TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Northampton Saints (GPR - Rd 10)
Callum Hunter-Hill has spoken highly of the morale in the group as Saracens look to round off the opening block of Gallagher Premiership matches by making it nine wins from nine.
The Men in Black welcome Northampton Saints to StoneX Stadium on Sunday in front of the ITV and BT Sport cameras, and the second-rower believes the mood amongst the squad has been a major factor in the terrific start to the season.
There is just the one change to the starting line-up made by Director of Rugby Mark McCall after the dominant victory over Bristol Bears last week, with Andrew Kitchener coming in to the second-row to make his first Premiership start for the club.
Robin Hislop, Theo Dan and Marco Riccioni start once again in the front-row and will be hoping for a repeat of their Ashton Gate performance on Sunday, whilst Hunter-Hill is joined by Kitchener in the second-row.
The back-row of Andy Christie, captain Ben Earl and Jackson Wray will aim to provide an unchanged back-line with plenty of front foot ball.
Ivan van Zyl and Alex Goode continue their half-back partnership, whilst Alex Lozowski and Elliot Daly will be in the midfield.
Sean Maitland and Alex Lewington remain on the wings, and Max Malins stays at full-back after a Player of the Match display in the West Country.
On the bench Hugh Tizard will be looking to make a big impact, and there is another opportunity for Gareth Simpson and Tom Howe after their arrival from Worcester.
Hunter-Hill, who has been in fine form of late says the focus is very clear for the squad to keep the momentum going before they return to Premiership Cup action next week.
“We’ve had a strong start to the season with the results and we’re improving all the time. Morale is great in the group at the moment and everyone is working incredibly hard to make sure we end this block in the best possible position.”
Saracens Men team to play Northampton Saints:
1 Robin Hislop
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Callum Hunter-Hill
5 Andrew Kitchener
6 Andy Christie
7 Ben Earl (c)
8 Jackson Wray
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Alex Goode
11 Sean Maitland
12 Alex Lozowski
13 Elliot Daly
14 Alex Lewington
15 Max Malins
Replacements:
16 Ethan Lewis
17 James Flynn
18 Alec Clarey
19 Ollie Stonham
20 Hugh Tizard
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Josh Hallett
23 Tom Howe
