Rugby Union LV Cup Final Preview: Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers

After all of the frenzy of the Six Nations, the LV= (Anglo-Welsh) Cup reaches its conclusion at 3pm on Sunday. For all those rugby fans suffering from a final Six Nations weekend hangover (in every sense of the word) and are looking to escape the attentions of their mothers, the match at Sixways promises to be a cracker. Despite all of their success in recent years, this will be the first time that the Saints and Tigers will have met in a major domestic final, which is sure to add something extra to the game. Traditionally a tournament that encourages a bit more of an open game, with the personnel on show there could be some high quality rugby on display - with Leicester especially boosted by released England pair Thomas Waldrom and Toby Flood. The Tigers snuck past perennial rivals Bath in the semi-final 16-17, thanks to a fearless display from teenage fly-half George Ford, who is sure to be an England player of the future. The Saints secured a comfortable win against a depleted Scarlets side to make to the final. Despite the usual tendency to field weakened teams in this tournament, in order to reserve strength for European and domestic league challenges, now that silverware is on the line there is sure to be no quarter given to either side. The teams in full are: Northampton Saints 15 Paul Diggin , 14 Vasily Artemyev , 13 George Pisi , 12 James Downey , 11 Scott Armstrong , 10 Stephen Myler , 9 Martin Roberts , 1 Soane Tonga'uiha , 2 Andy Long , 3 Paul Doran Jones, 4 James Craig , 5 Christian Day, 6 Calum Clark (capt) , 7 Tom Wood , 8 Roger Wilson Replacements , 16 Ross McMillan , 17 Alex Waller, 18 Brian Mujati , 19 Mark Sorenson , 20 Ben Nutley , 21 Ryan Glynn , 22 Ryan Lamb , 23 Tom May Leicester Tigers 15 Geordan Murphy (c) , 14 Horacio Agulla , 13 Matt Smith , 12 Billy Twelvetrees , 11 Scott Hamilton , 10 George Ford , 9 James Grindal , 1 Boris Stankovich , 2 Rob Hawkins , 3 Logoviii Mulipola , 4 George Skivington , 5 Graham Kitchener , 6 Steve Mafi , 7 Craig Newby , 8 Thomas Waldrom Replacements , 16 Tom Youngs , 17 Marcos Ayerza , 18 Julian White , 19 Calum Green , 20 Julian Salvi , 21 Scott Steele , 22 Toby Flood , 23 Andy Forsyth