Planet Rugby

Preview: Wasps v Leicester

23rd November 2012 10:30

Nicky Robinson Bath v Wasps

Nick Robinson: Back from injury

After time out with injury, both Joe Simpson and Nick Robinson return to Wasps' starting XV for Sunday's Premiership clash with Leicester Tigers.

There is also good news in the back row with Jonathan Poff returning from injury to take the starting seven shirt, alongside Ashley Johnson at blindside and Billy Vunipola at eight.

Phil Swainston will earn his first Premiership start, lining up in the front row alongside Tim Payne and T Rhys Thomas. James Cannon and Marco Wentzel start in the second row.

Outside Simpson and Robinson, Chris Bell and Elliot Daly are paired in the centres, with flyers Christian Wade and Tom Varndell on the wings and captain Hugo Southwell at fullback.

Young prop Will Taylor and London Scottish loanee Josh Brown are included on the bench having impressed in the LV=Cup and are both in line for their first Aviva Premiership appearance if they feature.

Director of Rugby Dai Young expects a difficult assignment.

"We know that we have a tough task ahead of us this weekend," he said.

"Leicester have a very strong squad of players and despite having some members of that squad away on international duty they have quality players who can come in.

"Our form and results at Adams Park have been very encouraging and the players will be doing their utmost to keep that going this Sunday."

Meanwhile, Anthony Allen and Thomas Waldrom go straight into the starting line-up for Leicester on their return from England duty.

Waldrom played for England in the opening two Tests of the autumn but returns to the Tigers No8 shirt this weekend, while EPS member Allen starts at centre for the trip to Adams Park.

Fellow England internationals George Chuter, Louis Deacon, Jordan Crane and Mathew Tait are also included in the Tigers line-up.

Club captain Geordan Murphy is named among the replacements after missing the last three games, and prop Michael Holford is included in the matchday 23 as Tigers are without international front rows Dan Cole, Martin Castrogiovanni and Marcos Ayerza, and the suspended Boris Stankovich.

Form: London Wasps last seven matches in Aviva Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. Wasps have a 100% winning record at Adams Park in all competitions this season. Leicester Tigers last seven competitive games have also all been won by the home side on the day. Tigers have slipped to three straight away defeats but haven't lost four in a row on the road since 2009. The last seven games between the two sides have all been won by the home team, whilst Leicester have not won at Adams Park since 2007.

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Chris Bell, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 James Cannon, 3 Phil Swainston, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Will Taylor, 19 Josh Brown, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Lee Thomas.

Leicester: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 George Ford, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jordan Crane, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Louis Deacon (c), 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 George Chuter, 1 Jonny Harris.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Michael Holford, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Patrick Phibbs, 22 Dan Bowden, 23 Geordan Murphy.

Date: Sunday, November 25
Kick-off: 14:30
Venue: Adams Park
Referee: Sean Davey
Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey Kevin Stewart
Television match official: Graham Hughes
Timekeeper: Bob Ockenden
Assessor: Ed Morrison

Comments

Be the first to comment on this story..


Character Count : 0/1900

Forthcoming Fixtures
FixtureDetails
All times are local
International Match
Sunday , May 26
England vs BarbariansEngland vs Barbarians Preview
More International Match fixtures
Super Rugby
Friday , May 31
Crusaders vs Waratahs08:35
Brumbies vs Hurricanes10:40
More Super Rugby fixtures
Recent Results
FixtureDetails
All times are local
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 25
Leicester 37 - 17 NorthamptonLeicester vs Northampton Report
More Aviva Premiership results
RaboDirect PRO12
Ulster 18 - 24 LeinsterUlster vs Leinster Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Clermont Auvergne 9 - 25 CastresClermont Auvergne vs Castres Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Blues 13 - 20 BrumbiesBlues vs Brumbies Report
Western Force 19 - 18 HighlandersWestern Force vs Highlanders Report
Stormers 20 - 15 RedsStormers vs Reds Report
Sharks 16 - 18 BullsSharks vs Bulls Report
Southern Kings 22 - 34 CheetahsSouthern Kings vs Cheetahs Report
More Super Rugby results
Top 14
Friday , May 24
Toulon 24 - 9 ToulouseToulon vs Toulouse Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Chiefs 28 - 19 CrusadersChiefs vs Crusaders Report
Melbourne Rebels 24 - 22 WaratahsMelbourne Rebels vs Waratahs Report
More Super Rugby results
Heineken Cup
Saturday , May 18
Clermont Auvergne 15 - 16 ToulonClermont Auvergne vs Toulon Report
More Heineken Cup results
Super Rugby
Crusaders 23 - 3 BluesCrusaders vs Blues Report
Waratahs 28 - 22 BrumbiesWaratahs vs Brumbies Report
Cheetahs 27 - 13 RedsCheetahs vs Reds Report
Bulls 35 - 18 HighlandersBulls vs Highlanders Report
More Super Rugby results
Amlin Challenge Cup
Friday , May 17
Stade Francais 13 - 34 LeinsterStade Francais vs Leinster Report
More Amlin Challenge Cup results
Super Rugby
Hurricanes 12 - 17 ChiefsHurricanes vs Chiefs Report
Western Force 13 - 23 SharksWestern Force vs Sharks Report
Melbourne Rebels 30 - 21 StormersMelbourne Rebels vs Stormers Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Sunday , May 12
Saracens 13 - 27 NorthamptonSaracens vs Northampton Report
Saturday , May 11
Leicester 33 - 16 HarlequinsLeicester vs Harlequins Report
More Aviva Premiership results
RaboDirect PRO12
Leinster 17 - 15 GlasgowLeinster vs Glasgow Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Castres 25 - 12 MontpellierCastres vs Montpellier Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Blues 36 - 32 Melbourne RebelsBlues vs Melbourne Rebels Report
More Super Rugby results