Exiles can make Saints suffer

London Irish can compound Northampton’s relegation fears at the Madejski Stadium on Monday – but Exiles coach Gary Gold has braced his team for a tough examination.

Northampton have not won in the Zurich Premiership since they beat Harlequins almost 15 weeks ago.

Their run of nine successive league defeats is a club record, and one which has cast them three points adrift at the Premiership basement.

In contrast, their cup form has been a revelation, with Saints boasting European victories over Toulouse and Llanelli, while also securing a Powergen Cup quarter-final place.

Saints though, must beat Irish – and Leeds at home on New Year’s Day – to give their suffering supporters hope they can avoid the dreaded drop.

“This will be our first Premiership game for three weeks, and they don’t come more difficult,” insisted Gold, whose team won 21-20 at Northampton last month.

“Northampton have quality players in all positions, and they are discovering their true form.

“Having beaten them at Franklin’s Gardens, I have no doubt they will want to restore the balance on Monday.”

Irish, who hope to attract a crowd approaching 20,000, welcome back wing Paul Sackey instead of Justin Bishop, with Roland Reid continuing at number eight and flanker Kieron Dawson as skipper.

Bath captain Jonathan Humphreys has warned the west country club to expect a “completely different” challenge from Sale Sharks in Monday’s tussle at Edgeley Park.

Sale, level on points with Bath but one place above them in third, were sunk 27-13 at the Recreation Ground last month, but that defeat was suffered without absent England stars Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Mark Cueto, among others.

“I think this will be a completely different affair to the match at The Rec,” said Humphreys.

“When Sale are able to select their full complement of internationals, they are a completely different outfit. We are expecting a very tough battle.

“Sale have always had quality backs, but they’ve struggled in the past up-front. However, this season they have a tremendous platform from the forwards.”

Premiership leaders Leicester recall several of their established international stars for the Welford Road appointment with Worcester on Monday.

Martin Johnson, Neil Back, Julian White, Geordan Murphy and Daryl Gibson are among those who return, while three current England internationals – Harry Ellis, Ben Kay and Lewis Moody – are on replacement duty.

Tigers are confidently expected to collect a five-point maximum at the Warriors’ expense, yet coach John Wells has adopted a cautious stance.

“In the past, Rotherham and Leeds, to a lesser extent, struggled in their first (Premiership) seasons, but Worcester acquired some good players during the summer,” he said.

“It was always going to take them time to get those players to gel, but the fact they’ve taken points off well-known teams is indicative of what I’ve been saying about them.”

Worcester rugby director John Brain added: “At the start of the season, we knew that consolidating our position in the Premiership was going to be a difficult task, but I think we have earned some respect with our performances so far.

“We think we are capable of getting a result against anyone, and while we would have liked more points at this stage, we are approaching the second half of the season with some confidence.”

The Christmas Premiership action begins at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day, when Saracens host a Harlequins side desperate to recover from two abject Heineken Cup displays against Neath-Swansea.

A Quins win would take them above ninth-placed Leeds if the Tykes lose against Jonny Wilkinson’s Newcastle at Headingley on Monday, while Wasps, who take on Gloucester, have yet to recover from their Heineken Cup hangover caused by back-to-back defeats against Leicester.

A home defeat for Lawrence Dallaglio’s men would effectively see them drop out of the Premiership’s all-important top three, but Gloucester need victory to keep themselves firmly in play-off contention.