Northampton Saints

Last season's finish: 8th

Director of rugby: Phil Dowson

Captain: George Furbank

Star player: Fin Smith

Young player to watch: Henry Pollock

Northampton had quite the fall from grace in the Gallagher Premiership last season. 2 years ago, they beat Bath to life the trophy at Twickenham but, since then, they have lost Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam and many others. They also weren't helped by the number of injuries that they suffered throughout the year. They did, however, make the final of the Champions Cup which shows that the Saints have the players to compete with the very best. It is simply a matter of consistency and maintaining health amongst a squad that is not the deepest. This season they'll have to contend with the difficulty of being forced to slowly reintroduce their Lions players to the squad after their mandatory rest. Tommy Freeman, Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith all took part in the Lions Tour and will need to be managed cautiously.

Northampton clearly have the players to compete with the top sides in the league and the one question surrounding their actual personnel will be regarding their ability to win the physical battle. In order to answer that question, the Saints have signed Danilo Fischetti to replace Tarek Haffar. FIschetti is an Italian international and has been one of the premier props in Europe for several years, He'll form a formidable front row alongside Trevor Davison and Curtis Langdon. Behind them, Alex Coles will be a key player this season having really broken into the England team over the summer. Tom Lockett has also developed well and Chunya Munga is a reliable performer. They have been joined by JJ van der Mescht which gives the position group some serious depth. And, if necessary, Lockett and Coles can both slot in at blindside flanker.

They probably won't have to do that much given the quality of the players already in the back row. Josh Kemeny stepped in well last season and is a classic bruiser for his side. Tom Pearson also has those same qualities and will always give the Saints a go-forward ability. Henry Pollock has a very different style of play which gives Northampton a new edge. He is capable of creating game-changing moments at any point, and has the athleticism to make it count. They also signed former Newcastle captain Callum Chick. The no.8 had been a stalwart for the northern team and is a more than adequate replacement for Juarno Augustus.

There has only been 1 big addition to the back line. That is the signing of Anthony Belleau joins the club from Clermont where he played fly half in the Top 14. He also has 12 caps for France so represents a significant upgrade as Fin Smith's backup. That's going to be particularly important this season as Fin Smith will have to be managed carefully after an intense Lions Tour. Elsewhere, Dingwall, Litchfield and Hutchinson will provide a quality midfield with perhaps the occasional inclusion of Tommy Freeman on occasion. Although the group will be poorer for the loss of Burger Odendaal to provide some straight-line punch in midfield. The Saints will also be able to rely on some brilliant individuals in their back three, possessing the likes of Freeman, Furbank, Sleightholme and Hendy. Freeman and Furbank will also have to be managed due to a return from the Lions and Furbank's fitness issues.

All in all, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Saints going into this season. None of them are their fault. In fact, the bulk of the issues have come as a result of their brilliance in developing young talent to grow into world class talents. If they can get their stars back, and together, for a significant-enough period of the season, the Saints can win the title once again.

Notable ins:

Callum Chick - Anthony Belleau - Cleopas Kundonia

Notable outs:

Juarno Augustus - Burger Odendaal - Tarek Haffar

Squad

Hooker

Curtis Langdon - Robbie Smith - Henry Walker - Craig Wright

Prop

Trevor Davison - Danilo Fischetti - Luke Green - Emmanuel Iyogun - Cleopas Kundiona - Elliot Millar-Mills - Ollie Scola - Sonny Tonga'uiha - Tom West

Lock

Emeka Atuanya - Alex Coles - Tom Lockett - Chunya Munga - Ed Prowse - JJ van der Mescht

Back row

Aidan Ainsworth-Cave - Archie Appleby - Archie Benson - Fyn Brown - Callum Chick - Sam Graham - Josh Kemeny - Tom Pearson - Henry Pollock - Angus Scott-Young - Charlie Ulcoq - Siep Walta

Scrum half

Tom James - Alex Mitchell - Archie McParland - Aidan Pugh - Jonny Weimann

Fly half

Anthony Belleau - Fin Smith

Centre

Fraser Dingwall - Rory Hutchinson - Tom Litchfield - Henry Lumley - Billy Pasco - Freddie St John - Toby Thame - Edoardo Todaro

Wing

Amena Caqusau - Toby Cousins - Tommy Freeman - Will Glister - George Hendy - James Martin - Thomas Rowe - Ollie Sleightholme

Fullback

George Freeman - James Ramm 

Possible XV and bench

1.Danilo Fischetti 2.Curtis Langdon 3.Trevor Davison 4.JJ van der Mescht 5.Alex Coles

6.Josh Kemeny 7.Henry Pollock 8.Callum Chick 9.Alex Mitchell 10.Fin Smith

11.Ollie Sleightholme 12.Fraser Dingwall 13.Rory Hutchinson 14.Tommy Freeman 15.George Furbank

Bench

16.Craig Wright 17.Manny Iyogun 18.Cleopas Kundiona 19.Tom Lockett

20.Tom Pearson 21.Tom James 22.Anthony Belleau 23.George Hendy