Gloucester v Northampton Saints: Big match preview
Competition: Gallagher PREM (round two)
Venue: Kingsholm, Gloucester
Date and kick-off time: Sunday, October 5, 3pm
Weather forecast: 15c, light rain
Live television coverage: TNT Sports
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Jonathan Cook and Jamie Leahy
No.4: Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Rose
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Atkinson; 14 Ben Loader, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Seb Atkinson (vc), 11 Ollie Thorley; 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Tomos Williams (c); 1 Ciaran Knight, 2 Seb Blake, 3 Afolabi Fasogbon; 4 Freddie Thomas, 5 Cam Jordan; 6 Josh Basham, 7 James Venter, 8 Jack Mann.
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Archie McArthur, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Hugh Bokenham, 21 Harry Taylor, 22 Caolan Englefield, 23 Josiah Edwards-Giraud.
Saints: 15 George Hendy; 14 Edoardo Todaro, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Tom Litchfield; 11 James Martin; 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Henry Walker, 3 Elliot Millar Mills; 4 Alex Coles, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht; 6 Angus Scott-Young, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Callum Chick (c).
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Fyn Brown, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Toby Thame, 23 James Pater.
Not considered for Saints selection: Emeka Atuanya, Amena Caqusau, Trevor Davison, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Sam Graham, Tom James, Josh Kemeny, Curtis Langdon, Alex Mitchell, Chunya Munga, Henry Pollock, Charlie Ulcoq, Ollie Sleightholme, Fin Smith, Tom West, Craig Wright.
Most recent meeting: Saturday, May 31, 2025: Gloucester 41 Saints 26 (Gallagher PREM)
Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson: "I like (Gloucester director of rugby) George Skivington. I think he's a very shrewd operator and the work they did last season in expanding their game has made them a very dangerous outfit because traditionally their forward pack has been very dangerous at scrum and maul but now they've got a backline that will threaten across the pitch. They're a very entertaining side to watch and a very dangerous side to try to defend. A bit like the Saints, Gloucester is a real focal point for that city. It's got a huge amount of history and heritage and it's one of the very best places to play in the league. I always enjoy going there. I always enjoy the atmosphere and the animosity and The Shed - and they're things that should be enjoyed and should be relished."
Opposition danger man: Tomos Williams is the Gloucester captain and the heartbeat of their team. The Wales and British & Irish Lions scrum-half is an electric player capable of special things, so if he gets a chance to dominate the game then Saints will be in real danger.
Tom Vickers’ prediction: History has shown that it’s dangerous to write off any Saints side, but the current level of absences just makes this task so, so hard for the black, green and gold. Having 19 players out, many of whom are key members of the first-choice starting 15, is just ridiculous and it’s something I don’t think I’ve witnessed during 15 years of covering the club. Saints are capable of causing Gloucester real problems, but whether they are able to win this in front of a fired-up home crowd against a team playing their first home game of the new PREM season remains to be seen. If they do it, it would be truly memorable. Gloucester 37 Saints 29.