Harlequins v Bath: Injury-hit Londoners without key England stars as British and Irish Lions ace returns for visitors
Will Stuart (right) will make his return to the field this weekend, while Harlequins boss Jason Gilmore (left) is missing several of his key England internationals
Harlequins and Bath have both named their 23-man squads for Friday night’s PREM opener at the Twickenham Stoop, with both coaches going as strong as possible despite some injury issues.
The Londoners will be hoping to kick off the new campaign in strong fashion as they look to improve on last year’s ninth-placed finish, while Bath are also out to lay down a marker of their title credentials with an away win.
Harlequins without key England internationals
Head coach Jason Gilmore is already contending with a number of major injury concerns heading into their opener against the 2025 champions, with England internationals George Furbank, Marcus Smith and Fin Baxter on the sidelines.
However, Quins are still able to name a strong side, boosted by the returns of some long-term injury absentees from last season. Tyrone Green starts at full-back, with Cameron Anderson and new on-field captain Cadan Murley on the wings. Oscar Beard and Bryn Bradley get the nod in the centres, while Connor Slevin and Will Porter are the half-back pairing.
Chandler Cunningham-South, Will Evans and Jack Kenningham form a strong back-row unit, while Harry Browne and James Dun start in the locks. Pedro Delgado, Jack Walker and Will Hobson are named in the front-row.
Sam Riley, Boris Wenger, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Kieran Treadwell, Guido Petti Pagadizábal, Lucas Friday, Josh Bellamy and Rodrigo Isgró all feature on the replacements list.
British and Irish Lions star Will Stuart returns for Bath
Head of rugby Johann van Graan has also had to make tweaks to his team in the absence of key men, namely captain Ben Spencer, but he too welcomes back some players from long-term injuries.
Santi Carreras starts at full-back, with Joe Cokanasiga and Tom de Glanville on the wings. Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh start in the centres, while Finn Russell and Tom Carr-Smith feature in the halves.
Springbok Dan du Preez makes his PREM bow for Bath, starting at number eight, with Sam Underhill and Josh Bayliss named as the flankers. Charlie Ewels leads the side out from lock, with Ted Hill joining him in the engine room. British and Irish Lions and England Test prop Will Stuart returns to the field at tighthead, joining Dan Frost and Beno Obano in the front-row.
Kepu Tuipulotu, Scott Kirk, Archie Griffin, Ewan Richards, Guy Pepper, Bernard van der Linde, Cameron Redpath and Miles Reid are named as the replacements.
Harlequins v Bath teams in full
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Cameron Anderson, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Cadan Murley (c), 10 Connor Slevin, 9 Will Porter, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Harry Browne, 4 James Dun, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Will Hobson
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Guido Petti Pagadizábal, 21 Lucas Friday, 22 Josh Bellamy, 23 Rodrigo Isgró
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Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Tom de Glanville, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tom Carr-Smith, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Ted Hill, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Scott Kirk, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Miles Reid
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Joe James and Simon Harding
TMO: David Rose
How to watch: HBO Max