Century celebration for Dan Robson against former club

Add as a preferred source on Google

There are five Premiership games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with Northampton Saints, Gloucester, Harlequins, London Irish and Leicester Tigers all hosting their respective matches.

Saturday

Northampton Saints v Worcester Warriors

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has named his side for Saints’ first home match of the new Premiership season, with the club featuring in its 500th top-flight tie, against Worcester Warriors.

Saints opened their Premiership campaign with an impressive victory over reigning champions Saracens, and will be hoping to build on that performance as they take to Franklin’s Gardens turf for only the third time this season.

One of only two changes to the starting line-up that picked up the win at Allianz Park, Teimana Harrison returns to the side – after missing out last week through injury – to pack down at number eight. Tom Wood steps into flanker and 19-year-old JJ Tonks retains his place in the XV on the other flank to complete the back-row.

With David Ribbans away on compassionate leave, Alex Coles switches from flanker to lock as he starts the game in the engine room alongside Alex Moon.

Alex Waller co-captains the side from the front row with James Fish and Ehren Painter – the only other change from last weekend – packing down alongside him.

Rory Hutchinson pairs up with 20-year-old Fraser Dingwall in the centres once again, while half-backs Henry Taylor and James Grayson – who scored the winning points for Saints last weekend – link up for the fifth week running.

Boyd has named an unchanged backline from last weekend, with Tom Collins, Taqele Naiyaravoro and George Furbank all retaining their places in the back three.

Rory Hutchinson pairs up with 20-year-old Fraser Dingwall in the centres once again, while half-backs Henry Taylor and James Grayson – who scored the winning points for Saints last weekend – link up for the fifth week running.

And there are some welcome sights on Saints’ bench as club stalwarts Jamie Gibson and Mikey Haywood – who has spent 11 months on the sideline since making his 200th Saints appearance – are set to make their first appearances of the season from the bench.

Meanwhile, Worcester loosehead prop Ethan Waller will start against his former club on Saturday.

Waller came off the bench in last Saturday’s home win over Leicester Tigers but swaps places with Callum Black, who moves to the bench, for the trip to Northampton.

Hooker Joe Taufete’e is set for his seasonal debut for Warriors having returned to Sixways last week from Rugby World Cup duty with Japan. Taufete’e has been named among the replacements but Samoa wing Ed Fidow, who was also on World Cup duty, has been given more time to familiarise himself with Warriors’ attacking and defensive systems following his summer move from Provence.

Openside flanker Sam Lewis has recovered from a rib injury which ruled him out of the Leicester match and he starts in the back-row.

Lewis fills the gap left by Marco Mama who misses out having sustained a head knock in training which requires him to go through the return-to-play protocols.

Centre Ryan Mills will lead the side in Mama’s absence with club captain GJ van Velze, another former Northampton player, again named as a replacement.

Lock Michael Fatialofa, who was a replacement against Leicester, comes into the starting line up as Warriors’ third change in a swap with Graham Kitchener who is named on the bench this week.

Form: Northampton Saints’ only defeat in the last five regular-season rounds of Premiership Rugby was 21-40 at Exeter in Round 22. The Saints beat champions Saracens in their own backyard in round 1 but have not won their opening two matches of a new Premiership Rugby campaign since 2013/14. Worcester Warriors’ only defeat in the last five rounds of Premiership Rugby was 10-38 to Saturday’s opponents Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens in Round 21. The Warriors beat Leicester 24-16 at Sixways last weekend but have never begun a Premiership Rugby campaign with back-to-back victories. Northampton have lost just one of their last seven fixtures against Worcester: 15-30 at Sixways in November 2017 whilst the Warriors have not been victorious at Franklin’s Gardens since New Year’s Day 2007.

The teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 James Grayson, 9 Henry Taylor, 8 Teimana Harrison (cc), 7 JJ Tonks, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 James Fish, 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Karl Garside, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Connor Tupai, 22 Andy Symons, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ryan Mills (c), 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Callum Black, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 GJ van Velze, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Francois Venter

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Jack Makepeace
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Simon McConnell
TMO: Nigel Carrick

Gloucester v Wasps

Lewis Ludlow will make his 100th competitive appearance for Gloucester in Saturday’s Premiership fixture at home to Wasps, the Cherry and Whites naming an unchanged starting line-up.

Ludlow made his debut in the 2013/14 season, and has gone on to become a regular in the Gloucester back-row, skippering the team in both the Premiership Rugby Cup and Champions Cup last season.

The Cherry and Whites keep faith with the side that started at the AJ Bell Stadium last Saturday, with the only changes to the matchday squad amongst the replacements.

Jake Polledri and Callum Braley are both included having returned from Rugby World Cup duty with Italy, while Ben Morgan is named in the matchday squad for the first time this season.

Meanwhile, Wasps captain and scrum-half Dan Robson will make his 100th appearance for the club as he prepares to face his former employers in Round 2 at Kingsholm.

Wasps have made four changes to the starting line-up with Tommy Taylor, Thibaud Flament, Nizaam Carr and Juan de Jongh coming in.

Taylor has recovered from illness to start at hooker next to Zurabi Zhvania and Kieran Brookes while Academy forward Flament is given his first Premiership start in the second-row next to James Gaskell.

Brad Shields and Sione Vailanu are joined in the back-row by Carr, as the unfortunate Jack Willis suffered a laceration to his knee in training this week.

Robson and Lima Sopoaga will continue their half-back combination with Springbok De Jongh starting in the centres next to Malakai Fekitoa.

A pacey back-three sees Marcus Watson, Zach Kibirige and Josh Bassett keep their starting spots and among the replacements, Tim Cardall is called up and could make his Premiership debut, with Rob Miller and Ashley Johnson also restored to the matchday 23.

Form: Gloucester beat Sale Sharks 18-16 in Round 1 but have not won their opening two games of a Premiership Rugby campaign since 2007/08. Gloucester have won their last five Premiership Rugby matches at Kingsholm since Sale beat them there on 29 December. Wasps have won just one of their last four Premiership Rugby encounters: 27-25 against Harlequins at Ricoh Arena in Round 22 last season. Wasps have won just two of their last eight away games in Premiership Rugby, at Bristol in Round 13 and at Exeter in Round 19. Gloucester are unbeaten in their last three fixtures against Wasps since their 24-49 reversal at the Ricoh Arena in December 2017, whilst Wasps have not been victorious at Kingsholm since December 2014.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Lewis Ludlow, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (c), 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 Ben Morgan, 21 Jake Polledri, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Matt Banahan

Wasps: 15 Marcus Watson, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson (c), 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Rob Miller

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Roy Maybank
TMO: David Rose

Harlequins v Bristol Bears

Harlequins have confirmed their matchday squad for the side’s first home Premiership fixture of the season, welcoming Bristol Bears to The Stoop.

21 of the 23 that faced Exeter are again named in Saturday’s squad, with Mike Brown picking up a minor injury and consequently being replaced in the starting team by Aaron Morris. Niall Saunders takes his place in the matchday 23 on rotation and the versatile Ross Chisholm completes the squad.

Harlequins have already hosted Bristol Bears at The Stoop this year in round one of the Premiership Rugby Cup, with Harlequins claiming a 24-12 victory.

Quins are without the following players who are not available for selection: Rob Buchanan, Max Crumpton, Toby Freeman, Jack Clifford, Danny Care, Charlie Mulchrone, Michele Campagnaro, Paul Lasike, Francis Saili, Nathan Earle and Travis Ismaiel.

Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Tevita Cavubati, Vereniki Goneva and Semi Kunatani remain unavailable due to their Rugby World Cup exploits.

Meanwhile, Siale Piutau will make his first outing of the new campaign when Bristol travel to Harlequins.

The Tongan international – who captained his country at the Rugby World Cup in Japan – is one of two changes to the side that secured maximum points in the season opener last weekend.

Chris Vui is the only change to the pack, making his first start of the season following international duty with Samoa.

Alapati Leiua (knee) will be sidelined for up to six weeks for an injury sustained in the victory over Bath.

Ed Holmes and Lewis Thiede are listed among the replacements and could make their first outings of the Premiership season if they feature.

Form: Harlequins have won just one of their last eight Premiership Rugby fixtures: 23-19 over Leicester at Twickenham Stoop on 3 May. Quins have won their last three matches at the Stoop in all competitions since Northampton beat them there by a single point in Premiership Rugby in April. Bristol Bears are the only side with maximum points after the opening round of Premiership Rugby and are unbeaten in their last five matches in the competition since their 19-26 loss to Bath at Twickenham on 6 April. Bristol have not begun a Premiership Rugby campaign with a pair of victories since 2005/06. Harlequins’ only defeat in their last nine encounters with Bristol in Premiership Rugby was 13-20 at Ashton Gate in round 4 last year, whilst the Bears most recent victory at Twickenham Stoop in the tournament was in September 2001.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Tom Lawday, 7 Will Evans, 6 Chris Robshaw (c), 5 Matt Symons, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Will Collier, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Glen Young, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Niall Saunders, 22 James Lang, 23 Ross Chisholm

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Mat Protheroe, 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 Shaun Malton, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Lewis Thiede, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Will Hurrell

Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Wayne Falla
TMO: Trevor Fisher

London Irish v Sale Sharks

London Irish have made one change to their starting XV from last weekend to face Sale Sharks at the Madejski Stadium.

Following on from the victory against Wasps, the squad will be looking to take the momentum into Saturday’s clash with the Manchester-based team.

Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, Saia Fainga’a and Ollie Hoskins start in the front-row, with George Nott and Ruan Botha in the second-row.

Matt Rogerson continues in the six jersey, with Blair Cowan at blindside flanker. Cowan, fresh from topping the league tackle stats in Round One, will captain the side. Fiji international Albert Tuisue starts at number eight.

Scott Steele and Paddy Jackson continue their partnership at scrum-half and fly-half respectively, with Terrence Hepetema at inside centre and Curtis Rona at outside centre.

Ollie Hassell-Collins is given the 11 jersey and will be keen to carry on his form from his try-scoring efforts last week. Ben Loader starts from the other wing and Tom Parton completes the backline at full-back.

Meanwhile, Steve Diamond makes six changes to his matchday 23 that narrowly lost 18-16 to Gloucester at the AJ Bell Stadium in the opening round of the season.

Ross Harrison and Akker van der Merwe remain in the starting line-up this week, joined by Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead who replaces Jake Cooper-Woolley in the front-row.

Experienced former All Black Bryn Evans moves into the second-row alongside Josh Beaumont ahead of this weekend’s clash with the newly promoted side.

Jono Ross captains the team from openside flanker and contributes to a powerful Sale back-row that includes both Jean-Luc and Daniel du Preez at six and eight respectively. Behind the pack the twins’ elder brother Rob and Will Cliff make up an unchanged half-back combination.

In the backs, South African international Rohan Janse van Rensburg returns to the starting line-up for the first time since Sale hosted Northampton in the Premiership Rugby Cup. The powerful inside centre will be joined by Sam James in the midfield.

Denny Solomona returns to action at Irish after being sidelined last week due to a minor injury, the England international is included alongside Simon Hammersley and Byron McGuigan in a hugely experienced back three ahead of the Sharks trip to Reading.

Form: London Irish beat Wasps in Coventry on Sunday but have not won successive Premiership Rugby matches since beating Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks at Madejski Stadium in 2015. The Exiles have not been victorious in their opening two fixtures of a new Premiership Rugby campaign since 2001/02. Sale Sharks’ three game unbeaten run in Premiership Rugby ended at home to Gloucester on Saturday whilst they have not lost successive matches in the tournament for twelve months. The Sharks have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since a trip to Wasps in February. Sale have won their last five fixtures against London Irish in all competitions since the Exiles 25-23 victory at Madejski Stadium in Premiership Rugby in April 2015.

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan (c), 6 Matt Rogerson, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 George Nott, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Conor Gilsenan, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Matt Williams

Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jono Ross (c), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Phillips, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Luke James, 23 Marland Yarde

Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Philip Watters
TMO: David Grashoff

Sunday

Leicester Tigers v Saracens

Leicester Tigers welcome back the first of their Rugby World Cup players with Tonga international Sione Kalamafoni included in the matchday 23 for Sunday’s Premiership fixture at home to Saracens.

Kalamafoni returns to the squad after playing in his third World Cup tournament and will make his first appearance of the club season after being named among the replacements.

South African centre EW Viljoen plays his first game at Welford Road and he is joined by Kyle Eastmond who missed the Round One trip to Worcester Warriors due to illness.

The only change in the forward pack is the inclusion of Jake Kerr at hooker, with club captain Tom Youngs ruled out by a knock from the Warriors game. Calum Green takes over as captain in a league game for the first time.

Charlie Clare could make his first Premiership appearance for the club as he is included among the replacements.

Meanwhile, Academy fly-half Manu Vunipola will make the second Premiership start of his career when Saracens take on Leicester Tigers.

The England U20 youngster impressed during the Men in Black’s Premiership Rugby Cup matches and steps up to take the 10 shirt following an injury to Alex Goode.

Number eight Jackson Wray takes the captaincy role in Goode and Brad Barritt’s absence and leads a side with three further changes to the starting XV from the opening day.

Front-row duo Richard Barrington and Tom Woolstencroft are back in the pack and Sean Maitland appears in a Saracens line-up for the first time upon his return from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Fellow Scotland international Duncan Taylor is named as a replacement and is set for his first competitive club outing since April 2018.

Barritt, Goode, Mike Rhodes, Max Malins, Dom Morris, Kapeli Pifeleti and Juan Figallo are unavailable for Sunday’s match due to injury while Josh Ibuanokpe remains suspended.

Form: Leicester Tigers have lost their last four Premiership Rugby matches but have not lost five in a row in the competition since 2003. The Tigers only victory in their last six matches at Welford Road was against Exeter in the Premiership Rugby Cup on 27 September. Saracens have won just one of their last seven away games in Premiership Rugby: 31-14 at Wasps in round 20 last season and have not been defeated in their opening two rounds of a Premiership Rugby campaign since 2008/09. Saracens have lost just one of their last seven Premiership Rugby fixtures against Tigers: 20-28 at Allianz Park in February 2018. Saracens were winless in their first thirty-two visits to Welford Road since 1964 until their first victory there in 2010, they have now lost on only three of their last eleven visits.

The teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 George Worth, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonah Holmes, 10 Noel Reid, 9 Ben White, 8 Guy Thompson, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Calum Green (c), 4 Will Spencer, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Nephi Leatigaga, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Sione Kalamafoni, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Jordan Olowofela

Saracens: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray (c), 7 Ben Earl, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Ralph Adams-Hale, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Callum Hunter-Hill, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Rotimi Segun

Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Simon McConnell
TMO: Stuart Terheege

[jwplayer xhBLlAsQ-KtOROyIZ]

Bristol