Fraser Dingwall will lead Northampton Saints for the first time since being made the Club’s captain, skippering the side as they face Harlequins in Round 2 of the PREM Rugby Cup this weekend.
Saints take to Twickenham Stoop on Saturday (12 September, kick-off: 4.45pm) in front of the TNT cameras, and round out this first block of Cup matches against a Quins side that currently sits second in Group B.
Harlequins defeated Leicester Tigers 45-21 in Round 1, whereas Saints were beaten 96-42 by an experienced Saracens side in their opening clash of the tournament.
This weekend, Director of Rugby Phil Dowson rings the changes to his line-up – with 12 new faces coming into Saints’ matchday 23 for Round 2’s trip to the Stoop.
Dingwall provides the only change in Northampton’s backline, with the England centre coming in to join Toby Thame in the centres against Harlequins.
James Pater – who scored one of Saints’ six tries last weekend – continues on at fullback this week, with James Martin and Thomas Rowe again taking their places on the wings, and scrum-half Jonny Weimann and fly-half Hugh Shields carry on their half-back partnership at the Stoop.
A first appearance in a Saints shirt comes for Jordan Els against his former side Quins, with the loosehead prop to become Saint #2140 as he starts alongside incoming duo of hooker Craig Wright and tighthead prop Cleopas Kundiona in the front row.
Ed Prowse and Tom Pearson are both set for their first appearances of the season as they start in the second and back rows respectively, while Tom Lockett, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave and one of Saints’ new signings, Josh Taylor, start alongside them in the pack.
Northampton’s bench boasts a blend of experience and youth, with the likes of Henry Walker, JJ Van Der Mescht, Archie McParland and George Hendy all set to feature among the replacements alongside Saints’ younger stars Sonny Tonga’uiha, Jack Lewis, Freddie St John and a potential debutant in prop Aiden Reid.
HARLEQUINS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
PREM Rugby Cup, Round 2
Saturday 12 September, 2026
Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 4.45pm
15 James Pater
14 Thomas Rowe
13 Toby Thame
12 Fraser Dingwall (c)
11 James Martin
10 Hugh Shields
9 Jonny Weimann
1 Jordan Els – Saint #2140
2 Craig Wright
3 Cleopas Kundiona
4 Tom Lockett
5 Ed Prowse
6 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave
7 Tom Pearson
8 Josh Taylor
Replacements:
16 Henry Walker
17 Aiden Reid – Northampton Saints debut
18 Sonny Tonga’uiha
19 JJ Van Der Mescht
20 Jack Lewis
21 Archie McParland
22 Freddie St John
23 George Hendy
Not available for selection:
Anthony Belleau, Amena Caqusau, Trevor Davison, Malik Faissal, Luke Green, Henry Lumley, Aidan Pugh, Oliver Scola, Ollie Sleightholme, Edoardo Todaro and Lefty Zigiriadis.
Referee: Joe James
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe and Simon Harding
No.4: Mike Woods
TMO: Stuart Terheege
