Breaking News: Ashton out of Saints side to face Munster
Saints latest news
Chris Ashton has been left out of the Saints side to face Munster in the Heineken Cup tomorrow.
The England winger yesterday announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season to join Premiership rivals Saracens.
There have been reports of a bust-up between Ashton and director of rugby Jim Mallinder, with the club confirming he didn’t train on Wednesday though it pointed out that happens to various players for various reasons.
Ashton’s place in the side has been taken by youngster Jamie Elliott as Saints look to gain revenge on Munster for the heartbraking defeat at Thomond Park in November.
Munster have already qualified for the quarter finals, but with the Saints going for a place in the last eight of the Amlin Challenge Cup director of rugby Jim Mallinder said there was plenty of motivation within the squad at Franklin’s Gardens.
He said: “We’re disappointed we’re not in the Heineken Cup knockouts because we want to win every single game we can, but the Amlin Challenge Cup is a good competition and we used it as a good springboard a couple of years ago.
“We had a good result at the Scarlets last week, and if we attack with the same intensity and defend with the same passion and determination then we will have a good chance against a tough Munster outfit.
“The first game against us and the second game against Castres sum up what this Munster team is all about. They didn’t win by much, but they won, and that’s what the Heineken Cup is all about. They’ve got the players in their squad who know how to win and it will be a very difficult game.
“We are definitely going into tomorrow’s match with our minds focused very much on getting the win. We have had a good run recently and have some big matches coming up, and want to keep our momentum going.”
The gates at stadiumMK open at 3:30pm, with the pre-match entertainment provided by Alexandra Burke starting around 5pm.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY MUNSTER
Heineken Cup Round 6
stadiumMK
Saturday, January 21st, 2012
Kick off 6:00pm
15 Ben FODEN
14 Jamie ELLIOTT
13 George PISI
12 James DOWNEY
11 Vasily ARTEMYEV
10 Ryan LAMB
9 Lee DICKSON
1 Soane TONGA’UIHA
2 Dylan HARTLEY (capt)
3 Brian MUJATI
4 Samu MANOA
5 Mark SORENSON
6 Calum CLARK
7 Phil DOWSON
8 Roger WILSON
Replacements
16 Brett SHARMAN
17 Alex WALLER
18 Paul DORAN JONES
19 Christian DAY
20 Ben NUTLEY
21 Martin ROBERTS
22 Stephen MYLER
23 Scott ARMSTRONG
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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