150 up for Worcester stalwart Chris Pennell
Three matches are set to take place in the Premiership on Saturday, while Harlequins v Gloucester wrap up proceedings in at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday.
Saturday
Springbok Willie le Roux will make his 50th appearance for Wasps this Saturday when he steps out at Ricoh Arena to take on the Falcons.
Wasps are forced into one change to the starting line-up as Jack Willis comes in for Thomas Young (hip) ahead of an all-important clash, as Wasps look to hunt down the play-off places and Newcastle fight to avoid the drop.
Back-row Ben Morris comes into the replacements while Academy fly-half Jacob Umaga is also named on the bench and could make his Premiership debut.
The rest of the matchday 23 remains unchanged from last weekend’s outing at Leicester Tigers.
Meanwhile, Simon Hammersley will make his 100th appearance for Newcastle Falcons in this fixture.
The 25-year-old full-back is the top ball-carrier in this season’s Premiership and forms part of a team showing just one change from the one which defeated Worcester Warriors last weekend, a minor calf injury ruling out Scotland centre Chris Harris.
Josh Matavesi comes in at inside centre, Johnny Williams pushing out one place in a squad which sees Canadian international Evan Olmstead on the bench after re-joining the Falcons from Auckland.
Form: Wasps only victory in any competition since early January was 29-22 at Bristol in Round 13 of Premiership Rugby. Wasps have won just three times in any tournament at the Ricoh Arena this season, all in Premiership Rugby, against Leicester in Round Three, Bristol in Round Eight and Northampton in Rround 12. Newcastle Falcons five game losing run in Premiership Rugby ended with their 17-6 victory against Worcester at Kingston Park on Sunday. The Falcons have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since they visited Northampton on 1 December. Wasps have won their last seven matches against Newcastle in Premiership Rugby and are unbeaten in their last eleven since Newcastle’s 14-10 victory at Adams Park in May 2012. The Falcons only previous win at the Ricoh Arena was 53-41 in the opening round of last season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Rob Miller, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Ashley Johnson (c), 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Ross Neal
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Will Welch (c), 5 Andrew Davidson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Sam Lockwood
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 David Wilson, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Nemani Nagusa, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Pedro Bettencourt
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Philip Watters
TMO: Nigel Carrick
Northampton Saints v Bristol Bears
Piers Francis and Taqele Naiyaravoro are among eight changes to Northampton Saints’ starting XV who take on Bristol Bears in their encounter at Franklin’s Gardens.
The men in Black, Green and Gold will lock horns with the West Country outfit on home soil, having won their last seven home matches in all competitions.
Coming off the back of a disappointing loss to Saracens last weekend, Chris Boyd’s men will be looking to add an eighth consecutive victory at Franklin’s Gardens to their tally.
Hooker Reece Marshall starts in an otherwise unchanged front-row, packing down with Francois van Wyk and Paul Hill.
David Ribbans is joined in the second-row by Alex Moon after the young lock impressed off the bench last time out.
Tom Wood, who skippers the side, links up with Lewis Ludlam and Mitch Eadie to complete the back-row. Number eight Eadie makes his first league start of the season.
George Furbank moves to full-back, with Ahsee Tuala and Taqele Naiyaravoro outside him on the wings.
Piers Francis comes back into to the side from injury to form a centre partnership with Rory Hutchinson, who was named Premiership Player of the Month for February earlier this week.
Also returning is scrum-half Cobus Reinach, who starts in the half-backs with fit-again James Grayson named outside him at fly-half.
Saints will look to add some fire-power to the latter stages of the game, with the youth of James Fish, Tom Collins and Alex Mitchell ready to make an impact from the bench, while Jamal Ford-Robinson is set to make his first league appearance in almost a year.
Meanwhile, Jake Heenan will make his Premiership debut when he packs down on the openside flank for Bristol Bears.
The back-row is the only change to the side that overcame Gloucester in style last weekend.
Fly-half Callum Sheedy recovers from a dead leg to retain his place in the starting line-up, although Dan Thomas (head) is unavailable.
Form: Northampton Saints’ five game winning run in all competitions ended at Saracens on Saturday. The Saints have not lost successive Premiership Rugby encounters since Rounds eight and nine. Saints have lost just once at Franklin’s Gardens in any tournament since October – 14-16 to Newcastle in Round Nine of Premiership Rugby. Bristol Bears three game losing run in all competitions ended with their home win over Gloucester last Friday. The Bears have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since their single point victory at Sale on New Year’s Day 2017. Northampton have won their last seven matches against Bristol in all tournaments since the Bears’ 14-13 victory at Memorial Stadium in Premiership Rugby in November 2008. Bristol’s only victory at Franklin’s Gardens since 2001 was in January 2007.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 James Grayson, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Tom Wood (c), 5 David Ribbans, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Reece Marshall, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Tom Collins
Bristol: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Siale Piutau (cc), 11 Luke Daniels, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jordan Crane (cc), 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Steve Luatua, 5 Chris Vui, 4 Joe Batley, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lewis Thiede, 19 George Smith, 20 Jack Lam, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Mat Protheroe
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 14:45 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Wayne Falla, Robert Warburton
TMO: Sean Davey
Worcester Warriors v Exeter Chiefs
Worcester full-back Chris Pennell will enjoy a double celebration at Saturday’s Premiership match against Exeter Chiefs at Sixways.
Pennell will lead out the team in his Testimonial Game and will also become the first Warriors player to make 150 Premiership appearances.
The 31-year-old former England international equalled Craig Gillies’ previous Premiership appearance record of 149 matches at Newcastle last Sunday and will reach the new landmark on a day when there will be a range of fund-raising activities for the three charities – Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust, Diabetes UK and Acorns Children’s Hospice – which Pennell is supporting through his Testimonial.
Pennell, the son of the late Graham Dilley, the former England cricketer, made his Premiership debut for Warriors at Bath in 2007 and has played all his rugby for the club he joined from Old Swinford Hospital School.
Pennell will go into the Exeter match needing one point to become only the sixth Warriors player to score 400 points for the club in all competitions.
Warriors are without hooker Jack Singleton who suffered an elbow injury at Newcastle. Niall Annett, who has made a quick recovery from a shoulder injury, replaces Singleton in the middle of the front row.
The other change is at loosehead prop where Callum Black starts.
Number eight Marco Mama has recovered from the head injury he sustained in the second half at Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter makes two changes to his starting XV. Both come in the back division where Jack Maunder gets the nod over Nic White at scrum-half, while Tom O’Flaherty returns with Wales and British & Irish Lions winger Alex Cuthbert ruled out due to a knock.
On the bench, Harry Williams – who was released by England earlier this week – offers back-up at tighthead with Marcus Street the man to make way.
Form: Worcester Warriors have won just twice in the last seven rounds of Premiership Rugby, and both were last gasp victories at Sixways, against Bath and Leicester. The Warriors have lost only twice at Sixways since September, to Northampton in Round 10 of Premiership Rugby and against Saracens in the semi-final of the Premiership Rugby Cup. Exeter Chiefs have won their last two Premiership Rugby encounters, at home to Newcastle and away to Sale, but have not won three in a row since November. The Chiefs victory at Sale last weekend ended a three-game losing run on the road in Premiership Rugby. Exeter’s only defeat to Worcester in their thirteen previous Premiership Rugby meetings was 5-6 at Sandy Park, 13 months ago. The Chiefs lost on their most recent visit to Sixways, 21-31 in last season’s Anglo-Welsh Cup.
The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills (c), 11 Tom Howe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Marco Mama, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ollie Lawrence
Exeter: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Nic White, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Sam Hill
Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Michael Hudson, Matthew O’Grady
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Sunday
Harlequins v Gloucester
There are three changes to Harlequins’ starting XV that beat Bath at The Rec last week as Jack Clifford returns at blindside flanker, Dave Lewis starts at scrum-half and the impressive Ben Tapuai is rotated to accommodate a start for Francis Saili.
Head of Rugby Paul Gustard said: “We have generated some decent momentum this calendar year, winning our past five Gallagher Premiership matches. Now we want to build on this and be the best version of ourselves this Sunday against Gloucester.
“It was important we kept our winning streak last week against Bath and it was pleasing to see us scoring tries through phase attack, through our defence and through our set-piece. Now we are relishing our return to The Stoop to take on a high-flying Gloucester side. We look forward to the challenge they bring.”
Meanwhile, Gloucester have named an unchanged starting line-up for the game.
The only changes to the matchday squad are amongst the replacements. Props Kyle Traynor and Gareth Denman get the nod, while Lewis Ludlow comes in for Jake Polledri who has been called up by Italy for Six Nations duty.
Ollie Thorley and Callum Braley who have trained with England and Italy respectively this week, are available for selection.
It’s third against fourth place in the Premiership table and, having slipped up at Bristol last weekend, the Cherry and Whites would dearly love to get back to winning ways to boost their end of season play-off hopes.
Form: Harlequins have won their last five Premiership Rugby matches since their defeat at Leicester on 22 December, they have not won six in a row in the tournament in the same season since 2011/12. Harlequins have not lost at Twickenham Stoop in Premiership Rugby since Saracens were the visitors on 6 October. Gloucester’s last four matches in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. Gloucester are yet to win away from home in 2019 with their most recent victory on their travels being on a visit to Newcastle on 23 December. Harlequins’ only defeat to Gloucester in their last five encounters was 9-37 at Kingsholm in April 2018, whilst Gloucester’s most recent victory against ‘Quins at The Stoop in Premiership Rugby was in September 2006, although they did beat Edinburgh there in the European Challenge Cup final in 2015.
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 James Lang, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw (cc), 6 Jack Clifford, 5 James Horwill (cc), 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Lewis Boyce
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 George Merrick, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Niall Saunders, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Alofa Alofa
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Matt Banahan
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Paul Dix
TMO: David Rose