Premiership Preview: Saturday, Sunday

Editor

There are four games scheduled in the Premiership on Saturday, with Bath and Sale Sharks closing out the action at the Recreation Ground on Sunday.

Saturday

Bristol Bears v Leicester Tigers

Alapati Leiua returns from international duty to start on Saturday as Bristol Bears host Leicester Tigers at Ashton Gate.

The Samoan winger is one of nine changes to the side that suffered a narrow defeat to Wasps last weekend.

In the backline, Siale Piutau slots into midfield, while Ian Madigan and Harry Randall form a new-look half-back partnership.

In the front-row, Yann Thomas returns from a dead leg, while Harry Thacker – fresh from a hat-trick at the Ricoh – also earns a start.

Joe Joyce is named in the engine room, while George Smith and former Tiger Jordan Crane come into the back-row.

Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers welcome Ellis Genge back from injury and include five returning internationals in their matchday squad.

Loosehead prop Genge is in line to make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury.

With club captain Tom Youngs ruled out by a knee injury, Genge joins Jake Kerr and Dan Cole in the Tigers front-row.

England quartet Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May, George Ford and Ben Youngs return to the backline following their November international commitments, while Australian duo Tatafu Polota-Nau and Matt Toomua are included among the replacements for the game at Ashton Gate.

Adam Thompstone reaches 150 appearances for the club since joining Tigers in 2012 and Ford, who takes the captaincy this weekend, makes his 50th Premiership appearance for the club.

Form: Bristol Bears have won only once in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since the opening weekend, at home to Harlequins in Round 4. The Bears have lost only twice at Ashton Gate in any competition since March: both in Premiership Rugby, 40-45 to Northampton in Round 5 and 29-31 to Exeter in Round 7. Leicester Tigers have lost their last two Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches, against Gloucester and Saracens, but have not lost three in a row since the end of 2017. The Tigers only ‘away’ win in Premiership Rugby this season was against Northampton at Twickenham on 6 October. The Tigers have won their last seven fixtures against Bristol since the Bears’ 30-13 victory at Ashton Gate in April 2007. Leicester have twice before visited Ashton Gate, losing there in 2007 but gaining a 21-16 victory in November 2016.

The teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau (cc), 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Jordan Crane (cc), 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua, 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements:
16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lewis Thiede, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Piers O’Conor

Leicester Tigers: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Mike Fitzgerald, 21 Ben White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Matt Smith

Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson, Paul Dix
TMO: Trevor Fisher

Gloucester v Worcester

Gloucester make four changes to their starting line-up for Saturday’s Premiership clash with Worcester Warriors at Kingsholm on Saturday.

The one change in the backline sees Owen Williams start his first Premiership game of the season as he partners Billy Twelvetrees in the Gloucester midfield.

Up front, Josh Hohneck and James Hanson come into the front-row at loosehead and hooker respectively, while Jaco Kriel returns at openside flanker.

And, amongst the replacements, named in a Gloucester matchday squad for the first time is Springbok second-row Franco Mostert, now available for selection having completed his international duties with South Africa.

The Cherry and Whites are looking to get back to winning ways after last Saturday’s defeat away at Exeter, but head coach Johan Ackermann admitted this week that the Warriors will be no pushovers.

Meanwhile, Worcester Warriors welcome back Wales winger Josh Adams and captain GJ van Velze to their starting XV.

Adams returns to club duty after impressing for Wales in their recent November internationals against Australia and South Africa.

Number eight Van Velze missed last Friday’s victory over Harlequins at Sixways due to injury but he has regained fitness and will take his place in the middle of the back-row at Kingsholm.

Warriors have been forced to make two more changes to their starting XV with scrum-half Francois Hougaard and openside flanker Sam Lewis both ruled out by injuries.

Michael Heaney, a summer signing from Doncaster Knights, will make his first Premiership start in Hougaard’s absence with Matti Williams, who started at Bath two weeks ago, returning to the back-row in place of Lewis.

Tighthead prop Gareth Milasinovich will reach the landmark of 50 career appearances for Warriors if he comes off the bench.

Milasinovich, 25, joined Warriors from the University of Johannesburg three years ago and made his senior debut in the 2015/16 season.

Form: Gloucester Rugby’s 6-23 reversal to Exeter last weekend ended a two game winning run in Gallagher Premiership Rugby. Gloucester’s only defeat at Kingsholm in any competition this season was 25-27 to Harlequins in Round 5 of Premiership Rugby. Worcester Warriors last four fixtures in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. The Warriors only away victory in Premiership Rugby since February was 44-37 at Leicester in Round 4. Worcester beat Gloucester 25-15 at Sixways in February, the last time they met, but have not achieved successive victories against them since April 2009. The Warriors have won only once before at Kingsholm, 13-6 in Premiership Rugby on 21 April 2009.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Ed Slater, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements:
16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Henry Trinder, 23 Tom Hudson

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Matti Williams, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements:
16 Niall Annett, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Wynand Olivier

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Thomas Foley
Assistant Referees: Tim Wigglesworth, Philip Watters
TMO: David Rose

Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has called on his returning international stars to deliver a Premiership victory over Newcastle.

Boyd makes seven changes to the starting XV following a narrow defeat at Sale Sharks last time out.

Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, Dan Biggar, Piers Francis and Ahsee Tuala are all available again for selection following the November international series, and head straight into the side alongside fit-again lock David Ribbans and flanker Jamie Gibson.

And hooker Hartley – already the most-capped player in the current squad – will celebrate a special milestone as he leads Saints out to face the bottom-of-the-table Falcons, making his 250th appearance for the club he joined way back in 2005.

Co-captain Alex Waller and Paul Hill join Hartley in the front-row, with Lawes and Ribbans – who has recovered fully from the illness which kept him out of last weekend’s trip to Sale – packing down in the engine room.

Gibson is selected to start on the blindside for the first time since early November, while Lewis Ludlam and Teimana Harrison continue to round off the forwards.

Wales fly-half Dan Biggar returns to marshal Saints’ backline, linking up with scrum-half Cobus Reinach – who maintains his record of starting every Premiership match so far this season.

Andrew Kellaway and Taqele Naiyaravoro continue on the wings but Samoa full-back Tuala comes into the back three, while Francis heads straight into the midfield to join Fraser Dingwall after the young centre this week signed a new contract with the club.

Meanwhile, fresh from helping Fiji to an historic test victory over France last weekend, Vereniki Goneva is among the stars returning to Newcastle Falcons’ line-up for Saturday’s Premiership trip to Northampton.

The Premiership Player of the Season comes in as one of four changes to the side which beat Bath last time out, Mark Wilson returning to the back row after starting in all four of England’s November internationals.

Fit-again lock Sean Robinson makes his first appearance of the season after recovering from injury, the only other change seeing David Wilson start at tight-head in place of the injured Jon Welsh.

Tonga captain Sonatane Takulua returns from international duty to take up a place on the bench where he is joined by Samoa’s Logovi’i Mulipola, Newcastle Falcons having claimed victory on their last two visits to Northampton.

Form: Northampton Saints have won just twice in the last six rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, at Bristol in Round 5 and at home to Wasps in Round 7. The Saints have been defeated just twice at Franklin’s Gardens in any tournament since April, by Saracens in Round 3 of Premiership Rugby and by Clermont Auvergne in Round 1 of the European Challenge Cup. Newcastle Falcons have lost only one of their last seven first team matches: 7-20 at Harlequins in Round 7 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby. The Falcons only win in their last five Premiership Rugby away games was 23-20 at Worcester on 15 September. Newcastle have won their last five fixtures against Northampton in Premiership Rugby – their best ever sequence against them – including two successive victories at Franklin’s Gardens.

The teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois Van Wyk, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood (c), 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 John Hardie, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 David Wilson, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Sam Lockwood
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Pedro Bettencourt

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Robert Warburton
TMO: David Grashoff

Saracens v Wasps

Seven out of the nine Saracens who featured for their countries last weekend come straight back into the starting XV for the visit of Wasps.

The front-row is completely changed with Titi Lamositele, Jamie George and Vincent Koch packing down together. Maro Itoje also returns after an impressive November while Calum Clark earns his first Premiership start on the flank in the only other alteration in the forwards.

Fresh from scoring three tries and winning his 50th Wales cap, Liam Williams slots in at 15 with Alex Goode moving to fly-half.

Sean Maitland scored two tries for Scotland in November and is selected on the wing, meaning the versatile Alex Lozowski switches to outside centre. Scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth starts at nine.

On the bench, Nick Isiekwe and Juan Figallo make their return from respective ankle and knee injuries.

New signing Michele Campagnaro will make his Wasps debut at Allianz Park as they prepare to take on Saracens in Round 9.

The Italian is straight into the squad after joining up with the team earlier this week, while fellow international stars Willie le Roux, Elliot Daly, Brad Shields, Nathan Hughes and Zurabi Zhvania all return to the squad.

Campagnaro is named on the left wing in a back three that includes Springbok Le Roux at full-back and Ross Neal on the right wing – the latter keeping his place after an impressive two-try, man-of-the-match performance on his Premiership debut last weekend.

In the centres, Daly skippers the side at 13 next to Michael Le Bourgeois while Lima Sopoaga and Craig Hampson continue their half-back partnership.

In the pack, Nizaam Carr recovers from a shoulder knock to start in the back-row next to England pair Brad Shields and Nathan Hughes while Ashley Johnson (knee) and Thomas Young (hamstring and calf) are sidelined.

Kearnan Myall is restored to the second-row alongside Will Rowlands, with James Gaskell (back) missing out.

The front-row sees Kieran Brookes return while Antonio Harris is set for his first Premiership start at hooker as Tom Cruse (ribs) is sidelined. Ben Harris starts again at loosehead.

Form: The only time that Saracens have not won a match in any competition since April was in a 15-all draw at Sale in the Premiership Rugby Cup on 2 November. Saracens have won their last eight home games in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since Leicester beat them at Allianz Park in Round 16 last season. Wasps ended a seven-game losing run in all competitions with their 32-28 home win over Bristol last weekend. Wasps record away from home in Premiership Rugby this season is won three lost one, with the defeat being at Northampton in Round 7. Saracens have lost just twice to Wasps in any tournament since 2011, both in Premiership Rugby: 23-64 at Allianz Park in February 2016 and 15-35 at Ricoh Arena in May 2017.

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Mike Rhodes, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Titi Lamositele
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Ralph Adams-Hale, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Dom Day, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Nick Tompkins

Wasps: 15 Wille le Roux, 14 Ross Neal, 13 Elliot Daly (c), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Michele Campagnaro, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Craig Hampson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Antonio Harris, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Mike Daniels, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Will Porter, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Juan de Jongh

Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, Michael Hudson
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Sunday

Bath v Sale Sharks

Joe Cokanasiga, Charlie Ewels, Francois Louw and Sam Underhill all return from international duty to face Sale Sharks at the Rec on Sunday.

Zach Mercer will also make his 50th appearance for the club, as the 21-year-old lines up in the back-row alongside Louw and Underhill.

Ewels will captain the side and will be joined in the second-row by Elliott Stooke, who was also part of the England setup for the November internationals. Jack Walker comes into the starting line-up at hooker, with Nathan Catt and Henry Thomas completing the front-row.

Kahn Fotuali’i will wear the number nine shirt for the visit of Sale Sharks, with Freddie Burns completing an experienced half-back pairing.

After scoring two tries in as many games for his country, Cokanasiga will look to continue his rich vein of form on the left wing. Semesa Rokoduguni lines up on the other flank, with Ruaridh McConnochie making his first Premiership start at full-back.

James Wilson has been named among the replacements after re-joining the club earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Chris Ashton comes in at full-back for Sale Sharks on Sunday as they visit Bath for their Round 9 fixture.

It will be the England international’s first appearance for the club in the league – his debut was in the Challenge Cup against Connacht where he scored a hat-trick.

Lined up for his 100th appearance for the club is second-row Josh Beaumont, while Byron McGuigan and Josh Strauss return from duty with Scotland.

Form: Bath Rugby’s only victory in the last four rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby was 28-13 at home to Worcester on 17 November. Bath have now won successive home games in the tournament for the first time since February. Sale Sharks had been victorious just once in the opening five rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby but have now won two of their last three encounters. The Sharks have lost their last six away games in Premiership Rugby since beating Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens in March. The last seven meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Sharks have not been successful at the Recreation Ground since a 12-11 victory in March 2014.

The teams:

Bath: 15 Ruaridh McConnochie, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Max Wright, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Will Chudley, 22 James Wilson, 23 Cooper Vuna

Sale Sharks: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 James O’Connor, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 James Phillips, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 James Jones, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Bryn Evans, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Josh Strauss

Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Geoff Warren