul James, 2 Rob Webber, 3 Henry Thomas, 4 Stuart Hooper (c), 5 Dominic Day, 6 Matt Garvey, 7 Francois Louw, 8 Carl Fearns.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Alafoti Faosiliva, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Luke Arscott.
Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (c); 1 Alex Waller, 2 Mike Haywood, 3 Gareth Denman, 4 James Craig, 5 Christian Day, 6 Samu Manoa, 7 Calum Clark, 8 Sam Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Teimana Harrison, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Ahsee Tuala.
