Premiership Preview: Saturday

All six games take place on Saturday as the regular Premiership season reaches its conclusion, with Newcastle v Wasps the standout contest.

Bath v London Irish

Anthony Perenise will make his 100th appearance for Bath in the club’s final game of the Premiership season at the Rec on Saturday.

Perenise, who is in his second spell with the Blue, Black and White starts in the front-row alongside Tom Dunn and Lucas Noguera, who comes into the starting line-up at loosehead prop.

Matt Garvey returns to the team, with the captain starting alongside Elliott Stooke in the second-row. Tom Ellis, Francois Louw and Taulupe Faletau complete the pack in an unchanged back-row.

Kahn Fotuali’i and Rhys Priestland continue in the half-back positions, with Matt Banahan moving to centre to partner James Wilson in the midfield.

Cooper Vuna comes into the starting line-up on the right wing, fresh from scoring Bath’s fifth try against Gloucester last week. He will joined in the back three by Aled Brew and Tom Homer, both of whom also went over the whitewash in last weekend’s 43-20 derby victory at Kingsholm.

Meanwhile, Fergus Mulchrone returns to London Irish’s starting XV for the trip to Bath.

Mulchrone, who is now just 10 appearances away from his 100th outing, is one of six changes to the side that took on Saracens last week as the Exiles look to finish the season on a positive note.

England U20 winger Ben Loader makes his Premiership debut, the Berkshire-born flyer having already impressed during the Exiles’ European campaign, while there is also a start for scrum-half Scott Steele.

In the front-row, Harry Elrington and Dave Porecki pack down, with Ben Franks and David Paice amongst the replacements. Paice will notch up his 290th and final appearance if called upon from the bench, with the most capped Exile of all time set to return to his native Brisbane after announcing his retirement from professional rugby.

The teams:

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 James Wilson, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Khan Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Matt Garvey (c), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Lucas Noguera
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Victor Delmas, 19 James Phillips, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Max Green, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Max Clark

London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Joe Cokanasigsa, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Fergus Mulchrone, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Josh McNally, 5 Sebastian De Chaves, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Dave Porecki, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Jack Cooke, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Johnny Williams, 23 Alex Lewington

Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Paul Dix
TMO: Keith Lewis

Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs

Harlequins have made three changes to the side that played Worcester Warriors last week at Sixways. Injuries to Jamie Roberts and Joe Marchant mean that Alofa Alofa shifts into 13 with James Lang moving to 12. Tim Visser starts on the left wing.

Ross Chisholm and Henry Cheeseman move onto the bench alongside Phil Swainston who covers for the injured Will Collier.

For the Chiefs, they have rotated their playing options to ensure their squad remains in fine fettle for the semi-finals.

With that in mind, changes to the line-up from a week ago see Ben Moon, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill and Thomas Waldrom come into the pack, while behind Olly Woodburn returns on the wing – Jack Nowell moving into the centre – while Phil Dollman starts at full-back.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 James Lang, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Stan South, 20 Archie White, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Henry Cheeseman, 23 Ross Chisholm

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Jack Nowell, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand (c), 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Dave Dennis, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom Hendrickson

Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick, Robert Warburton
TMO: Graham Hughes

Newcastle Falcons v Wasps

Josh Matavesi moves to fly-half as Newcastle Falcons hosts Wasps in Saturday’s battle for third place in the Premiership at a sold-out Kingston Park Stadium.

The Fijian international has been a mainstay of the Falcons midfield this season but moves into the number 10 shirt for the final game of the regular season following the knee injury sustained by Joel Hodgson’s during last Friday’s 25-23 triumph at Leicester Tigers.

Newcastle go into the game with a Premiership semi-final spot and European Champions Cup rugby already secured, but the battle for third remains very much alive against a Wasps side who currently occupy that position.

Whoever finishes third in the table will travel to Saracens in the Premiership semi-finals on Saturday, May 19, with the fourth-placed side facing a trip to Exeter Chiefs the same day. Any Newcastle Falcons win apart from a 4-2 points victory (ie Newcastle win without a try bonus point, and Wasps get two bonus points) would secure third place.

Newcastle make eight changes in total with last week’s Welford Road victory taking a heavy toll on the injury front: Vereniki Goneva, Scott Wilson, Sinoti Sinoti, Michael Young and Sean Robinson all missing out after picking up knocks. Alex Tait and Zach Kibirige come in on the wings, Juan Pablo Socino slotting in at inside centre while last week’s match-winner Sonatane Takulua comes into the nine shirt.

Evan Olmstead and Will Witty join the starting XV to form the second-row partnership, Rob Vickers replacing Sam Lockwood at loosehead in what will be the last ever home game for the long-serving prop. Number eight Ally Hogg will also start for the final time at Kingston Park Stadium, keeping his place in the same back-row which started at Leicester, where he scored the 80th-minute leveller.

The only other change to the team sees Trevor Davison packing down at tighthead, Newcastle’s bench including lock-forward Glen Young, who will be looking to add his two Premiership appearances, while prop David Wilson is in line for his first league outing of the season after overcoming a calf injury.

Meanwhile, Dai Young has introduced two new faces to the Wasps matchday 23.

With Simon McIntyre recuperating from the foot injury suffered against Northampton, former Falcon Ben Harris starts in the front-row alongside Tom Cruse and Marty Moore.

Elsewhere in the pack, Kearnan Myall joins skipper Joe Launchbury in the second-row while James Haskell and Jack Willis respectively start on the blindside flank and at number eight.

Behind the scrum, Young’s second new face, Kyle Eastmond, partners Gaby Lovobalavu in an exciting centre combination.

Joe Simpson joins Danny Cipriani at half-back and Josh Bassett and Elliot Daly fill the wing berths while this season’s leading appearance maker Christian Wade has recovered from a dead leg.

A power-packed bench includes Jimmy Gopperth who spent four years with Newcastle between 2009 and 2013.

The teams:

Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Zach Kibirige, 10 Josh Matavesi, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Mark Wilson (c), 5 Will Witty, 4 Evan Olmstead, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 David Wilson, 19 Glen Young, 20 Nili Latu, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Craig Willis, 23 Tom Penny

Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Gaby Lovobalavu, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Jack Willis, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Juan de Jongh

Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson, Paul Burton
TMO: Geoffrey Warren

Northampton Saints v Worcester Warriors

Northampton legend Ben Foden will lead out the side on his 250th and final appearance for the Premiership club as Saints host Worcester Warriors at Franklin’s Gardens.

The 32-year-old is one of a host of Saints stalwarts that will be pulling on the Black, Green and Gold jersey for the final time.

Final league positions will be on the line so Saints – who have beaten Warriors on three of the previous four meetings between the sides – have plenty of pride at stake in front of what will be a bumper Gardens crowd.

Interim head coach Alan Dickens and technical coaching consultant Alan Gaffney have made four changes from the side that ran Premiership semi-finalists Wasps so close last time out.

Foden skippers the team at full-back after shifting from the wing, with Tom Collins brought into the Saints’ starting XV for the first time since January to make his 50th appearance for the club.

George North remains on the other wing, but there are two further changes to Northampton’s backline as Nafi Tuitavake and James Grayson both start at outside centre and fly-half respectively.

But in the pack there is only one change – Kieran Brookes makes his final appearance for the club at tighthead prop, packing down with Alex Waller and Mikey Haywood in the front-row.

Stephen Myler, Campese Ma’afu and Charlie Clare will all also run out at Franklin’s Gardens for the final time in a Saints jersey, and will look to make an impact off the bench alongside the likes of Ahsee Tuala, Alex Mitchell, and David Ribbans – who returns from injury to join the replacements.

Meanwhile, Academy youngster Will Butler will make his first Premiership start for Worcester in this encounter.

Butler is one of three changes to the Warriors side as Perry Humphreys returns from a knee injury to make his first appearance since January while Anton Bresler steps in for Donncha O’Callaghan, who retired from professional rugby after last weekend’s 44-13 win over Harlequins.

Butler partners England star Ben Te’o in the centres while Francois Hougaard and Dorian Jones again start in the half-back combination.

Humphreys is joined by Chris Pennell and Josh Adams in the back three, with the latter chasing the Premiership’s top tryscorer gong, having already crossed 13 times this season and sitting level with Newcastle Falcons’ Vereniki Goneva.

In the pack, Ryan Bower prepares for his 87th Warriors appearance next to Jack Singleton and Nick Schonert in the front-row, while Darren Barry is joined by Bresler in the second-row.

Skipper GJ van Velze, Sam Lewis and Marco Mama form the back-row while Andrew Kitchener and Tom Howe are recalled to the replacements.

A Warriors win could see them finish in ninth position, which would be their highest league position since the 2005/06 season – a campaign in which they finished in their all-time top-flight best of eighth.

The teams:

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden (c), 14 Tom Collins, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Piers Francis, 11 George North, 10 James Grayson, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 James Craig, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Paul Hill, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Ahsee Tuala

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Ben Te’o, 12 Will Butler, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ryan Bower
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 David Denton, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Tom Howe

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Simon McConnell, Peter Allan
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Sale Sharks v Leicester Tigers

Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond has made some changes to his run-on side for their clash with Leicester Tigers at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Mike Haley returns to Sale Sharks’ backline where he takes over from Will Addison, who replaces Luke James at inside centre. Haley comes back from suspension for his final game for the club before moving to Munster and James will start amongst the replacements.

In the forwards, Josh Strauss comes in at number eight with the team’s captain, Jono Ross, shifting to the blindside flank. Ross takes over that position from Tom Curry, who replaces his brother, Ben, on the openside flank.

Leicester Tigers, meanwhile, recall Jonah Holmes, Mike Williams and Mathew Tait to their starting line-up for their Premiership fixture of the season.

Holmes comes in on the right wing, while Tait joins Manu Tuilagi at centre with Matt Toomua ruled out by injury this week. Williams comes into the back-row after starting on the bench in the Round 21 fixture against Newcastle Falcons last week.

There is a place among the replacements for George McGuigan with club captain Tom Youngs unavailable due to injury, while Logovi’i Mulipola will make his 100th Premiership appearance – in his last game for Tigers – from the bench.

The teams:

Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Sam James, 12 Will Addison, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Alexandru Taxus, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Johnny Leota, 23 Luke James

Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Mathew Tait, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Joe Ford, 23 George Worth

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: JP Doyle, Tom Foley
TMO: Sean Davey

Saracens v Gloucester

Saracens have made six changes for their final game of the regular Premiership season against Gloucester at Allianz Park.

The Men in Black’s front-row has a fresh look with Richard Barrington, Schalk Brits and Juan Figallo all granted starts while Nick Isiekwe partners Maro Itoje at lock.

Richard Wigglesworth comes in at nine and Marcelo Bosch, a try scorer in last weekend’s win at London Irish, operates at outside centre in an otherwise unchanged backline.

Billy Vunipola’s absence is precautionary.

Meanwhile, Gloucester’s side for their final Premiership fixture of the season features two potential milestones – England U20 wing Tom Seabrook will make his first appearance for the first XV while Richard Hibbard is set to bring up his Gloucester century.

Seabrook is the latest talent to roll off the club’s Academy production line. The 19-year-old has been a regular in the club’s A League campaign and featured for England U20s in this season’s Six Nations.

He features in a backline that sees Andy Symons, David Halaifonua and Ben Vellacott return to the starting line-up. Henry Trinder moves into outside centre from the wing and Billy Twelvetrees switches to fly-half to partner Vellacott.

There are wholesale changes to the pack that started against Bath last weekend, with only Lewis Ludlow retaining his place in the starting line-up.

Richard Hibbard is named amongst the replacements and will make his 100th competitive appearance should he take the field, while Val Rapava Ruskin has recovered from the injury that he picked up in Connacht.

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 George Kruis, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Chris Wyles

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Seabrook, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Andy Symons, 11 David Halaifonua, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Freddie Clarke, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Tom Hudson

Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Roy Maybank
TMO: Trevor Fisher