JJ van der Mescht and Henry Pollock will start for the Northampton Saints against the Vodacom Bulls at Frankin’s Gardens on Sunday.
Former Junior Boks lock Van der Mescht has made a big impact since joining the Premiership club from Stade Francais, while England rising star Pollock was nominated for the 2025 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award.
Pollock is one of two changes to the Saints team that beat Pau 35-27 in the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup, with winger Ollie Sleightholme’s return from injury the only change to the backs.
Northampton are targeting a third consecutive win against the Bulls, having won 59-22 at Frankin’s Gardens and 30-21 at Loftus Versfeld in 2024.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS – 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Bench: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Ed Prowse, 21 Sam Graham, 22 Tom James, 23 Toby Thame.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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