Exeter welcome new father Ben Moon back to the front row for the LV= Cup final, while Don Armand will be on the bench.  Backs Jason Shoemark and Fetu’u Vainikolo also come into the starting Chiefs side, replacing the injured Ian Whitten (calf) and Tom James (knee).

Northampton, who have used more than 40 different players en route to the final, make eight changes to their XV.  There are starts for James Wilson, Jamie Elliott and Stephen Myler as well as Alex Waller and Salesi Ma’afu.

bbc

For the Chiefs, the game represents the first chance to win a major piece of silverware in the club’s 143-year history.

Exeter were promoted to the top flight in 2010 and have established themselves in the Premiership and as a competitive European side, but the chance to win a trophy is a novel experience for the club.

“It’s important to realise that these opportunities don’t come along too often,” Chiefs captain Dean Mumm told BBC Spotlight.

“We’ve spoken about the fact that there’s been a significant history for this club and there’s been a period of achievement and growth in recent years but there’s been nothing to show for that in terms of silverware, so this is a great opportunity.”

The Chiefs have an advantage, with the match taking place at their own Sandy Park ground, with the club having been selected to host the match several months ago.

“The fact that it’s in front of our home crowd means we’re really excited about it,” added Mumm.

Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter said the game was a welcome opportunity for the whole club to simply focus on one game of rugby.

“I’d like to describe it as, hopefully, a small step along the way to where we want to go,” said Baxter.

“We don’t want to get too carried away with one game but I hope as a club, a team and as individual players we’re excited about a one-off game.

“We don’t need to worry about beating Northampton three or four times or in two years’ time – it’s one game of 80-minute rugby and it’s just about putting in a big performance on Sunday.

“It’s a nice way to approach a game and you can only really treat finals like that.”

For 2010 winners Northampton, this is the club’s third LV= Cup final in five years.

Saints forward Phil Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton: “I’ve got a photo of me lifting the trophy next to Bruce Reihana [in 2010].

“The whole reason we all play the game is to win trophies.

“Team-mate Alex Waller has lost in an LV= Cup final [2012], a Heineken Cup final [2011] and a Premiership final [2013], so it’s massive for the guys who have tasted a final but not got the winners’ medal.

“It’s massive for the club to make that first step and the fact we’re alive in two other competitions [Premiership and Amlin Cup] – this would give us the confidence of winning when we get to finals.

“There is no doubt Exeter will be going for it. This is their big moment and will want to win at home. We know there is a lot at stake and they immediately have an advantage. We will need to combat that.”

Teams

Exeter Chiefs: Arscott, Vainikolo, Dollman, Shoemark, Jess, Slade, Lewis, Moon, Whitehead, Tui, Mumm (Captain), Welch, Ewers, White, Horstmann
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Rimmer, Brown, Graham, Armand, Thomas, Steenson, Naqelevuki.

Northampton Saints: Foden, K Pisi, G Pisi, Wilson, Myler, Fotuali’i, A Waller, Haywood, Ma’afu, Manoa, C Day, Clark, Dowson (Captain), Van Velze
Replacements: McMillan, E Waller, Mercey, Craig, Nutley, A Day, Hooley, Autagavaia.

LV= Cup final

• Venue: Sandy Park
• Date: Sunday, 16 March
• Kick-off: 15:00 GMT/17:00 South African Time

LV= Cup Background

The LV= Cup is the sponsor name for the Anglo-Welsh Cup, a competition between English and Welsh clubs which has been running since 2005.  It was sponsored by Powergen for the first season and then until 2009 by EDF Energy, since then insurers Liverpool Victoria have taken over as sponsors of the competition. More detail on the Cup courtesy of LV= :

The 12 English Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs and four Welsh regional teams from the RaboDirect Pro12 compete for the coveted title of the LV= Cup.

The teams competing for the LV= Cup are split into four pools of four clubs, with three English clubs and one Welsh region in each pool.

English clubs have been allocated to pools depending on their finish in last season’s Aviva Premiership Rugby competition.

Welsh regions have been allocated to the pools in a way that avoids repeating fixtures from the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups where possible.

Teams in Pool 1 play teams in Pool 4 and teams in Pool 2 play teams in Pool 3.

Each team plays four pool matches – two home and two away – with the top team from each pool qualifying for the semi-finals.

The points scoring system for the pool stages:

• Four match points for a win
• Two match points for a draw
• A bonus match point for scoring four tries or more
• A bonus match point for losing by a margin of seven points or less