Northampton v Blues: Teams

Northampton boss Jim Mallinder has admitted competition for selection has been "fierce" ahead of the Heineken Cup showdown with Cardiff Blues.

The Saints have the luxury of going into the game with a fully fit squad, while the club's England internationals are all available.

That means Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley are all available for the crunch tie.

"We're in the good position of having a fit squad, which is credit to the hard work put in by the conditioners and medics as well as the players as well," said Mallinder.

"The players have put in good performances as well over the past few weeks and competition has been fierce this week in training for a place in the team.

"It is a big match for us and everyone has wanted to play. We want to keep our recent run and home record going. Standards have been high in training and the players who have been chosen know that they will need to play well tomorrow night against a very tough Blues outfit.

Character

"Dai Young has a squad packed with experience and talent that also knows what it is like to win trophies. They showed their character in their last Heineken Cup match by coming from a long way down to get a point at Castres and have been going well in the Magners League this season."

Cardiff boss Dai Young has made three changes to his line-up for the trip to Franklin's Gardens.

Wales and Lions international Martyn Williams is available after playing for the Barbarians last week, while lock Bradley Davies and winger Tom James also start.

However the Blues will be without Leigh Halfpenny, Ben Blair, Jamie Roberts, Lloyd Williams, James Down, Deiniol Jones and T Rhys Thomas.

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Ryan Powell, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Chris Czekaj, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tom Shanklin, 11 Tom James, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Maama Molitika, 5 Paul Tito (capt), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Scott Andrews, 18 John Yapp, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Tom Slater, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Gavin Evans.