Jamie George and Elliot Daly start for Saracens as Premiership play-off race heats up
Saracens hooker Jamie George waving at fans.
Round 16 of the Premiership season kicks off with a mouth-watering clash between Bath and Saracens at the Recreation Ground on Friday.
Third-placed Saracens visit second-placed Bath under the lights in a game that will have huge implications in the race for the play-offs.
The Men in Black are just two points behind the West Country outfit in the table, and head there knowing that a win would see them take a huge stride towards the play-offs with just three rounds of the regular season remaining.
Team news
In team news, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan has named an unchanged starting XV for the clash.
England international duo Beno Obano and Will Stuart retain their spots in the front-row, and Niall Annett comes in for Tom Dunn at hooker.
Paired in the second-row, Quinn Roux and Charlie Ewels continue their partnership at lock.
Completing the pack, Ted Hill and Sam Underhill are named on the flanks, with Alfie Barbeary at number eight.
Half-back pairing of Ben Spencer and Orlando Bailey combine after their successful outing at Sandy Park last week.
In the backline, Will Muir and Joe Cokanasiga continue their excellent run on the wing, and Matt Gallagher completes the backfield at 15.
On the bench, van Graan opts for a 6-2 split, with Louis Schreuder and Cameron Redpath named as replacement backs. Redpath returns after being sidelined by an injury during Bath’s Champions Cup Round of 16 fixture against Exeter Chiefs.
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Thomas du Toit, Tom Dunn and Archie Griffin take the replacement front-row spots, each player having made international appearances.
Jacques du Plessis, Josh Bayliss and Jaco Coetzee will look to make their impact on the game as the remaining replacements in the forwards.
Meanwhile, Saracens have made five changes to the starting line-up from the side that secured a bonus-point win over Gloucester last weekend at a sold-out StoneX Stadium, with four up front and one alteration to the backline.
Eroni Mawi, Jamie George and Christian Judge start in a heavyweight front-row, with Maro Itoje joined by Nick Isiekwe in the second-row.
An unchanged back-row of Juan Martin Gonzalez, Ben Earl and Tom Willis will be looking to repeat their enormous impact from last Saturday when the whistle goes at the Rec.
Aled Davies and captain Owen Farrell continue as half-backs, as do the midfield pairing of Tompkins and Lucio Cinti.
Tom Parton starts again on the left wing after his hat-trick against Gloucester, with Rotimi Segun on the right wing and Elliot Daly returns at full-back.
On the bench there is immense power and experience ready to enter proceedings, and Ivan van Zyl also returns to the squad after welcoming his first child last week.
The teams
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Jacques du Plessis, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Jaco Coetzee
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Tom Parton, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Jamie George, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Toby Knight, 22 Ivan van Zyl, 23 Alex Goode
Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, John Meredith
TMO: David Rose
