Northampton Saints v Bath: Big match preview

Venue: DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton

Date and kick-off time: Saturday, October 10, 2026, 3.05pm

Weather forecast: 14c, mostly cloudy

Live television coverage: TNT Sports

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant referees: Sara Cox and Veryan Boscawen

No.4: Calum Howard

TMO: Andrew Jackson

Saints: 15 James Pater; 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Ollie Sleightholme; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Curtis Langdon, 3 Cleopas Kundiona; 4 Alex Coles, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht; 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Henry Pollock, 8 Callum Chick.

Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Ed Prowse, 21 Josh Taylor, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Anthony Belleau.

Unavailable for Saints selection: Ben Alexander, Trevor Davison, Malik Faissal, Luke Green, George Hendy, Tom Litchfield, Tom Pearson, Aidan Pugh, Edoardo Todaro, Lefty Zigiriadis.

Bath: 15 Santi Carreras; 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Charlie Griffin; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tom Carr-Smith; 1 Scott Kirk, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 3 Archie Griffin; 4 Will Jeanes, 5 Ross Molony; 6 Josh Bayliss, 7 Miles Reid (c), 8 Arthur Green.

Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Ieuan Davies, 22 Ollie Lawrence, 23 Jaco Coetzee.

Most recent meeting: April 25, 2026: Saints 41 Bath 38 (Gallagher PREM)

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson: "They (Bath) are not dissimilar to last season in terms of the strength and quality they have. I imagine there's a fair amount of hunger in that group to get back into the top position. They would have been frustrated in the PREM and in Europe last season and I've got no doubt that the first two victories they have put together are an indicator of where they want to be. With (Bath boss) Johann van Graan, they've continued to push and they're a very tight and very connected group. They've had some different attack coaches with Lee Blackett going to England, Martin Gleeson and another change this year so that will evolve their game naturally with having different voices and philosophies. I've no doubt that with the quality of player they've got there, that they will push those standards."

Bath head coach Johann van Graan: "We lost the final against them three years ago, two years ago we won the final and then last year we ended first and second on the log, and they're always amazing games. They play a specific way and we play a specific way. It's a great place to play (DPD Stadium at Franklin's Gardens), similar to our ground. They have a magnificent pitch and I'm sure both teams will try their utmost best performance on Saturday afternoon. We're looking forward to it. It's always a great occasion when it's Bath versus Saints. We need to make sure we adapt on the day and we need to make sure that our set piece is spot on against them. They are a very good attacking side and defensively you need to be well organised and use the opportunities. And, as we've seen, it sounds cliché but it's a 23-man game across 80 minutes and ultimately we've got to be better than them across 80 minutes. Hopefully it will be a fantastic game between two very good sides."

Opposition danger man: Finn Russell pulls the strings for Bath, and the Scotland fly-half is capable of conjuring up plenty of magic, as he did in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final that Bath won against Saints at The Rec last season.

Tom Vickers’ pre-match thoughts: Such is the nature of the Gallagher PREM this season that every home game really does feel massive. There is just such little margin for error, especially when you are taking on one of your fellow top-four competitors, and especially when you are coming into the encounter having just lost on the road. Saints will need to keep their composure, hold their nerve and clean up their act if they are to beat a Bath team who would love to put a spanner in the works on Saturday. Saints struggled to defend without giving away penalties last weekend as Bristol turned up the heat at Ashton Gate. And a repeat of that ill-disciplined display will ensure the result goes the wrong way again. Saints have the talent to beat Bath, as they did in both league meetings last season, but they will only do it if they can win the arm wrestle to allow them to get enough of their own game on the field. Bath have gone big on the bench, so there is an even bigger role than usual for the Saints replacements in this match.