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Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder today named the team for the club's first Guinness Premiership match of the season.
On Sunday the Saints take on Worcester Warriors at Franklin's Gardens and the Saints boss says that nothing should be taken for granted in the season opener. "Worcester are one of the up and coming teams in England," he said. "They finished last season strongly in the Premiership and reached the Challenge Cup final. Mike Ruddock has also brought in some high quality players over the summer. They also have a fantastic record at Franklin's Gardens in recent years, which shouldn't be forgotten. "We've performed well in pre-season but that will not matter come Sunday afternoon. It is a massive challenge that the players and coaches are all excited about and motivated to meet. We have been working hard through the week and will give it our all against the Warriors." Mallinder has handed six of the summer signings their Saints debuts. Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and Christian Day partner each other in the second row, Roger Wilson, Neil Best and Scott Gray start in the back row while England Saxon Lee Dickson wears the number nine shirt. Meanwhile out wide the game will see the return of Scotland winger Sean Lamont to Saints colours. There are some tickets remaining for the match. Book by calling the Saints Ticket Office on 01604 581000 or order online through the Saints official website - www.northamptonsaints.co.uk. The Saints Ticket Office is open until 5pm today (Friday), between 9am and 12noon on Saturday and from 9am on Sunday morning. NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM TO PLAY WORCESTER WARRIORS Guinness Premiership Round 1 Franklin's Gardens Sunday, September 7th, 2008 Kick off 1:30pm 15 Bruce Reihana (capt) 14 Chris Ashton 13 Jon Clarke 12 James Downey 11 Sean Lamont 10 Carlos Spencer 9 Lee Dickson 1 Soane Tonga'uiha 2 Paul Shields 3 Euan Murray 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe 5 Christian Day 6 Neil Best 7 Scott Gray 8 Roger Wilson Replacements 16 Dylan Hartley 17 Tom Smith 18 Alex Rae 19 Mark Hopley 20 Ben Foden 21 Stephen Myler 22 Joe Ansbro |