Smith Refreshes Squad

Smith said: 'The idea is to refresh the team. We trust the squad and we do not want to carry any luggage from the weekend. Sometimes you have to take a punt and do something different. It throws down a challenge to those selected. We do not lay the blame anywhere and there is no suggestion of that.

'We had a good shot at it, but we were not quite good enough. Toulouse are a great side. we know we are the underdogs and very few people think we can win there.

'All we can do is give it our best shot. We have one our homework, but that is all I am going to say. Toulouse are strong all over the park.'

ERCAUDIO**Northampton Saints coach Wayne Smith 'We've got the toughest draw.' Smith previews the game against Toulouse (2mins 8secs) Click here

Former Waikato and New Zealand centre Bruce Reihana is making his Heineken debut after being ineligible for the earlier rounds. He has a French mother and had the opportunity of playing club rugby in France in 1999.

He admitted to being very excited over his first Heineken start and said: 'It was an anxious time watching the boys play the previous games and to be involved is HUGE. I was in France in 2000 with the All Blacks and I know how passionate their rugby is. It's going to be an extremely tough task for us.'

Reihana compared the Heineken Cup to the Super 12 that he has played in and stated: 'The two are very much the same, though back home there is a lot more continuity. But when it comes to the physical side, there is no difference.'

Northampton Saints: 15 Nick Beal; 14 James Brooks, 13 Bruce Reihana, 12 Chris Hyndman, 11 Ben Cohen; 10 Paul Grayson, 9 Matt Dawson; 1 Tom Smith, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Matt Stewart, 4 Matt Lord, 5 Jon Phillips, 6 Mark Connors, 7 Budge Pountney (capt), 8 Andrew Blowers.

Replacements (from): Dan Richmond, Chris Budgen, Rob Hunter, Steve Williams, Mark Soden,Ian Vass, Mark Tucker, John Leslie, Peter Jorgensen, Jon Sleightholme, Oriol Ripol. (replacements to be confirmed on Friday afternoon).