Leicester and Northampton meet for the 228th time this weekend. The first game, at Leicester’s Belgrave Cricket & Cycle Ground in November 1880, ended in a 0-0 draw.
Tigers have lost just one Aviva Premiership match since February: 26-27 at Bath on April 20.
Northampton’s only defeat in their last four matches was 19-22 at Harlequins on 4 May.
Leicester have lost on their last two visits to Twickenham – to Saracens in 2011 and Harlequins in 2012 – but are in a ninth successive Premiership Final and bidding to become English champions for a 10th time.
Northampton Saints are the ninth club to reach a Premiership Final as they attempt to carry off the champions of England crown for the first time.
This is only the second Premiership Final not to feature the No1 seeds, Saracens having been beaten by Saints in the semi-finals. The previous beaten No1 seeds were Gloucester in 2007/08.
No side ranked lower than 2 has ever won the Premiership Final.
This is the Saints’ sixth visit to Twickenham, venue of their European Cup Final win over Munster in 2000. They also won the National Trophy on Twickenham soil in 2008.
The only previous Tigers-Saints clash at a neutral venue was in last season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup Final at Worcester, where the Tigers won 26-14.
Julian Salvi has played more Premiership minutes than any other Tigers player this season – 1,521 in 21 appearances. The next-highest totals are Anthony Allen (1,367), Graham Kitchener (1,242) and Niall Morris (1,203). Salvi has also started more Premiership games (20) than any of his colleagues this season, with Allen on 18 and Kitchener 16.
Back-rowers Samu Manoa (1,587) and Phil Dowson (1,519) have the highest total of minutes in Premiership action for Saints this season, though prop Soane Tonga’uiha has made the most starts (22).
Adam Thompstone tops the Tigers try-scoring in the Aviva Premiership this season with 7. Ben Youngs and Niall Morris are next on the list with 5. The team have also claimed 8 penalty tries.
Young wing Jamie Elliott is the most prolific try-scorer for Saints in league action this season with 10 in 16 appearances – a Premiership total bettered by only Wasps duo Tom Varndell and Christian Wade (13).
Tigers collected just 7 yellow cards in the Aviva Premiership this season, a record bettered by only Exeter Chiefs (5). Heaviest offenders were Worcester (20), London Welsh (16), Gloucester (15) and Northampton (15).
Top points-scorers this season from the respective Final squads are Stephen Myler with 1,375 points, Toby Flood on 1,127 and George Ford 696.
Final rivals Adam Thompstone and Jamie Elliott both claimed try hat-tricks this season in the Aviva Premiership, with the Tigers wing scoring his against Exeter in September and his Saints counterpart on the mark against London Irish in March. The only other Premiership treble was by David Strettle for Saracens against Worcester in April.
Toby Flood is closing in on 1,000 career points in the Premiership, a mark passed by just 10 other players. The Tigers fly-half is currently on 959.
The first Premiership Final in 2003 attracted a crowd of 42,000 as Wasps beat Gloucester 39-3. Saturday’s Final is an 82,000 sell-out.
Geordan Murphy, George Chuter and Louis Deacon are the only three survivors from Leicester’s first Premiership Final appearance, against Wasps in 2005, who are still at the club. The other members of that day’s line-up still playing professional rugby are Sam Vesty, Andy Goode and Alesana Tuilagi.
Current Saints full-back Ben Foden was a member of the Sale Sharks squad in the 2006 Final victory over Tigers, appearing as a scrum-half replacement for Richard Wigglesworth.
Anthony Allen, Adam Thompstone and Richard Thorpe have all made Premiership Final appearances against Tigers before moving to the club. All finished on the losing side, Allen with Gloucester in 2007 and the others with London Irish in 2009.
Current assistant forwards coach Richard Blaze played as a replacement for Tigers in the 2008 Final against Wasps.
Alesana Tuilagi (2007), Geordan Murphy (2009) and Jordan Crane (2010) have all collected the Peter Deakin Medal as Man of the Match in a Premiership Final.
Tigers claimed a Final record of 7 tries in the 44-16 victory over Gloucester in 2007. Scorers were Alesana Tuilagi (2), Frank Murphy, Martin Corry, Andy Goode, Lewis Moody and Shane Jennings.
No team has scored more than 6 penalties in a Final – a feat achieved by Sale against Tigers in 2006 and by Leicester in each of the last two seasons.
The record number of points scored by an individual in a Final is 26, by Mark van Gisbergen of Wasps against Tigers in 2005.
The quickest-ever score in a Final was a drop goal from London Irish full-back Peter Hewat, just 19 seconds into the 2009 Final against Tigers. Leicester eventually won 10-9.
Ben Youngs is the youngest-ever player to run out in a Premiership Final. He was 17 years and 249 days old when he appeared as a replacement for Frank Murphy in the 2007 win over Gloucester and was not old enough to toast the win with champagne!
Ben Youngs is also the youngest try-scorer, aged 20 years 266 days when he touched down against Saracens in the 2010 win. The oldest Final try-scorer was Tigers captain Martin Corry in 2007, aged 33 years 212 days.
In 2011 Owen Farrell of Saracens became the youngest Final starter and points-scorer in the win over Leicester at 19 years 239 days.
Wayne Barnes will referee a record fifth Final this year after previous appearances in 2008, ’09, ’11 and ’12.
George Chuter, Geordan Murphy and Alesana Tuilagi have all appeared in 7 Premiership Finals for Leicester. Chuter and Murphy started in all 7 appearances, with Geordan holding the record for minutes played with 560. Tuilagi holds the record for runners-up medals with 5.
Hooker James Buckland played in 4 Premiership Finals as a replacement, with Leicester and then against Leicester with London Irish.
Toby Flood has kicked a record 10 penalties in Premiership Finals.
Jeremy Staunton and Ayoola Erinle both won Premiership titles with both Wasps and Leicester.
All stats compiled by Stuart Farmer Media Services Ltd.
