Northampton Saints v Gloucester: Big match preview

Venue: cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens

Date and kick-off time: Saturday, May 30, 2026, 3pm

Weather forecast: 25c, cloudy

Live television coverage: TNT Sports

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson and Wayne Falla

No. 4: Mike Hudson

TMO: Hamish Smales

Saints: 15 George Furbank (c); 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 George Hendy; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Robbie Smith, 3 Luke Green; 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ed Prowse; 6 Tom Pearson, 7 Henry Pollock, 8 Callum Chick.

Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Fraser Dingwall, 23 James Ramm.

Gloucester: 15 Ben Redshaw; 14 Ollie Thorley, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson (c), 11 Ben Loader; 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield; 1 Ciaran Knight, 2 Seb Blake, 3 Afo Fasogbon; 4 Arthur Clark (vc), 5 Freddie Thomas; 6 Deian Gwynne, 7 Jame Venter, 8 Will Trenholm.

Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Mikey Austin, 22 Will Knight, 23 Josiah Edwards-Giraud.

Not available for Saints selection: Trevor Davison, Cleopas Kundiona, Alex Mitchell, Henry Lumley, Freddie St John, Edoardo Todaro, Charlie Ulcoq.

Most recent meeting: October 5, 2025: Gloucester 35 Saints 37 (Gallagher PREM)

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson: "They (Gloucester) are a very talented squad and they've got a lot of guys back from injury. They had a really bad run with injuries at the start of the year but they've come back and they're a very good group growing together. They had a good result against Sale at home, they actually played very well against Saracens (when they lost 30-14 last time out) and gave themselves some opportunities so they're playing a lot more rugby, they've got a very dangerous backline. The stats show what they're capable of with regards to how well they carry, how many metres they make post-collision, their ability to look after the ball in attack so they're a handful. There'll be no pressure on them whatsoever so they'll come and play. It makes them incredibly dangerous so we've got to make sure we respect the process with regards to preparation."

Gloucester centre Max Llewellyn: "As a playing group, we feel disappointed with how we have been performing, but it (eighth) is definitely something we are going after. It will be a real challenge between now and the end of the season to show everyone how well we can actually perform, and what we can do as players, because we haven't been happy with how it has been before. The chance that we have as players is to redeem ourselves, go after it and show the fans what we can do."

Opposition danger man: Charlie Atkinson is a really talented fly-half who is capable of pulling the strings if given the chance.

Tom Vickers’ pre-match thoughts: This looks like another game full of free-flowing attack in the Northampton heat as both sides come to play with ball in hand, meaning there could be plenty of tries to keep the sell-out crowd entertained. Saints will hope to take steps forward in defence though, and they are determined to do justice to the players who will be given a farewell ceremony after this match. One more win will set up a home play-off semi-final for the black, green and gold, and they will be expected to get that done before the final-day trip to Harlequins next Saturday.