Northampton change Ulster match venue

Northampton have confirmed their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Ulster will be staged at Stadium:MK in Milton Keynes.

Saints chief executive Allan Robson told BBC Radio Northampton the club had been refused special dispensation to play at their home ground of Franklin’s Gardens, because it falls below the 15,000 capacity required by tournament organisers ERC.

“The regulation is clear and they’ve refused us. We’re not afraid of playing Ulster at Stadium:MK. It’s a matter of making it our home for the day.

“We know very well that we normally sell out Franklin’s Gardens for what you’d call an ordinary game. For a quarter-final of the Heineken Cup, with a 21,500 capacity, I expect to sell it out.”

Leinster will be moving their quarter-final against Leicester from the RDS to the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where they have already beaten Munster in the Magners League and Clermont Auvergne this season.