'Excellent crowd' add to Saints test
Sale Sharks boss Kingsley Jones says he was hugely impressed with the Northampton Saints' performance against Munster in the Heineken Cup two weeks ago and it looking forward to taking them on come Saturday afternoon.
Naming his side on Friday, Jones said it was always tough going to Franklin's Gardens but insisted that he was confident that his team would be up to the challenge.
The Sharks themselves come into the match fresh off a confidence boosting win over Cardiff last weekend in Europe.
"They were excellent in everything they did that day. They have a fantastic venue and the crowd really get behind them.
"They are well coached by Jim Mallinder and Dorian West and we are expecting a tough game. On saying that we have had a good week preparing for the challenge and are looking forward to the game."
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Chris Mayor, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Neil Best, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Soane Tonga'uiha, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Regardt Dreyer.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Jon Vickers, 19 Christian Day, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Alan Dickens, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Joe Ansbro.
Sale Sharks: 15 Nick Macleod, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Andy Tuilagi, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 David Seymour, 6 James Gaskell, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Eifion Roberts, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Gavin Kerr
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Rob O’Donnell, 18 Jack Forster, 19 Brent Cockbain, 20 David Tait, 21 Dwayne Peel, 22 Chris Bell, 23 Oriol Ripol
Date: Saturday, 24 October
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Time: 15.00 (14.00 GMT)