Momentum key for Saints in Castres clash

Saints, who have won their past three matches, in the Aviva Premiership, currently sit bottom of Pool 4, having been thrashed in three of their four matches in the competition.

After a gritty 16-14 opening-night success against Montpellier, Jim Mallinder’s men were beaten 41-7 at Castres, 37-10 by Leinster at Franklin’s Gardens and then 60-13 by the same side in Dublin.

That set of results means Saints, who rested their international stars in the second game against Leinster, have waved goodbye to their chances of making the quarter-finals.

So what will their approach be in terms of team selection this week?

“In terms of Europe, the squad that we’ve got is the one we named at the start of the year so the players have got to come from that squad,” Dickens said.

“We’re under no illusions that we want to continue that momentum and we’ve got a home game this week.

“We’ll pick a team we hope can win the game here at the Gardens.”