All you need to know ahead of Saints' Prem final

Northampton Saints and their Shoe Army of supporters are set to travel to Twickenham for a second Prem final in three years on Saturday.

Saints beat East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers in a thrilling play-off semi-final on Friday and will meet Exeter Chiefs, who shocked Bath in Saturday's second semi.

Northampton, the 2014 and 2024 winners, are seeking a third English title, with about 80,000 fans expected to attend.

Phil Dowson's Saints side topped the table at the end of the regular Prem season, securing them home advantage for last week's win over Leicester.

It completed an impressive turnaround for the Green, Black and Gold after they finished eighth in the previous campaign - though that season did result in a Champions Cup final appearance.

Saints won 14 of their 18 league fixtures this season, two places and nine points ahead of Saturday's opponents Exeter.

The Twickenham showpiece will be a repeat of the side's opening league fixture of the season, which ended in a 33-33 draw after an astonishing fightback from the Chiefs.

Fans travelling by train may need to plan their journeys as a result of engineering works.

Network Rail are working on the Midland Mainline over the next two weekends, meaning no services between Bedford and London.

That means any Saints fans looking to travel from Corby, Kettering or Wellingborough stations may need to make alternative arrangements - although there is no disruption for services from Northampton itself.

Coach travel organised by the club has sold out.

For now - yes.

Northampton Saints' own allocation of tickets has fully sold out but a small number of tickets remain available directly from Prem Rugby.

Last season's final, and the 2024 final in which Saints beat Bath, were both sell-outs with crowds of just under 82,000 recorded.

BBC Radio Northampton's coverage of the final will air on BBC Sounds from 10:00 BST with Justin Dealey speaking to fans as the atmosphere builds in west London.

The BBC Radio Northampton sports team will take over at 14:00, with Graham McKechnie leading commentary of the final itself from 15:00.

The BBC Sport website will carry live text coverage of the final.

Saturday's fixture will also be shown live on TNT Sports and ITV4.

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