Hooper: Bath leader returns

Hooper comes back to partner Ryan Caldwell in the second row, with Ben Skirving, Francois Louw and Simon Taylor combining in the back row. Ross Batty starts at hooker, with David Flatman and Anthony Perenise packing down either side of him in the front row.

Michael Claassens partners Stephen Donald in the half-backs once more, with Tom Biggs and Olly Woodburn taking their places on the wings. Olly Barkley and Sam Vesty form a new centre pairing, and Nick Abendanon completes the line-up at full-back.

Both sides sit at the top of their pools going into the game, with maximum points being taken in their respective first two fixtures, and will be determined to get one step closer to securing a semi-final place.

"We're looking forward to what we know will be a tough challenge for us, against a strong Northampton Saints squad," said Bath director of rugby, Sir Ian McGeechan.

Director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that it is important that the Northampton Saints players show the value of the club's rotation policy over the next few weeks.

With 10 players currently away on representative duty, questions have been asked in the media as to whether the squad at Franklin's Gardens will be able to compete during the next few weeks of LV= Cup and Aviva Premiership Rugby action.

However what has not been commented on is the fact that 33 players contributed to the Saints' five consecutive wins over the Christmas and New Year period, and Mallinder says that the players who will represent the club in this weekend's trip to Bath and beyond now have to demonstrate that they have learned from their game time.

"Winning is obviously what we are about as a club, but it was also important that as many players as possible experienced first-team action," he said.

"We knew it was a possibility that several members of our squad would be called up for England and therefore needed as many players as possible to be able to step into the first team.

"The vast majority of the players that will run out tomorrow have played in the first team over the past few weeks and we have belief in their ability to compete and get a good result.

"They will have to play well in what is going to be a challenging afternoon. Bath have been going well in the LV= Cup and like ourselves need a win to take a big step towards the semi-finals. It's therefore no surprise that they have named a strong team with 10 internationals in the starting line-up.

"The Rec is a tough place to play and we will need to be switched on right from the first whistle."

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Sam Vesty, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Stuart Hooper (c), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Ross Batty, 1 David FlatmanReplacements: 16. Lee Mears, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Nick Scott.

Northampton: 15 Paul Diggin, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 Scott Armstrong, 12 Greig Tonks, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 James Craig, 5 Christian Day, 4 Mark Sorensen, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Brett Sharman, 1 Alex Waller.Replacements: 16 Andy Long, 17 Soane Tonga'uiha, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 James Ingle, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Ryan Glynn, 22 Tom May, 23 Noah Cato.