British & Irish Lions duo set for Worcester debuts

Planet Rugby

Round Four of the Premiership is set for kick-off as six matches take place, including high-riding Northampton Saints’ visit to Wasps on Sunday.

Check on all the team news for the weekend while we also predict the results of the games.

Friday

Harlequins v Bristol Bears

Form: Harlequins have won their last five Premiership Rugby matches since their 12-45 reversal at Sale on June 4. The Londoners are unbeaten in their last 10 contests at the Twickenham Stoop in Premiership Rugby including a run of nine successive victories. The only previous occasion that Harlequins have won nine successive home games in the tournament was in season 2013/14. Bristol Bears’ 25-20 win over Bath last Friday ended a three-game losing run in Premiership Rugby. The Bears’ only away win in Premiership Rugby since early May was 26-23 at Leicester in Round 21 last season. The two clubs met on three occasions last season with Bristol taking both fixtures in the regular campaign but Harlequins won a thrilling semi-final at Ashton Gate 43-36 after extra time. Bristol have won on their last two visits to Twickenham Stoop beating London Irish there in October 2020 and Harlequins on Boxing Day.

Prediction: Harlequins by 5

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Tom Lawday, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Will Collier, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Luke Northmore

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Steven Luatua (c), 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Fitz Harding, 5 Chris Vui, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Alapati Leiua

Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, Simon Harding
TMO: Karl Dickson

Saturday

Exeter Chiefs v Worcester Warriors

Form: Exeter Chiefs’ 25-15 victory at Sale on Sunday ended a three-game losing run in Premiership Rugby. The Chiefs lost 24-26 last time out at Sandy Park against Northampton but have not lost back-to-back matches at the venue in Premiership Rugby since September 2014. Worcester Warriors have slipped to a pair of defeats at Harlequins and at home to Gloucester following their opening weekend eclipsing of London Irish at Sixways. Excluding unplayed fixtures, the Warriors have won only once on the road in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since November 2019: 40-25 against London Irish at Twickenham Stoop in September 2020. Exeter have lost only one of their eighteen Premiership Rugby fixtures against Worcester: 5-6 at Sandy Park in February 2018.

Prediction: Exeter Chiefs by 15

The teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Facundo Cordero, 13 Henry Slade (c), 12 Tom Hendrickson, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Will Witty, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ian Whitten

Worcester Warriors: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Oli Morris, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Willi Heinz (cc), 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Kyle Hatherell, 5 Justin Clegg, 4 Andrew Kitchener, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Scott Baldwin (cc), 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Jay Tyack, 19 Joe Batley, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Will Butler, 23 Harri Doel

Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace, Phil Watters
TMO: David Rose

Gloucester v Sale Sharks

Form: Gloucester began the season with defeats at Northampton and at home to Leicester but were back to winning ways at Worcester on Saturday. The Cherry & Whites have won four of their last six fixtures in Premiership Rugby at Kingsholm (excluding unplayed games). Sale Sharks have won only one of their last five Premiership Rugby encounters and that by a single point at home to Bath in round one. The Sharks have not won away from home since they visited Bath for a Round 19 fixture in May. Sale’s only defeat in their last six encounters with Gloucester was 16-18 in Salford in October 2019. The Sharks have been victorious on their last three visits to Kingsholm.

Prediction: Sale Sharks by 6

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Jonny May, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Andrew Davidson, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements:
16 Matt Moulds, 17 Val Rapava-Ruskin, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Kyle Moyle

Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Luke James, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Cameron Nield, 5 Jean-Pierre du Preez, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Ross Harrison (c)
Replacements:
16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Nick Schonert, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Jono Ross, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Tom Roebuck

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: George Selwood, Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: Sara Cox

London Irish v Leicester Tigers

Form: London Irish are without a win in their last nine Premiership Rugby fixtures since beating Bath at Brentford in March, although they did draw 31-all with Sale at the same venue in Round Two. Leicester Tigers’ only loss in their last seven Premiership Rugby matches was 23-26 at home to Bristol on June 5. The only previous occasion that Tigers have begun the season with wins in four rounds was season 2000/01. The last five matches between the two sides have all gone with home field advantage whilst Leicester lost 9-22 on their only previous visit to Brentford Community Stadium in November 2020.

Prediction: Leicester Tigers by 6

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Ben Donnell, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Matt Cornish, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 George Nott, 21 Sean O’Brien, 22 Hugh O’Sullivan, 23 Benhard Janse van Rensburg

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 George Martin, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Nic Dolly, 1 Ellis Genge (c)
Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Marco van Staden 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Guy Porter

Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix, Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Saracens v Newcastle Falcons

Form: Saracens have won just two of their last seven Premiership Rugby matches, beating Exeter 40-17 at StoneX Stadium in September 2020 and Bristol at Ashton Gate in Round One this season. Saracens’ only home defeat in Premiership Rugby since October 2019 was 18-28 to Wasps in September 2020. Newcastle Falcons have won their last two Premiership Rugby fixtures at Bath and at home to Wasps but have not won three in succession since the first three rounds of last season. The Falcons’ victory at Bath in Round Two was their first win on the road in the tournament since beating Wasps in Coventry in December 2020. Saracens have won their last 18 Premiership Rugby matches against Newcastle since the Falcons 13-9 triumph at Kingston Park in February 2009. The last time that Newcastle were successful on Saracens soil was at Vicarage Road in December 2007.

Prediction: Saracens by 7

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Dom Morris, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:
16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Sean Reffell, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Nick Tompkins

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Pete Lucock, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Gary Graham, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements:
16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Will Montgomery, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 George Wacokecoke

Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: John Meredith, Alex Thomas
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Sunday

Wasps v Northampton Saints

Form: Craig Maxwell-Keys becomes the 16th referee to take charge of 100 Premiership matches, at 31 years of age he will be the youngest to achieve the milestone, 450 days younger than Wayne Barnes was on his 100th appearance in 2012. Wasps’ record in their last eight Premiership Rugby matches is an even won four, lost four. Wasps only defeat in their last four matches at Coventry Building Society Arena was 31-38 to Leicester on June 12. Northampton Saints have won all three matches so far in Premiership Rugby but have not started with four wins in a row since season 2012/13. Northampton won both fixtures against Wasps in Premiership Rugby last season and have also been victorious on three of their last four visits to Coventry in all tournaments.

Prediction: Northampton Saints by 3

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Marcus Watson, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements:
16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Ali Crossdale

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Nick Auterac
Replacements:
16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Alex Moon

Venue: Coventry Building Society Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant Referees: Greg Macdonald, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Rowan Kitt

 

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Don’t write off the Saracens trio

Saracens' trio Jamie George and Billy and Mako Vunipola were left out of the England training squad, but Mark McCall thinks they can get back into the mix.