Wales snub starts alongside Danny Care for Harlequins while Wallabies forward leads Northampton Saints side missing 17 players
Jarrod Evans starts for Harlequins while Josh Kemeny leads Northampton Saints.
Jarrod Evans starts in place of Marcus Smith as Harlequins take on a Northampton Saints side that is missing 17 players due to injury and Six Nations call-ups.
Evans, who has been on the outer of Wales’ squad recently, has been in impressive form for Harlequins but missed out on Warren Gatland’s group named last week.
With Smith in camp with England ahead of the Six Nations, Evans has a great chance to make a statement this Friday when the Premiership season gets back underway.
Eight changes
The fly-half is one of eight changes made after the Champions Cup pool victory over Glasgow Warriors last weekend as Northampton Saints visit the Twickenham Stoop.
Both teams are without their Six Nations internationals as preparations ramp up for the forthcoming 2025 Championship, which has led to opportunities for players.
Four changes in Quins‘ backline see the evergreen Danny Care partner Evans in the half-backs, while Will Joseph comes in at outside centre alongside Ben Waghorn.
Meanwhile, Cassius Cleaves makes a return from injury to start on the left wing and is joined by Nick David and Tyrone Green, with the latter taking the full-back shirt.
In the forwards, Wyn Jones and Simon Kerrod are at loosehead and tighthead respectively with Joe Launchbury returning at lock to partner skipper Stephan Lewies.
Will Evans will also pack down at openside for the visit of Northampton, with Jack Kenningham on the blindside flank and James Chisholm wearing the eight shirt.
Jordan Els, Dillon Lewis and Irne Herbst all return to the matchday 23 following their selection on the bench while Jamie Benson and Leigh Halfpenny are also named.
Meanwhile, Northampton Saints are missing 17 players due to a either injury or an international call-up as they head to the Stoop, with six changes made to the XV.
Emeka Atuanya, Alex Coles, George Furbank, Sam Graham, George Hendy, Emmanuel Iyogun, Chunya Munga, Burger Odendaal, Toby Thame and Robbie Smith are injured while Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock, Ollie Sleightholme, and Fin Smith (all England) are on international duty.
Wallabies flanker Josh Kemeny leads Saints for the second time in three weeks, as he will start in an unchanged back-row alongside Tom Pearson and Juarno Augustus.
Fiji international Temo Mayanavanua recovers from an injury sustained against Bath to start in the second-row, and is joined in the engine room by Tom Lockett.
Up front, the props remain unchanged with Trevor Davison and Tarek Haffar starting at tighthead and loosehead respectively, while Henry Walker is named hooker.
The backline is reshuffled with a number of players on international duty, but Tom Seabrook stays on the left wing following a sensational hat-trick against Munster.
The only two other survivors from that Champions Cup pool win, Rory Hutchinson and James Ramm, remain at inside centre and full-back respectively this weekend.
That means Archie McParland and George Makepeace-Cubitt partner up in the half-back berths for Saints for the first time since November, having delivered three Premiership Rugby Cup wins over Leicester, Nottingham and Coventry. The duo also featured together in four of England U20s victories in last year’s Six Nations.
In the midfield, Northampton call Charlie Savala into the centres alongside Scotland star Hutchinson, while Tom Litchfield completes the starting side on the wing.
Phil Dowson opts once again for a six-two split amongst the replacements, with the likes of Tom James, Angus Scott-Young and Callum Hunter-Hill all hoping to make an impact for Northampton Saints from the bench, while 19-year-old wing Will Glister is set for his first Premiership appearance should he enter the field.
The teams
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Ben Waghorn, 11 Cassius Cleaves, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Stephan Lewies (c), 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jamie Benson, 23 Leigh Halfpenny
Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tom Litchfield, 13 Charlie Savala, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Seabrook, 10 George Makepeace-Cubitt, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Josh Kemeny (c), 5 Tom Lockett, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Tarek Haffar
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Tom West, 18 Luke Green, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Callum Hunter-Hill, 21 Angus Scott-Young, 22 Tom James, 23 Will Glister
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Calum Howard, Simon Harding
TMO: Dean Richards
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