Preview: Wasps vs Harlequins

Editor

Sitting at the top of Pool 4, Quins will be looking to continue winning ways this weekend when they take on Wasps in Abu Dhabi.

Sitting at the top of Pool 4, Harlequins will be looking to continue winning ways this weekend when they take on Wasps at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

With victories already banked in the LV= Cup competition against Leicester and Newcastle, a win on Sunday would not only keep Harlequins on track for a place in the next round of the completion, but also see Quins unbeaten in their last eight successive games in all competitions.

Quins will be without a number of familiar faces on Sunday with Danny Care and Nick Easter in the England camp while Mike Brown, Joe Marler, Chris Robshaw, Ugo Monye and George Robson have all been named in the Saxons side that's in action this weekend.

There are a handful of changes to the side that defeated Bayonne at the Stoop and secured Quins a valuable home quarter-final spot in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

In the forwards, Ceri Jones returns from injury to link up with Joe Gray and Mark Lambert in the front row, with Ollie Kohn and Pete Browne supporting in the second row. With Robshaw and Easter away on international duty, Will Skinner is handed the captaincy and is joined in the back row by Maurie Fa'asalavu and Chris York.

Karl Dickson takes over scrum-half duties from Care and links up with Nick Evans at fly-half. Sam Smith, who has scored five tries in only four appearances this season, retains his place on the wing, with Gonzalo Camacho covering the other wing. Tom Williams remains at full-back.

Will Collier and Joe Trayfoot make their first appearances on the Quins bench.

Meanwhile, Mark Atkinson, Billy Vunipola and Sam Jones will make their Wasps debuts.

Fly-half Atkinson and back-row forwards Vunipola start at the Emirates Palace while captain Ben Jacobs is one of a number of regulars in a strong starting line-up alongside Richard Haughton, Tom Varndell and Dominic Waldouck.

Nic Berry starts at scrum-half in place of Joe Simpson who is training with warm weather training with England alongside club colleagues Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, Riki Flutey and Tim Payne.

London Wasps: 15 Jack Wallace , 14 Richard Haughton , 13 Ben Jacobs (c) , 12 Dominic Waldouck , 11 Tom Varndell , 10 Mark Atkinson , 9 Nic Berry , 1 Charlie Beech , 2 Tom Lindsay , 3 Ben Broster , 4 Marty Veale , 5 James Cannon , 6 Richard Birkett , 7 Sam Jones , 8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Michael Mayhew, 17 Shaun Ruwers, 18 Bob Baker, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Serge Betsen, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Dave Walder, 23 Christian Wade.

Harlequins: 15 T Williams, 14 G Camacho, 13 G Lowe, 12 J Turner-Hall, 11 S Smith, 10 N Evans, 9 K Dickson, 8 C York, 7 W Skinner (c), 6 M Fa'asalavu, 5 P Browne, 4 O Kohn, 3 M Lambert, 2 J Gray, 1 C Jones
Replacements: 16 M Cairns , 17 W Collier , 18 J Andress , 19 L Stevenson , 20 J Trayfoot , 21 D Moore , 22 R Clegg , 23 B Urdapilleta ,

Referee: Martin Fox (England)