Anglo-Welsh Cup Preview: Bath v Northampton
Second-row Charlie Ewels will captain Bath in their Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints on Friday evening.
Ewels packs down alongside Levi Douglas, while Tom Ellis marks his return to the starting line-up in the back-row.
Tom Homer continues at full-back, with Darren Atkins and Cooper Vuna on the right and left wing respectively. James Wilson switches from fly-half to inside centre to partner Will Hurrell in the midfield.
Josh Lewis and Chris Cook will look to pull the strings in the half-back combination, as Bath look to secure their place in next weekend’s final at Kingsholm.
In the front-row, Nathan Charles starts at hooker, and will be joined either side by Beno Obano and Max Lahiff with Ellis coming into the fold at blindside flanker. Josh Bayliss continues his run in the team at openside, with James Phillips starting at number eight.
Meanwhile, Northampton have made five changes to their starting line-up, with Teimana Harrison set to make his 100th appearance in Black, Green and Gold.
Travelling to the Rec on Friday evening, Saints will be looking to reach the final of the tournament for the fourth time in eight seasons.
The visitors have already locked horns with Todd Blackadder’s Bath twice this season, with one home victory apiece for either side in the Premiership.
Saints will start with a new-look half-back partnership at the Rec, with Cobus Reinach brought back into the side at scrum-half and Stephen Myler – who impressed off the bench last weekend – outside him.
That leaves Piers Francis to shift to inside centre in place of the injured Luther Burrell, with the rest of Northampton’s backline unchanged from last week.
Ben Foden skippers Saints on the wing, with Nafi Tuitavake and Ahsee Tuala once again making up the rest of the back three.
There is one change to Saints’ front-row with Reece Marshall making his fourth start of the season at hooker as Mike Haywood is rested, but props Campese Ma’afu and Kieran Brookes are unchanged.
David Ribbans has recovered from a shoulder knock to return alongside Api Ratuniyarawa in the second row, while Jamie Gibson starts at flanker in place of the injured Tom Wood alongside centurion Harrison.
Charlie Clare, Ben Nutley and Tom Stephenson also all come into the 23 to take their place among the replacements, and Nic Groom is poised to make his 50th Northampton appearance off the bench.
“We want to perform in every game, but winning silverware this season is a huge aim for us now and this week is a big opportunity,” said Saints' interim head coach Alan Dickens.
“We’re under no illusions that this will be a tough game this Friday – it’s a semi-final away from home – but we’ve got to go there and put in a performance.”
The teams:
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Darren Atkins, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 James Wilson, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Josh Lewis, 9 Chris Cook, 8 James Phillips, 7 Josh Bayliss, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Aled Brew, 23 Matt Banahan
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Nafi Tuitavake, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Ben Foden (c), 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Heinrich Brüssow, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Reece Marshall, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Tom Stephenson, 23 Ken Pisi
Date: Friday, March 9
Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Gareth John (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)