Saints tee up two tussles with Leicester Tigers

The black, green and gold will send a side to Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Monday, April 17 (kick-off 7pm).

And Saints will then welcome Tigers to cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday, April 29 (kick-off 2pm).

The first game in particular is likely to be a chance for fringe players to get some minutes, especially when you consider Saints have a huge Gallagher Premiership match in between the fixtures.

Phil Dowson's side go to Newcastle Falcons for their final game of the regular season, on Friday, April 21.

Their last home game of the Premiership campaign comes against Saracens six days earlier.

The clash with Tigers at the Gardens on the final weekend of April is set to be a special occasion as supporters can head onto the pitch and bid farewell to all players who are departing the club this summer – with more entertainment following the presentations.

The Gardens game will be free for all Saints season ticket holders to attend, while general sale tickets are priced from just £14 adult (plus a £1.50 booking fee) during the early bird window and all under-18s just £1.

Season ticket holders will also be able to purchase additional tickets for just £10 (plus a £1.50 booking fee) across all ticket categories.

“Every derby day which sees Northampton meet Leicester is incredibly special,” said Saints boss Dowson.

“We know how much the East Midlands derby means to all our supporters, and it means just as much to us as players and coaches.

“So, we’ll be treating both matches very seriously, and given their timing in the context of our season, the fixtures will be really important for our squad to get vital minutes in the bank as we look towards hopefully reaching the Premiership semi-finals.

“In particular, the home match here in Northampton comes at a fantastic time for us if we are still in that play-off mix. Due to our late bye weekend, we would avoid a three-week break before a knock-out fixture, so we’ll be looking to field as strong a team as possible and ensure we go out with a bang in our last match at the Gardens before the summer.”

Saints CEO Mark Darbon said: “While we were thrilled to replace our home league fixture against Worcester Warriors with a match against Barbarian F.C. in November, we have also been proactively working hard behind the scenes to find a suitable replacement for the Wasps clash we also have lost this season.

“We remain committed to delivering a fantastic entertainment experience at a great value price for all our supporters.

"Organising a suitable opponent for a replacement fixture within an already congested season presented some challenges, but we hope our supporters will agree that two more matches against our oldest and fiercest rivals (one of which will be included within Saints season ticket holders’ packages) represents a fantastic result for both clubs.”