Premiership: Harlequins bolstered by England contingent for clash with London Irish

Colin Newboult

England's Alex Dombrandt with Marcus Smith during a training session at Pennyhill Park, Bagshot. Picture date: Thursday July 1, 2021.

The sides have been named for this weekend’s Premiership games, including big matches between play-off contenders as Sale Sharks face Saracens and London Irish take on Harlequins.

Check out the teams and our predictions for all of the weekend’s fixtures, here.

Friday

Sale Sharks v Saracens

Form: Sale Sharks’ last four matches in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have ended in one win, one defeat and two draws. The Sharks are unbeaten in their last seven Premiership Rugby matches at AJ Bell Stadium, whilst their only defeat there in the tournament in the last twelve months was to Exeter on 3 October. Saracens have lost just one of their last six Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches: 30-32 at London Irish on 19 February. Saracens won their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby 36-21 at Newcastle on 12 March. The last five fixtures between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all gone the way of home field advantage whilst Saracens most recent success at AJ Bell Stadium was 13-3 in February 2018.

Prediction: Saracens by 5

The teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Luke James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Ewan Ashman 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Nick Schonert, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Tommy Taylor, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Manu Tuilagi, 23 Jack Metcalf

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Max Malins, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Theo McFarland, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Alex Lewington

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, Paul Dix
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Saturday

Exeter Chiefs v Bath

Form: Exeter Chiefs have slipped to back-to-back defeats in Premiership Rugby, at Worcester and at home to Leicester. The Chiefs record at Sandy Park in the Premiership this season is won five, lost five. Bath Rugby are unbeaten in their last three league encounters since their 20-24 reversal to Leicester at the Recreation Ground in Round 17. Bath won their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby at Newcastle, their first victory on the road in the competition for almost 12 months. Exeter have won their last five matches against Bath in the Premiership whilst their only loss to Bath since 2016 was 10-13 at the Rec in October 2019. Bath’s only victory at Sandy Park since 2014 was 13-10 in October 2016.

Prediction: Exeter by 15

The teams:

Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Tom Hendrickson, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Sam Maunder, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Sam Skinner, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Jannes Kirsten, 3 Patrick Schickerling, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Richard Capstick, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Josh Hodge

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Clark, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Valeriy Morozov
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Ewan Richards, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Will Muir

Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Tom Foley

Gloucester v Wasps

Form: Gloucester Rugby have won just once in their last four Premiership Rugby matches: 35-30 at home to Northampton on 5 March. Gloucester have lost only once at Kingsholm in any competition since October: 17-20 to Harlequins in Round 12 of the Premiership. Wasps’ three game losing run in the league ended with their 27-24 home win over Newcastle on Saturday. Wasps have won only once away from home in Premiership Rugby since October, and that by a solitary point, at Exeter on 5 February. Gloucester’s only defeat to Wasps in their last eight Premiership meetings was 22-39 in Coventry in March 2020. Wasps have not been victorious at Kingsholm since a 30-23 victory in Premiership Rugby in December 2014.

Prediction: Gloucester by 5

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Kyle Moyle, 14 Santiago Carreras, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Tom Seabrook

Wasps: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Biyi Alo, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Sam Spink, 23 Zach Kibirige

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, John Meredith
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Northampton Saints v Bristol Bears

Form: Northampton Saints have won their last two Premiership Rugby matches, at home to Wasps and away at London Irish, and have not won three in succession since the start of this campaign. The Saints’ 27-22 victory over Wasps in Round 20 ended an unwanted three game losing run at cinch Stadium. Bristol Bears’ only win in their last six Premiership fixtures was 31-19 over Wasps at Ashton Gate on 25 February. The Bears only away win in the league this season was 45-33 at London Irish on 30 October. Northampton beat Bristol 36-20 at Ashton Gate in Round 9 and have not achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over the Bears since 2016/17. Bristol have won on their last three visits to Northampton.

Prediction: Northampton by 9

The teams:

Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Tom James, 22 Matt Proctor, 23 George Hendy

Bristol: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Antoine Frisch, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Joe Joyce (c), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Harry Randall, 21 Tiff Eden, 22 Piers O’Conor, 23 Luke Morahan

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Joe James, Wayne Falla
TMO: David Rose

Worcester Warriors v Newcastle Falcons

Form: Worcester’s match with Gloucester was cancelled last weekend. Having beaten Exeter at Sixways the week before, the Warriors have not won back-to-back Premiership Rugby matches since November 2020. The Warriors record in the Premiership at Sixways this season is won five, lost four. Newcastle Falcons have not won in the league since beating Exeter at Sandy Park in Round 8. Newcastle’s other away win in Premiership Rugby this season was at Bath in Round 2. The two sides drew 24-all at Kingston Park in Round 9 whilst Worcester’s most recent win over the Falcons (excluding unplayed games) was in April 2018. The Falcons have won just twice at Sixways since 2004, in 2013 and 2018.

Prediction: Worcester by 6

The teams:

Worcester Warriors: 15 Noah Heward, 14 Alex Hearle, 13 Oli Morris, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Gareth Simpson, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Ted Hill (c), 6 Kyle Hatherell, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Joe Batley, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Justin Clegg, 20 Jack Forsythe, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Perry Humphreys

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Tom Penny, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 George Wacokecoke, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Freddie Lockwood, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Josh Basham, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Rob Farrar, 21 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Ben Stevenson

Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Alex Thomas, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Dean Richards

Sunday

London Irish v Harlequins

Form: Mathieu Raynal is the first French referee to take charge of a Premiership Rugby match since he himself refereed the London Irish v Northampton Saints game at Madejski Stadium on 6 October 2012. London Irish have won just one of their last four Premiership matches: 43-12 at home to Worcester on 5 March. The Exiles’ five game winning run at Brentford in the league ended with their 22-42 loss to Northampton on Saturday. Harlequins have won their last four Premiership Rugby fixtures since their 10-19 reversal at Saracens in Round 16. Harlequins have won their last two away games in the Premiership and have not won three in a row on their travels since December 2020. London Irish beat Harlequins 22-19 at the Stoop in Round 9 and have not achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over their near neighbours since 2017/18. Harlequins won 25-21 on their only previous visit to Brentford Community Stadium in Premiership Rugby in April 2021.

Prediction: Harlequins by 8

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Tom Pearson, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Matt Rogerson (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Matt Cornish, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 George Nott, 21 Ben White, 22 Will Joseph, 23 Henry Arundell

Harlequins: 15 Huw Jones, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Luke Northmore, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Tom Lawday, 6 George Hammond, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Matas Jurevicius, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Louis Lynagh

Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure

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