One change from Exeter, Saints make four alterations

David Skippers
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Regular-season table-toppers Exeter Chiefs will take on Northampton Saints in the second Premiership semi-final, at Sandy Park on Saturday.

Having finished top of the pile for a second successive year, Rob Baxter’s side have home advantage once more for this encounter.

Just a week on from the two sides locking horns at the same venue – the Chiefs won that encounter 40-21 – the stakes could not be any higher as the two rivals go head-to-head to see who will tackle either Gloucester or defending champions Saracens at English Rugby’s HQ.

Not surprisingly, Baxter sticks with a virtually identical team to that which beat the Saints last weekend.

The sole change in the starting line-up sees Tom O’Flaherty get the nod over Olly Woodburn on the left wing, while on the bench Alec Hepburn is recalled at the expense of Billy Keast.

Meanwhile, Northampton Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd has made four changes to his side for this fixture.

The men in Black, Green and Gold travel down to Sandy Park hoping to seal their first return to the Premiership Final since 2014’s historic triumph.

But standing in their way are the Chiefs, who are looking to book their place in a fourth straight final.

All of Saints’ changes come in the pack with Teimana Harrison set to skipper the side in the number eight jersey.

Lewis Ludlam remains at flanker, but Courtney Lawes has been shifted into the back-row alongside him with Api Ratuniyarawa returning to the engine room to join Alex Moon.

Meanwhile Francois van Wyk, James Fish, and Ehren Painter all come into the front-row to start, with Painter playing his first league match since February.

Northampton stick with the same back-line that started last weekend’s clash at Sandy Park, with Ahsee Tuala continuing at full-back and Tom Collins and Taqele Naiyaravoro named on the wings.

Wales international Dan Biggar wears the number 10 jersey while Cobus Reinach starts at scrum-half, having scooped the Northampton Saints Supporters’ Player and Players’ Player of the Season awards at Thursday night’s End of Season dinner at Franklin’s Gardens.

Rory Hutchinson and Piers Francis complete the line-up in the centres, with Saints opting for a six-two split on the bench as David Ribbans, Tom Wood, and Jamie Gibson are all named amongst the replacements.

Form: This is Exeter Chiefs’ fourth Premiership Rugby semi-final, all in successive years, all played at Sandy Park, and all ending in victory. Exeter’s two defeats in Premiership Rugby since February have both come in the last four rounds. The Chiefs have lost just once at Sandy Park in the tournament since February 2018 – 19-26 to Wasps in Round 19. Northampton Saints have played in eight previous Gallagher Premiership Rugby semi-final encounters, their most recent being against Saracens in 2015. They have won just two of these matches, beating Saracens at Allianz Park in 2013 and Leicester at Franklin’s Gardens in 2014. The Saints defeat at Exeter last Saturday ended a three-game winning run in the competition. Exeter have lost just one of their last five fixtures with Northampton in Premiership Rugby: 28-31 at Franklin’s Gardens last December. Northampton have lost on their last seven visits to Sandy Park in all competitions, with their most recent victory there being by a single point in Premiership Rugby in February 2014.

The teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Jack Nowell, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Sam Hill

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison (c), 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 James Fish, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Tom Wood, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Luther Burrell

Date: Saturday, May 25
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 16:30 BST (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley, Jack Makepeace
TMO: Rowan Kitt

Gloucester