Adam Coleman set for London Irish debut

Colin Newboult

Adam Coleman of the Wallabies checks his hand for an injury during the Australian Wallabies and Manu Samoa International match at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, Saturday, September 7, 2019. (AAP Image/David Gray) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **

There are two games scheduled for Sunday in the Premiership, with Bristol Bears hosting London Irish and Harlequins taking on Gloucester.

Bristol Bears v London Irish

Toby Fricker makes his first Premiership start as top-of-the-table Bristol Bears host London Irish on Sunday.

The winger is rewarded for two tries in successive Challenge Cup fixtures with selection against the Exiles, while Andy Uren returns from a head injury to start.

Charles Piutau (ankle), John Afoa (calf), and Nathan Hughes (finger) return to the starting line-up for the Ashton Gate clash.

Bristol are boosted by the return of Alapati Leiua to the 23-man squad following a knee injury, while Luke Hamilton could make his Premiership debut for the Bears from the replacement bench.

Both sides head into the contest on the back of wins in Round Four, with the Exiles beating Leicester Tigers and Bristol grabbing a victory over Exeter Chiefs.

In the London Irish front-row, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, Saia Fainga’a and Ollie Hoskins combine, with Ruan Botha and Franco van der Merwe in the second-row. Van der Merwe captains the side from the five jersey.

Matt Rogerson and Blair Cowan start from either flanker position, as Albert Tuisue wears the number eight.

Ben Meehan and Stephen Myler start from scrum-half and fly-half respectively, with Terrence Hepetema and Tom Stephenson partnering in the centres.

Curtis Rona and Waisake Naholo start on the wings, as Paddy Jackson completes the line-up from full-back.

Adam Coleman is named in the replacements and, should he be required, is set to make his first appearance for the club.

The teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Toby Fricker, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Alapati Leiua

London Irish: 15 Paddy Jackson, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Curtis Rona, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Matt Rogerson, 5 Franco van der Merwe (c), 4 Ruan Botha, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Steve Mafi, 21 TJ Ioane, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Tom Parton

Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Paul Dix
Television match official: Stuart Terheege

Harlequins v Gloucester

Harlequins have included Rugby World Cup finalist Kyle Sinckler in their 23-man squad that will take on Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop.

Alex Dombrandt returns from injury at number eight with Tom Lawday switching to blindside flanker and captain Chris Robshaw starting at seven, with Will Evans being rotated out of the squad after a string of impressive performances.

Ross Chisholm moves to full-back allowing the young, pacey wingers Cadan Murley and Gabriel Ibitoye to start at 11 and 14 respectively, with Mike Brown unavailable due to injury.

The front-row remains unchanged; Elia Elia starting at hooker with Joe Marler and Will Collier alongside, building on a strong performance at The Stoop last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Cherry and Whites retain just four players from the starting line-up in Montpellier last weekend.

Three of those starting once again are in the backs, with Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris and Ollie Thorley keeping their spots. Meanwhile, in the pack, only Alex Craig is retained.

As such, there are returns for Tom Marshall, Mark Atkinson, Danny Cipriani and Joe Simpson to the backline.

In the pack, Val Rapava Ruskin, Franco Marais and Jamal Ford-Robinson form a new front-row and there’s a first start of the season for Rugby World Cup winner Franco Mostert alongside Alex Craig in the second-row. Finally, Ruan Ackermann, Lewis Ludlow and Ben Morgan will make up a new-look back-row with Morgan captaining the side.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 James Lang, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Lawday, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Francis Saili, 23 Travis Ismaiel

Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Ben Morgan (c), 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Corné Fourie, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Matt Banahan

Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Dean Richards, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: Sean Davey