Nemani Nadolo to make Tigers bow against London Irish

David Skippers
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There’s four Premiership games scheduled for Wednesday as the midweek action continues, with Northampton v Bath rounding off the evening.

Leicester Tigers v London Irish

Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick has made 14 changes to his matchday squad for their game against London Irish at Welford Road.

Ellis Genge and Tom Youngs return after missing Saturday’s fixture and are joined in the front-row by fellow international Dan Cole, who came off the bench against Bath at the weekend.

Tigers Academy graduates Harry Wells and Calum Green make up the second-row with Hanro Liebenberg included at blindside flanker for his first start since the Premiership resumed. He is alongside Tommy Reffell and Jordan Taufua.

Ben Youngs and George Ford return at half-back with fellow international pairing Matt Scott and Jaco Taute in the midfield.

Nemani Nadolo will make his highly-anticipated debut for Leicester while David Williams, who made his senior club bow away to Exeter in Round 15, is on the other wing.

Academy graduate Freddie Steward is at full-back in his first starting appearance of the resumed 2019/20 campaign.

Included among the replacements is Charlie Clare, who scored his first Tigers try in last weekend’s outing at Welford Road, and is joined by Joe Heyes and Nephi Leatigaga as front-row cover.

George Martin is in line for his second Premiership appearance after impressing in his debut on Saturday, with Luke Wallace the other forward on the bench.

Backs replacements are Tigers Academy graduates Ben White and Jordan Olowofela, as well as recent addition Zack Henry.

Meanwhile, London Irish have confirmed their squad that is set to travel to Welford Road for the midweek clash.

Harry Elrington, Motu Matu’u and Sekope Kepu make up the front-row, with George Nott and Sebastian de Chaves continuing their partnership in the second-row.

Ben Donnell is named at blindside flanker and Blair Cowan captains the side from openside flanker. Albert Tuisue continues in the number eight jersey.

Ben Meehan and Paddy Jackson are chosen to start at scrum-half and fly-half respectively, as Terrence Hepetema and Curtis Rona combine in the centres.

London Irish Academy graduates make up the back three, with Ollie Hassell-Collins and Tom Parton named on the wings and Tom Homer at full-back.

Form: Luke Pearce becomes just the 13th referee to take charge of 100 Premiership Rugby matches, only Wayne Barnes was younger to the milestone and that by only 31 days. Leicester Tigers have slipped to three successive Gallagher Premiership Rugby defeats but have not lost four in a row in the tournament in the same season since the 2017/18 campaign. Tigers three defeats in Premiership Rugby at Welford Road this season were against Saracens, Exeter and Bath. London Irish have lost their last four Gallagher Premiership Rugby encounters, their worst run in the tournament since February 2018. The Exiles have won three times away from home in Premiership Rugby this season, at Wasps in round one, Northampton and Harlequins in round 9 and 10. London Irish beat Leicester 36-11 at Madejski Stadium in November to end a run of six successive Tigers victories in all competitions in the series, whilst Irish have just once before achieved a season’s league double over Leicester, in the 2002/03 Premiership Rugby campaign. London Irish have won just twice at Welford Road since they first visited in 1923, both in Premiership Rugby, 20-19 in May 2003 and 22-19 in September 2014.

The teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 David Williams, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 George Martin, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Ben White, 22 Zack Henry, 23 Jordan Olowofela

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Tom Parton, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan (c), 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 George Nott, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Matt Cornish, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Jack Cooke, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Rory Brand, 22 Jacob Atkins, 23 Ross Neal

Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 18:00 BST
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson, Wayne Falla
TMO: Sean Davey

Saracens v Gloucester

Ben Harris and Will Hooley will make their Saracens debuts when Gloucester visit Allianz Park on Wednesday.

USA international Hooley, who signed from Bedford Blues this summer, lines up at full-back while winger Harris will make his Premiership debut weeks after joining from the England Sevens programme.

Six Academy graduates appear alongside the duo with Andy Christie earning a first league start at number eight and Elliott Obatoyinbo moves to the wing due to Hooley’s inclusion.

Sean Reffell and Joel Kpoku return to the pack, and half-backs Tom Whiteley and Manu Vunipola feature in the nine and 10 jerseys.

A fresh front-row sees props Richard Barrington and Alec Clarey sandwich Tom Woolstencroft, who will captain the Men in Black from hooker, and Elliot Daly is back in the midfield with Juan Pablo Socino.

Scotland international Tim Swinson is in the second-row for his maiden Saracens start and Calum Clark completes the XV.

On the bench, Academy lock Cameron Boon could make his senior debut. New recruits Janco Venter and Harry Sloan are named in a Wolfpack 23 for the first time.

Meanwhile, Mark Atkinson will captain the Cherry and Whites as he returns to the midfield alongside club stalwart, Henry Trinder, on Wednesday.

George Skivington has selected an exciting blend of experience and youth as he looks to rotate his squad for the second of three fixtures in 10 days. Most notably, over half of the Gloucester squad is homegrown from the academy.

In the back-row, summer signing Jordy Reid will make his Premiership debut, alongside academy starlet Josh Gray. Jack Clement will wear the number eight shirt in his first Premiership start in Cherry and White.

Six of the those selected on the bench for Friday’s game with Bristol step up to the starting line-up, including Charlie Sharples coming in at full-back.

Amongst the replacements, youngsters Cameron Jordan and George Barton look set to make Premiership debuts for the club should enter the action at Allianz Park.

Form: This is the latest kick-off for a match at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby, previously it was 4pm when they beat Wednesday’s opponents, Gloucester, in May 2018. Saracens’ only defeat in the last four rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby was 12-16 at Bristol on 15 August. Saracens have won their last nine matches at Allianz Park in all tournaments since Northampton beat them in round one of Premiership Rugby. Gloucester Rugby’s only victory in their last eight first team matches was 44-15 at Worcester on 15 August. Gloucester have not won successive away games in Premiership Rugby since April 2019. Saracens have lost just one of their last five fixtures against Gloucester: 24-30 at Kingsholm in February 2019 whilst the Cherry and White’ most recent victory on Saracens soil was in November 2008 at Vicarage Road.

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Will Hooley, 14 Ben Harris, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Andy Christie, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Alec Clarey, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Josh Ibuanokpe, 19 Cameron Boon, 20 Janco Venter, 21 Alex Day, 22 Harry Sloan, 23 Charlie Watson

Gloucester: 15 Charlie Sharples, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Mark Atkinson (c), 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Jordy Reid, 6 Josh Gray, 5 Danny Drake, 4 Charlie Beckett, 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Logovi’i Mulipola
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Cameron Jordan, 20 Joe Howard, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 George Barton, 23 Tom Seabrook

Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 18:00 BST
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal, Roy Maybank
TMO: Karl Dickson

Worcester Warriors v Harlequins

Lock Anton Bresler will make his 50th appearance for Worcester Warriors in Wednesday’s Premiership match against Harlequins at Sixways.

Bresler, 32, joined Warriors from Edinburgh in December 2017 having previously played for Sharks in South Africa’s Currie Cup and in Super Rugby.

The Namibia-born lock made his Warriors debut in an Anglo-Welsh Cup match against Exeter Chiefs in January 2018 and has since become a key member of the pack at Sixways.

Bresler will line up against Harlequins in a side that shows 10 changes to the one that faced Wasps last Friday.

Chris Pennell, Francois Venter, Noah Heward, Duncan Weir and Cornell du Preez all start again with the other 10 players having played against Gloucester when the 2019/20 season resumed ten days ago.

Matt Kvesic switches to the openside flank having started at number eight against Gloucester.

Club captain Ted Hill returns to lead the side in the continued absence injured team captain Matt Moulds.

Beck Cutting, Callum Black and Richard Palframan, who were the starting front-row at Wasps, have been named among the replacements as director of rugby Alan Solomons continues to rotate his squad in a busy schedule that will also include a trip to Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Harlequins number eight Tom Lawday captains the team for the first time as the West London side head to the Midlands, completing a back-row unit alongside Dino Lamb and Will Evans, with all three having played from the bench in the club’s last two matches against Sale Sharks and Saracens.

A new-look front-row unit of Santiago Garcia Botta, Joe Gray and Will Collier also earn promotion to the starting XV having played from the bench over the last two matches, with scrum-half Scott Steele, fly-half Brett Herron also stepping into the starting line-up.

Recovering from a back injury sustained during pre-season, scrum-half club stalwart Danny Care returns to the matchday 23, donning the 21 jersey from the bench for his first game back following lockdown.

The club will also see wingers Chris Ashton and Cadan Murley return to fitness this week, with Ashton recovering from a knock during training last week while Murley returns having last featured in the Quarters in February.

Propping pair Marc Thomas and Maks van Dyk are named on the bench as they look to make their debuts in the Quarters, having both signed short-term deals with the club for the remainder of the season.

Form: Worcester Warriors have lost their last eight first-team matches since beating Russian opponents Enisei 66-10 at Sixways in January. Warriors most recent victory at Sixways in Premiership Rugby was against London Irish on 28 December. Harlequins last five matches have all been won by the home side on the day whilst the Londoners’ only away win in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since March 2019 was 28-22 at Wasps on 21 December. Worcester beat Harlequins 19-14 at Twickenham Stoop in round four but have not achieved a season’s double over them since 2004/05, their first meetings. Quins have not been victorious at Sixways in Premiership Rugby since January 2016.

The teams:

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Tom Howe, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Noah Heward, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ted Hill (c), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Beck Cutting, 17 Callum Black, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Ashley Beck

Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Brett Herron, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Tom Lawday (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 Dino Lamb, 5 Tevita Cavubati, 4 Glen Young, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Archie White, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Danny Care, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 James Lang

Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 18:00 BST
Referee: Jack Makepeace
Assistant Referees: Peter Allan, Phil Watters
TMO: Tom Foley

Northampton Saints v Bath

Northampton Saints will line up against Bath on Wednesday with a completely fresh starting XV, as Chris Boyd rotates his side for the vital Premiership clash.

The Kiwi director of rugby is putting his faith in Northampton’s entire squad during this demanding block of fixtures, and the men in Black, Green and Gold will lock horns with the West Country outfit with their top-four hopes in the balance.

Saints have endured a disappointing run of form on home soil since the turn of the year, but have lost only once to Bath in their last 18 meetings at Franklin’s Gardens.

Loosehead prop Nick Auterac is poised for his full debut in Black, Green and Gold since making the switch to Northampton from Harlequins, and lines up in the front-row with hooker James Fish and tighthead Owen Franks, while locks David Ribbans and Api Ratuniyarawa complete the tight five.

Club co-captain Teimana Harrison will lead out Saints wearing the eight jersey, and the hosts’ back-row combines experience and youth with Courtney Lawes and JJ Tonks both starting in the flanker berths.

Dan Biggar returns to Northampton’s 10 jersey and will look to lead the hosts’ backline with scrum-half Henry Taylor by his side.

Harry Mallinder starts at full-back, with Ahsee Tuala – who scored a spectacular try against London Irish last time out – and Taqele Naiyaravoro on the wings.

English duo Piers Francis and Fraser Dingwall round off the starting XV and are selected at centre, meanwhile on the bench a first Premiership appearance beckons for Senior Academy full-back Tommy Freeman if he enters the action.

Bath have also made a raft of changes to their matchday squad with 13 changes in all as the side travel up to Franklin’s Gardens.

After scoring his maiden Premiership try last time out, Tom de Glanville comes in for Anthony Watson at full-back, as the side also sees Max Clark return from a long-term injury. The centre returns to the starting XV for the first time since the opening day of the 2019/20 Premiership campaign in October.

Gabriel Hamer-Webb will make his first appearance since facing Ulster away in the final round of the Champions Cup, replacing Ruaridh McConnochie, who is named as a replacement. It is also Hamer-Webb’s first start since progressing to the senior squad.

Josh Matavesi swaps in for Rhys Priestland, who is named on the bench, and will form a new partnership with Will Chudley, who replaces Ben Spencer at scrum-half.

Beno Obano, Jack Walker and Christian Judge all come in to make up a new front-row with Bath changing the entire forward pack.

Will Spencer makes his second debut for the club, having re-joined the Blue, Black and White in June 2020 from Leicester Tigers. The supporter favourite is joined in the second-row with Elliott Stooke, who comes in for Charlie Ewels.

Mike Williams, captain Josh Bayliss and Zach Mercer come into replace Tom Ellis, Sam Underhill, Taulupe Faletau in the back-row.

A notable return to the bench also sees Miles Reid back into the fold having recovered well from an ACL tear on the very first day of the season against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Form: Northampton Saints’ last four matches have all curiously been won by the away side on the day. The Saints have lost their last four Gallagher Premiership Rugby fixtures at Franklin’s Gardens and have only once before lost five in a row at the famous old venue, from September to November 2004. Bath Rugby have won both their matches since the restart with a try bonus point but have not gained three maximum point victories in succession in the tournament since April 2018. Bath have won three of their last five away games in Premiership Rugby. Bath have lost just two of their last seven fixtures against the Saints in Premiership Rugby but their only victory at Franklin’s Gardens since April 2000 was 18-14 in September 2016.

The teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Henry Taylor, 8 Teimana Harrison (c), 7 JJ Tonks, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Owen Franks, 2 James Fish, 1 Nick Auterac
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Tui Uru, 21 Tom James, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Tommy Freeman

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Max Clark, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 10 Josh Matavesi, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Josh Bayliss (c), 6 Mike Williams, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Ruaridh McConnochie

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Wayne Barnes

 

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