Northampton Saints have named captain Dylan Hartley among their replacements for Saturday’s Premiership final against Saracens at Twickenham.
But the hooker’s England team-mate Mako Vunipola is missing for Sarries having had surgery on a dislocated patella.
Saints are aiming for their first-ever Premiership title, after
losing to rivals Leicester in last year’s final.
“We’ve learned some serious lessons over the last few years,” Northampton’s stand-in skipper Tom Wood said.
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Friendships ‘matter most’ to Borthwick
“We’ve always had the determination but our direction has improved.
“Saracens have always got a plan. They’re incredibly organised. We’ve found in the past that if you can disrupt that you stand a chance.
“But if you carry into their strengths and overplay in your half you’re in for a long day.”
Sarries, who were
beaten by Toulon in the Heineken Cup
final last week, bring in Richard Barrington in place of Vunipola at loose-head prop, while scrum-half Neil de Kock rotates with Richard Wigglesworth to start the game at number nine.
will lead the side out for the last time, for a record 265th Premiership appearance.
“Everybody reacts to things in their own individual way,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said of their loss to Toulon.
“The objective is that by Saturday we have a powerful collective response.
Routes to the final
Having finished the regular season top of the table with 19 wins from 22 matches,
Saracens
overcame Harlequins at Allianz Park to book their place in the final.
Northampton Saints
finished second in the league, 11 points adrift of Sarries, and beat Leicester in the semi-finals to reach Twickenham.
“Our group is very good at moving on and responding to setbacks.
“We have had a magnificent season. We had a disappointment last Saturday, albeit I was proud of the performances.
“You don’t want to pigeonhole Northampton as they are a much more rounded team.
“Their set-piece remains very strong, they have added to their attacking game and have some pretty good athletes in their back line.
“Before Saturday we had huge momentum. We are not too damaged by what happened.”
Northampton, who
beat Tigers at the semi-final stage
a fortnight ago, also make a change at scrum-half, with Kahn Fotuali’i preferred ahead of England international Lee Dickson.
Salesi Ma’afu returns to the front row after serving a one-week ban for landing a punch on Leicester hooker Tom Youngs in that 21-20 victory.
Hartley, meanwhile, is back on the bench having not featured for the first team since
injuring his shoulder at the end of March.
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Mallinder urges Saints to stay calm
The 28-year-old was sent off in last season’s Premiership final for
swearing at referee Wayne Barnes
and calling him a “cheat”.
Less than 24 hours before Saracens suffered defeat at the Millennium Stadium, Northampton ended their four-year wait for a trophy – and a run of four losses in finals – by winning the Amlin Challenge Cup.
“I think to some extent it is a weight lifted off your shoulders,” Wood told BBC Radio Northampton.
“We were beaten Heineken Cup finalists and in the Premiership semi-finals (in 2011) and you think you have the world at your feet.
“Losing that Heineken Cup final, suddenly the doubts start creeping in and you’re staring down the barrel of going home with nothing. I don’t feel like the pressure is on so much.
“Having a trophy in the cabinet gives us that bit of momentum. It can work against you, because you don’t want any complacency. But I think we can write that off with the team we’ve got.”
Saracens:
Goode; Ashton, Bosch, Barritt, Strettle; Farrell, De Kock; Barrington, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick (capt), Botha; Brown, Burger, B. Vunipola.
Replacements:
George, Gill, Johnston, Haregreaves, Wray, Wigglesworth, Hodgson, Wyles.
Northampton Saints:
Foden; K. Pisi, G. Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Fotuali’i; Corbisiero, Haywood, Ma’afu; Manoa, Lawes; Clark, Wood (capt), Dickinson.
Replacements:
Hartley, Waller, Mercey, Day, Dowson, Dickson, Wilson, Stephenson.
There will be live text commentary of Saturday’s Premiership final on the BBC Sport website, starting at 13:45 BST with a review of the domestic season.
Premiership final: Saracens v Northampton Saints
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