Northampton will not be punished if they field a weakened team at Leicester on Saturday in an east Midlands derby that will have an impact on who takes up the two remaining places in the play-offs.
Victory for Leicester over their rivals would guarantee the Tigers third, leaving Exeter and Saracens, who face Sale at home and London Welsh away respectively, battling for fourth place. Northampton’s director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, whose side will finish first in the league, has said he is considering resting players ready for the play-off semi-final the following weekend.
“I would be stupid if I said we were not looking at the game the following week,” Mallinder said. “We have a home semi-final and it is a massive match you have to win. We are all about being competitive and we want momentum. We want to perform [at Leicester] and make sure we pick a team capable of doing all that.
“I think we’ve got a competitive squad and everyone wants to be included in these final few games, players who are here next season, players that are moving on. People want to leave on a high so there is a lot of competition for places. We’re not worried about what’s happening underneath us, it’s all about getting momentum, finishing top and then we’ll look forward to whoever we’re playing the following week.”
Premiership Rugby said its rules did not oblige clubs to field their strongest available sides every week, not least because they play league matches during the autumn international period and Six Nations when many are without their leading players. When they tried to introduce such a policy a few years ago, based on football’s model, it was quickly dumped because of the impact of Test rugby.
Mallinder’s desire to rest players – his fly-half Stephen Myler has missed just one league and Champions Cup match this season – will be balanced by the importance of the Leicester fixture to the Saints’ supporters as well as the desire to go into the play-offs on the front foot.
He will also be aware of the volatile nature of the fixture. The Northampton captain, Dylan Hartley, has been sent off against Leicester twice in the last two years and the prop Salesi Ma’afu saw red for punching the Tigers’ hooker Tom Youngs during last season’s play-off between the rivals at Franklin’s Gardens. The last four league matches between the sides have yielded nine yellow cards, two reds and a citing for gouging.
