Leicester Tigers v Gloucester: England hooker starts while Wales back returns as teams named for Slater Cup
Leicester Tigers hooker Jamie Blamire starts against Gloucester.
Leicester Tigers have been boosted by the return of England hooker Jamie Blamire for their Slater Cup home clash with Gloucester on Friday.
Blamire, Archie van der Flier and Finn Carnduff all return from injury as Geoff Parling names his side for the game at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Leicester Tigers changes
In all, there are five changes to the side that beat Newcastle Red Bulls last weekend ahead of round three of the PREM.
Freddie Steward retains his place at full-back, flanked by Ollie Hassell-Collins to the left as Gabriel Hamer-Webb switches to the right flank. Adam Radwan is rotated to the replacements.
In the centre, Will Wand comes in for his first start of the PREM campaign at 13, with Orlando Bailey once again at inside centre.
Billy Searle, who scored a crucial nine points from the tee in the victory at Kingston Park, is once again joined by captain Jack van Poortvliet at half-back.
Blamire, Van der Flier and Carnduff all join the front five alongside internationals Cameron Henderson and Joe Heyes.
The Leicester back-row remains unchanged for the third consecutive fixture, as Tommy Reffell, Olly Cracknell and Aaron Wainwright line up together.
“It’s great to welcome back Archie (van der Flier), Blam (Jamie Blamire) and Finn (Carnduff) into the team, and are looking forward to their impact against a Gloucester side that looks like they’ve gone back to playing how they were a few seasons ago,” said Parling.
“With the importance of the Slater Cup we know we’ll have to lay all of our emotion out on the pitch, and look forward to doing it in front of our fans.”
Gloucester team news
Meanwhile, after back-to-back wins to kick-start the campaign, a table-topping Gloucester will be looking to make it three out of three on Friday night.
There are two changes to the starting XV that dismantled Harlequins at Kingsholm last weekend, with Ben Redshaw replacing George Barton at full-back and Dian Bleuler coming in for Val Rapava Ruskin in the front row.
Bleuler packs down with captain Dewi Lake and Afo Fasogbon, with support coming from Jean Kleyn and Arthur Clark in the second-row.
The loose trio of Freddie Thomas, Jac Morgan and Will Trenholm combine once more.
Caolan Englefield and Charlie Atkinson keep up their partnership at half-backs, with the midfield of Seb Atkinson and Will Joseph unchanged. Ben Loader and Ollie Thorley start either side of Redshaw in the back three.
On the bench, there’s a welcome return for Welsh international Max Llewellyn. He covers the backs with Barton and Dan Robson. Academy graduate, Harrison Bellamy comes into the replacements with Rapava Ruskin dropping out; he covers the front-row with Jack Innard and Ciaran Knight. Jack Clement and Lewis Ludlow also wait in the wings.
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The teams
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Will Wand, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet (c), 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Finn Carnduff, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Archie van der Flier
Replacements: 16 Samiuela Moli, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Will Hurd, 19 James Thompson, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Joseph Woodward, 23 Adam Radwan
Gloucester: 15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Ollie Thorley, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 Will Trenholm, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Freddie Thomas, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Dian Bleuler
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Harrison Bellamy, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Jack Clement, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Max Llewellyn, 23 George Barton
Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Joe James and John Meredith
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Live on: TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports UHD and HBO Max