Premiership: Jack Willis named on Wasps replacements bench for Harlequins clash

David Skippers

The Premiership continues on Saturday and Sunday as five matches take place, including the clash between the champions, Harlequins, and Wasps on Saturday.

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

Friday

Worcester Warriors v Bristol Bears

Form: Worcester Warriors have lost their last five Premiership Rugby matches since beating Wasps 32-31 at Sixways on December 4. The Warriors record at Sixways in Premiership Rugby this season is won three, lost three. Bristol Bears’ four-game winning run in all competitions ended with their 49-32 home defeat to London Irish last Friday. The Bears have won just once away from home in Premiership Rugby this season 45-33 at London Irish on 30 October. Bristol have won their last five matches against Worcester since the Warriors’ 27-25 victory in Premiership Rugby at Ashton Gate in March 2019.

Prediction: Bristol by 3

The teams:

Worcester: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Ashley Beck (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Gareth Simpson, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Joe Batley, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Matt Garvey, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Murray McCallum
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Jay Tyack, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Justin Clegg, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Seb Atkinson

Bristol: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Jack Bates, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Piers O’Conor, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Theo Strang, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Ashley Challenger, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Sam Jeffries, 21 Toby Venner, 22 Antoine Frisch, 23 Henry Purdy

Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 20:15 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Saturday

Bath v Leicester Tigers

Form: Bath have won just twice in Premiership Rugby this season, in successive rounds in January, against Worcester and Harlequins. Bath have won their last two home games in Premiership Rugby and have not won three in succession at the Recreation Ground since February 2020. Leicester Tigers last five matches in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. The Tigers have lost their last two away games in Premiership Rugby at Wasps and at Sale. The Tigers beat Bath 40-23 at Welford Road in Round Eight and have not achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over Bath since 2010/11. Leicester have lost on their last nine visits to Bath in Premiership Rugby since their 37-6 victory there in March 2011.

Prediction: Leicester by 16

The teams:

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Will Butt, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Jaco Coetzee, 6 Taulupe Faletau, 5 Ewan Richards, 4 Josh McNally (c), 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Valeriy Morozov
Replacements: 16 Tom Doughty, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Kieran Verden, 19 Richard de Carpentier, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Max Clark

Leicester: 15 Bryce Hegarty, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Richard Wigglesworth (c), 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 George Martin, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Calum Green, 20 Hanro Liebenberg, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Chris Ashton

Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Harlequins v Wasps

Form: Harlequins have lost their last three Premiership Rugby matches and have not lost four in succession since 2019. The Quins home record in Premiership Rugby at the Twickenham Stoop this season is won four, lost three. Wasps’ only defeat in their last five first team matches was 45-7 at Munster in the European Champions Cup at the end of January. Wasps won their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby 27-26 at Exeter in Round 15 and have not won successive away games in the competition for 12 months. Harlequins have won their last three fixtures against Wasps whilst Wasps’ two victories at the Stoop in Premiership Rugby in the last nine years both came on successive visits from 2018-20.

Prediction: Harlequins by 5

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Oscar Beard, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Will Edwards, 9 Danny Care, 8 Archie White, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Stephan Lewies (c), 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Tom Lawday, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Tommy Allan, 23 Louis Lynagh

Wasps15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Dan Robson (c), 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Morris, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Biyi Alo, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Marcus Watson

Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Alex Thomas, John Meredith
TMO: David Rose

London Irish v Saracens

Form: London Irish have lost only two of their last eight Premiership Rugby fixtures, both away from home to Wasps in Round 11 and Gloucester in Round 15. The Exiles have not been defeated in any competition at Brentford Community Stadium since Bristol were the visitors at the end of October. Saracens have won their last two Premiership Rugby matches, both at home to Bath and Harlequins, and have not won three in a row since October. Saracens record away from home in Premiership Rugby this season is won four, lost three. The two clubs drew 34-34 at StoneX Stadium in Round Eight ending a run of eight successive Saracens victories in Premiership Rugby in this fixture. The Exiles most recent victory over Saracens in the competition was 22-13 at StoneX Stadium in February 2014.

Prediction:

The teams: London Irish by 7

London Irish: 15 James Stokes, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps (c), 8 Sean O’Brien, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Matt Cornish, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 George Nott, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Ben White, 22 Terrence Hepetema, 23 Lucio Cinti

Saracens15 Alex Goode, 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Dom Morris, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Mako Vunipola (c)
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Andy Christie, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Sean Maitland

Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Dean Richards
TMO: Wayne Barnes

Northampton Saints v Sale Sharks

Form: Northampton Saints return to Franklin’s Gardens after three successive away games in Premiership Rugby winning two, at Newcastle and Worcester, and losing at Leicester. The Saints’ only victory at Franklin’s Gardens in any competition since October was 40-19 over Bath in Round 10 of Premiership Rugby. Sale Sharks have won their last four first team matches since their 25-19 reversal at Clermont Auvergne in the European Champions Cup on January 6. The Sharks’ 36-14 victory at Harlequins in their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby ended a nine-game winless run on the road in the competition. Sale have lost only one of their last five fixtures with Northampton in Premiership Rugby: 17-14 on their most recent visit to Franklin’s Gardens in March 2021.

Prediction:

The teams:

Northampton: 15 Rory Hutchinson, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 George Furbank, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Karl Wilkins, 5 Brandon Nansen, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 James Grayson, 23 Piers Francis

Sale: 15 Sam James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Arron Reed, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jono Ross (c), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Jean-Pierre du Preez, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Conor Doherty, 23 Byron McGuigan

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley, George Selwood
TMO: Anthony Woodthorpe

Sunday

Newcastle Falcons v Exeter Chiefs

Form: Newcastle Falcons’ only victory in Premiership Rugby since early November was a declared win at home to Sale on Boxing Day. The Falcons have lost their last two matches at Kingston Park to Northampton and Gloucester. Exeter Chiefs’ 24-15 victory at home to Gloucester last weekend ended a three-game losing streak in Premiership Rugby. The Chiefs have lost their last two away games in Premiership Rugby and have not lost three in succession on their travels in the competition since February 2019. Newcastle beat Exeter 15-14 at Sandy Park in Round Eight and have never achieved a season’s double over the Devonians. The Chiefs’ only defeat in their last five visits to Kingston Park was 20-28 in January 2018.

Prediction:

The teams:

Newcastle: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Penny, 13 George Wacokecoke, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Will Haydon-Wood, 9 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Connor Collett, 6 Will Welch (c), 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Conrad Cade, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Rob Farrar, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Adam Radwan

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

Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Wayne Falla
TMO: Claire Hodnett

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