Preview: Bath v Exeter Chiefs

Editor

Round Six of the Premiership kicks off with sixth-place Bath taking on an in-form Exeter Chiefs side in an intriguing clash at the Recreation Ground.

In Bath team news, Freddie Burns switches to full-back in a back three which includes Semesa Rokoduguni and Joe Cokanasiga. After making his return for Bath United last week, Cooper Vuna comes in at inside centre where he will partner Jackson Willison in the midfield.

Rhys Priestland captains the side at fly-half, with Max Green completing the half-back pairing against an Exeter side, who remain unbeaten in the Premiership so far.

Nathan Catt, Tom Dunn and Henry Thomas take their places in the front-row, with Dave Attwood and Charlie Ewels forming the second-row partnership.

Zach Mercer, Tom Ellis and Taulupe Faletau complete the pack in the back-row.

Meanwhile, Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter is able to ease the loss of both Sam Simmonds and Jonny Hill by the fact that he is able to recall England trio Luke Cowan-Dickie, Don Armand and Henry Slade to his starting line-up. They are part of eight changes the Chiefs make to their winning formula of a week ago.

Also returning are Ben Moon and Harry Williams in the front-row, Sam Skinner at lock, scrum-half Stuart Townsend and full-back Phil Dollman. On the bench, Tom Lawday – who grabbed a hat-trick of tries for the Braves last weekend against Bristol Bears – is also included.

Baxter said of Bath: “They were the team who we took the longest to beat in the Premiership. Over the years we’ve had a lot of tough and tight games at the Rec. We’ve done OK up there more recently, but the games have still been tight and I expect Friday to be much the same.

“Unless we are bang on, it’s going to be a tough night for us. That said, we’ve got to enjoy this kind of challenge because I do believe it could be a great marker of what kind of performance we will need to put in over this next few games.”

Form: Bath’s three match unbeaten run in Gallagher Premiership Rugby ended at Saracens on Saturday. Bath have not been beaten at the Recreation Ground since Exeter last visited in March. Exeter Chiefs have dropped only one possible league point this season, in scoring only three tries when defeating Newcastle at Kingston Park in round 4. The Chiefs have not lost away from home in Premiership Rugby since they visited Wasps on 18 February. Exeter have won their last three matches against Bath in Premiership Rugby since Bath were victorious 13-10 at Sandy Park in October 2016.

The teams:

Bath: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Cooper Vuna, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Rhys Priestland (c), 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Max Wright, 23 Darren Atkins

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ian Whitten

Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: Geoff Warren