Skivington: Leading London Wasps
London Wasps have opted for a blend of youth and experience for their opening round of the LV=Cup, facing London Irish at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Director of Rugby Tony Hanks has named England pair Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley amongst the starting XV, whilst giving first starts to Academy prop Bob Baker and back row Hugo Ellis.
Resting regular captain Serge Betsen, England Saxon George Skivington will lead Wasps against their local rivals. Skivington, who made his debut for Wasps in 2003, will make his 115th appearance for the club - a player who has helped ensure the Londoners third place spot in the league, playing a full 80 minutes in six of the seven fixtures.
In the front row, 20-year-old Baker combines with hooker Joe Ward and prop Charlie Beech. Shaw and captain Skivington partner in the second row and John Hart, Worsley and Ellis form the back row.
In the back division, Mark Van Gisbergen runs out for his 199th club appearance and Tom Varndell comes back into the starting line-up for the rested Paul Sackey.
Recovering from a calf strain, Ben Jacobs combines with Lachlan Mitchell in the midfield and Welsh capped scrum-half Warren Fury trades places with Joe Simpson on the bench to collect his second start of the season.
Amongst the replacements Mark Odejobi makes a first appearance on a 2009/10 team sheet and Marty Veale is also named.
"For us this is an exciting opportunity to mark out our intent at the beginning of another campaign. Wasps have enjoyed mixed success in the Anglo-Welsh competition in the past and we are taking this season's LV= Cup competition very seriously," said Hanks.
"For those players named in Sunday's team this fixture is hugely important and means just as much as any league or European outing.
"Facing London Irish in the opening round certainly gives this game another edge - I know that the whole squad want to produce a better performance than our last outing at the Madejski.
"Irish have made an impressive start to the season so we know that Sunday's game will be hugely competitive, but the players are eager to set out their own marker in this competition and are focused on a strong performance."
Meanwhile, there is a new look to the London Irish team.
With up to nine players on stand-by for duty in the autumn internationals and a number of injuries, the Exiles called upon the depth of their talented squad for this opening round Cup fixture.
Ten of the players in the starting XV played in last Saturday's Guinness Premiership match with Harlequins. They are joined by five players that have made regular appearances for the club in the Premiership or 'A' league since the start of the season.
Mike Catt is named among the replacements for the first time this season.
"Given that the opening rounds of the LV= Cup coincide with the autumn internationals and the resulting demands they make on playing squads, clubs have the opportunity to call on their full playing resources," said London Irish Head Coach Toby Booth.
"We have a high quality group of players so every one of them that is fit will get a chance to play over coming weeks. Knowing our players, they will relish the opportunity to show what they are capable of."
The teams:
London Irish: 15 Jamie Lennard, 14 Peter Hewat, 13 Tom Homer, 12 Charlie Gower, 11 John Rudd, 10 Chris Malone, 9 Peter Richards (c), 8 Richard Thorpe, 7 Jonathon Fisher, 6 Kieran Roche, 5 Gary Johnson, 4 Andy Perry, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland 17 Alex Corbisiero; 18 Max Lahiff; 19 Matt Garvey; 20 Steffon Armitage 21 Marcus Watson 22 Mike Catt 23 Alfredo Lalanne.
London Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Lachlan Mitchell, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Warren Fury, 8 Hugo Ellis, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 John Hart, 5 Simon Shaw, 4 George Skivington (c), 3 Bob Baker, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Charlie Beech.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Gabriel Bocca, 18 Ben Broster, 19 Marty Veale, 20 Will Matthews, 21Joe Simpson, 22 Eoghan Hickey, 23 Mark Odejobi.
Date: Sunday, November 8
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Venue: Madejski Stadium
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Bruce Robertson (England), Roger Baileff (England)
Television match official: Brian Abrahams (England)
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