Premiership Preview: Saturday and Sunday
Three matches take place on Saturday before the Premiership round concludes on Sunday with two big games affecting the top of the table.
Saturday
Leicester Tigers vs London Irish
Manu Tuilagi will make his 100th appearance for Leicester Tigers on Saturday as part of the team named to face London Irish at Welford Road.
International centre Tuilagi starts alongside Matt Toomua in midfield as he reaches a landmark appearance in the opening game of the new year.
While Matt O’Connor retains the backline that started at Exeter Chiefs in Round 12 on New Year’s Eve, there is one change among the forwards as Brendon O’Connor returns in the number seven shirt.
Australia international hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau starts for the first time at Welford Road.
Fit-again front-rower Greg Bateman returns with a place among the replacements and hooker Harry Thacker receives a call-up following injury to club captain Tom Youngs at Exeter.
Meanwhile, London Irish are unchanged for the away game as they look to start 2018 in positive fashion.
Franco van der Merwe, who this week became a father for the second time, starts in the engine room alongside Teofilo Paulo. Experienced trio Gordon Reid, Saia Fainga’a and Petrus du Plessis pack down in the front row, with skipper Mike Coman, Max Northcote-Green and Ofisa Treviranus all retaining their place in the back-row.
Greig Tonks, who kicked all 15 of Irish’s points during last week’s narrow defeat to Newcastle Falcons, continues at full-back, while Joe Cokanasiga and former Leicester man Alex Lewington start on either wing. Homing in on 100 appearances for Irish, Lewington will be looking to add to his five try return for the season.
Scrum-half Scott Steele, facing his former team, combines with James Marshall at the heart of the Exiles’ backline, while Johnny Williams and Tom Fowlie get the nod in the centres.
Form: Leicester Tigers have lost their last four Aviva Premiership Rugby matches and another defeat would equal their worst ever run in the history of the tournament, set between October and November 2003. Tigers have lost their last three matches at Welford Road in all tournaments but have not lost four in a row at the famous venue since 1975. London Irish have won just one of their last 17 Premiership Rugby matches: 39-29 over Harlequins at Twickenham in the London double-header in September. The Exiles most recent away win in the tournament was at London Welsh in February 2015. Leicester Tigers have lost just twice to London Irish since the two clubs met in the 2009 Premiership Rugby final at Twickenham: at Reading in October 2009 and at Welford Road in September 2014.
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Jonny May, 14 Nick Malouf, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Adam Thompstone, 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 Logovi’i Mulipola
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Greg Bateman, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mathew Tait
London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 James Marshall, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 6 Mike Coman (c), 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Theo Brophy Clews, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Peter Allan, Roy Maybank
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Northampton Saints vs Gloucester
Northampton Saints have made just one change to their starting line-up as Gloucester visit Franklin’s Gardens this Saturday.
It will be the first time Saints run out on home soil in 2018, with the club relishing the opportunity for a fresh start in what will be new technical coaching assistant Alan Gaffney’s opening match.
The high-flying Cherry and Whites narrowly won the first skirmish between the sides at Kingsholm earlier this season.
But prior to that Saints were undefeated in nine matches against Saturday’s opponents and Gloucester have not achieved a season’s double over Northampton since the 2010/11 season.
After sticking with the same backline for the last two games, Gaffney and interim head coach Alan Dickens have opted for a slight shuffle.
Harry Mallinder moves from full-back to fly-half, taking on the 10 jersey with Piers Francis ruled out of the clash with a head injury sustained at Twickenham last time out.
That means the in-form Ahsee Tuala shifts to full-back from the wing, with Ben Foden staying on the wing and Ken Pisi coming in to complete the back three.
Rob Horne and Luther Burrell stay in the Saints midfield while South African scrum-half Nic Groom keeps his place.
The pack meanwhile is unchanged from last weekend’s loss, with England captain Dylan Hartley skippering the side once again from hooker and Jamie Gibson staying at openside flanker after an impressive showing against Harlequins.
And prop Kieran Brookes has recovered from a hand injury to take up his place on the bench after a six-week layoff.
Meanwhile, having missed out on last weekend’s win over Sale Sharks, scrum-half Willi Heinz returns to skipper Gloucester in Saturday’s game, one of seven changes to the starting line-up.
Heinz missed the Sale game due to a calf injury but has recovered to return to the starting line-up and will form a new look half-back partnership with Owen Williams.
There are two other changes in the backs with Henry Trinder coming in at outside centre for Billy Twelvetrees and Jason Woodward replacing Charlie Sharples on the right wing.
There are no changes to the front-row, but Ed Slater and Mariano Galarza team up in the second-row in place of Tom Savage and Jeremy Thrush. The final change sees Jake Polledri come in for Lewis Ludlow on the openside flank.
Form: Northampton Saints have lost their last seven Aviva Premiership Rugby matches and have only once before had a worse run in the history of the competition – losing nine in a row in 2004. The Saints only victory in their last six matches in all tournaments at Franklin’s Gardens was 41-7 over Dragons in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in November. Gloucester Rugby have lost just one of their last eight first team matches: 24-49 at Wasps in round 11 of Aviva Premiership Rugby. The Cherry & Whites have won just twice on the road in Premiership Rugby this season, at Bath in round 7 and at Newcastle in round 9. Gloucester beat Northampton 29-24 at Kingsholm in round 6 of Premiership Rugby but have not achieved a season’s double over The Saints since 2010-11. Gloucester’s most recent win at Franklin’s Gardens was 27-11 in Premiership Rugby in February 2013.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Ken Pisi, 10 Harry Mallinder, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 James Grayson, 23 Tom Stephenson
Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Jason Woodward, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Andy Symons, 11 David Halaifonua, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Ed Slater, 3 John Afoa, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Charlie Sharples
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Wayne Falla
TMO: David Sainsbury
Sale Sharks vs Harlequins
Sale Sharks make one change from the starting XV which played at Gloucester ahead of facing Harlequins in Round 13 at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Josh Strauss is unable to play, due to injury. Cameron Neild comes into back-row, with skipper Jono Ross moving along to number eight. TJ Ioane fills the gap on the bench vacated by Neild.
Faf de Klerk and AJ MacGinty continue in the half-backs while Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Sam James line up in the midfield.
In an unchanged starting pack, Dave Ward once again captains Harlequins following his man of the match performance against Northampton Saints in Round 12.
In the backs, Mike Brown has sustained a minor knock, as Ross Chisholm comes in to start at full-back.
Tim Visser and Charlie Walker are retained on either wing after the pair ran in seven tries between them in December.
Among the replacements, Renaldo Bothma comes in and will cover the back-row from the bench.
Form: Sale Sharks’ three-game winning run in Aviva Premiership Rugby ended at Gloucester on Saturday. The Sharks have lost just twice at AJ Bell Stadium in any tournament this season: both in Premiership Rugby, 12-13 to Newcastle in round 2 and 6-10 to Exeter in round 7. Harlequins three-game losing run in all tournaments ended at Twickenham on Saturday with the eclipsing of Northampton in the “Big Game”. Harlequins have won just once away from home in Aviva Premiership Rugby since March: 24-21 over Wasps at Coventry in round 3. The last five fixtures between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Harlequins most recent victory at AJ Bell Stadium was 25-23 in April 2015.
The teams:
Sale: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jono Ross (c), 7 Ben Curry, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriffJohn, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 James Flynn, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 George Nott, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Mike Haley, 23 Will Addison
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 James Lang, 23 Henry Cheeseman
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Matthew O’Grady, Tim Wigglesworth
TMO: Keith Lewis
Sunday
Newcastle Falcons vs Exeter Chiefs
Newcastle Falcons welcome club captain Will Welch back into their starting line-up for Sunday’s visit of Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs to Kingston Park.
The clash against the league leaders sees the Falcons going for their sixth successive victory in all competitions after completing a December clean sweep, Welch returning to the side in place of Nili Latu in the only change to Newcastle’s forward pack.
Sinoti Sinoti is back the wing after recovering from a head knock, Michael Young replacing Sonatane Takulua at scrum-half while Josh Matavesi comes in at centre for Juan Pablo Socino.
Injuries sustained in the Leicester win deprive Exeter head coach Rob Baxter of England trio Harry Williams (concussion), Luke Cowan-Dickie (hip) and Jack Nowell (ankle), but the Chiefs boss said all three were not long-term concerns and that he was hopeful they would be available again soon.
With the trio missing, Tomas Francis and Jack Yeandle come into the front-row, while James Short is the man entrusted with filling the void left by Nowell on the wing. Other changes in personnel see Mitch Lees and Ollie Atkins come into the second-row, Matt Kvesic and Sam Simmonds start in the back-row, while there is a recall at scrum-half for Aussie Nic White and Ian Whitten in the centre.
Form: Newcastle Falcons have won their last five matches in all competitions but have not won six in a row since they returned to the top flight in 2013/14. The Falcons record at Kingston Park in Premiership Rugby this season is won three, lost three. Exeter Chiefs have won their last seven Aviva Premiership Rugby matches since tripping up 13-20 at Leicester in round 5. Both of Chiefs defeats in the tournament this season have been on the road – the other being at Gloucester in round 1. The two clubs have met on 13 previous occasions in Aviva Premiership Rugby with Newcastle’s only previous win being 29-24 at Kingston Park in October 2014.
The teams:
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Michael Young, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Will Welch (c), 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Nili Latu, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Juan Pablo Socino
Exeter: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 James Short, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Ollie Atkins, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Phil Dollman
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, John Meredith
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Wasps vs Saracens
Ashley Johnson captains Wasps against Saracens on Sunday in the much-anticipated clash between the Premiership’s third and second-placed clubs.
The South African hooker is joined in the front-row by Jake Cooper-Woolley and Ben Harris, who makes a first top-flight start in black-and-gold.
Subject to recovering from a heavy cold, club captain Joe Launchbury is rotated to the bench after playing every minute of the last four matches. England Saxons pair James Gaskell and Kearnan Myall are therefore partnered in the second-row.
The back-row trio that performed so well at Bath is given another chance to impress, as is the back division that shared all of the five tries claimed at the Rec.
Former England U20 loosehead Tom West is in line to make his Premiership debut from a powerful bench which includes experienced quartet Guy Thompson, Marty Moore, Rob Miller and Joe Simpson.
Meanwhile, Richard Wigglesworth will make his 200th appearance on Sunday as Saracens travel to Coventry.
Wigglesworth reaches the appearance landmark after seven and a half years of playing for the club and starts at scrum-half alongside Owen Farrell at fly-half.
Chris Tolofua comes into the side at hooker and will line up alongside Mako Vunipola and Vincent Koch with the returning Maro Itoje and Nick Isiekwe forming the remainder of the tight five in the second-row.
Michael Rhodes continues his return from injury on the blindside while Billy Vunipola returns from his injury to start at number eight with Schalk Burger completing the back-row.
Captain Brad Barritt and Duncan Taylor form the centre partnership as Nathan Earle and Chris Wyles continue on the wings, Alex Goode starts at full-back.
Form: Wasps only defeat in their last eight first team matches was on a visit to La Rochelle in round 3 of the European Champions Cup. Wasps have won their last three fixtures at the Ricoh Arena in Aviva Premiership Rugby since Bath beat them there on 1 October. Saracens have won their last two Aviva Premiership Rugby matches, at Leicester and at home to Worcester, with the 46-31 victory against the Warriors bringing their first try bonus point since October. Saracens have lost just two of their last 12 encounters with Wasps in Premiership Rugby: 23-64 at Allianz Park in February 2016 and 15-35 on their most recent visit to Coventry in May.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson (c), 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Guy Armitage
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Sean Maitland
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Sean Davey