Premiership preview: Saturday, Sunday
The East Midlands derby between Northampton and Leicester along with Bath’s visit to Saracens headline Round 18 of the Premiership.
Exeter Chiefs v Sale Sharks
Exeter are boosted by the return of England star Jack Nowell, who will start on the right wing against Sale on Saturday.
He is the sole change to the Exeter back division from that which beat Leicester in the Premiership earlier this month.
Up front, the pack from that game is also virtually unchanged with the only difference coming in the front-row where Ben Moon gets the nod at loosehead over Carl Rimmer. Don Armand once again skippers the side from the back-row.
On the bench, Tomas Francis is back from Six Nations duty, whilst the Simmonds brothers – Sam and Joe – both get another opportunity to shine following impressive displays in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Meanwhile, Steve Diamond has made one positional change and three personnel changes to his Sale side which lost to Northampton in Round 17.
In the pack, Andrei Ostrikov returns, replacing Jonathan Mills. Also on the back of the England U20 Grand Slam campaign, Tom Curry comes in to start at flanker, replacing Magnus Lund.
In the backs, AJ MacGinty starts at fly-half, with Sam James moving to outside centre, partnering Mark Jennings. On the wing, ex-Chief Byron McGuigan starts, with Josh Charnley taking a place on the bench.
Form: Exeter Chiefs are unbeaten in the last ten rounds of Premiership Rugby since their 10-13 loss at home to Bath Rugby on 30th October – a sequence which has seen two draws. The Chiefs most recent defeat at Sandy Park was to Bordeaux-Bègles in the European Champions Cup on December 11. Sale Sharks have lost their last two Premiership Rugby matches, at Saracens and at home to Northampton. The Sharks only away win in Premiership Rugby this season came on a trip to Bristol in Round 7. Exeter have lost just one of their last four fixtures against The Sharks: 17-23 at AJ Bell Stadium in February 2015, whilst Sharks solitary victory at Sandy Park was 55-12 in April 2014.
The teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand (c), 6 Kai Horstmann, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 James Short
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Josh Beaumont (c), 7 Tom Curry, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Ben Curry, 17 James Flynn, 18 Kieran Longbottom, 19 George Nott, 20 Laurence Pearce, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Bedlow, 23 Josh Charnley
Date: Saturday, March 25
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Paul Burton
TMO: Geoff Warren
Harlequins v Newcastle Falcons
Following the conclusion of the Six Nations, Joe Marler, Danny Care, Tim Visser, Jamie Roberts and Mike Brown return to the Harlequins’ XV, with Kyle Sinckler named among the replacements.
Alongside the returning internationals, Will Collier, James Horwill, Chris Robshaw and Nick Evans come back from injury, with Charlie Mulchrone, Jack Clifford and Tim Swiel also fit again on the bench.
Dave Ward will continue as Harlequins captain to allow club captain Danny Care to concentrate on integrating back into the squad following his two-month absence with England.
Meanwhile for Newcastle, Mark Wilson moves forward to the second-row as the Falcons shuffle their pack for Saturday’s Premiership match.
The Cumbrian has missed just one of the Falcons’ 17 league games this season having been a late withdrawal from last month’s trip to Exeter through illness, the academy graduate playing every minute of every other Premiership match and topping the league’s tackle count on 191.
Wilson replaces Evan Olmstead in a move which allows Junior World Championship winner Callum Chick to start at blindside flanker, Scott Lawson coming in at hooker as the Falcons aim for a first league win at the Twickenham Stoop in more than 17 years.
The backline is unchanged.
Form: Harlequins have lost their last three matches at the Twickenham Stoop in all tournaments, against Edinburgh in the European Challenge Cup, Sale in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and Leicester in Premiership Rugby. The Leicester defeat spoilt their perfect run of seven home wins out seven in Premiership Rugby this season. Newcastle Falcons only win in the last four rounds of Premiership Rugby was 46-31 at home to Northampton Saints in Round 15. The Tynesiders’ two away wins in Premiership Rugby this season were at Gloucester in round 4 and Northampton in Round 9. The Falcons have lost just one of their last four fixtures with Harlequins: 25-46 at Twickenham Stoop in this equivalent fixture in Round 19 last year. Newcastle have not been victorious at The Stoop in Premiership Rugby since winning 20-18 in September 2000.
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dave Ward (c), 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 James Horwill, 4 George Merrick, 3 Will Collier, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Alofa Alofa
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Nili Latu, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Callum Chick, 5 Mark Wilson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Ben Sowrey, 17 Ben Harris, 18 David Wilson, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Ally Hogg, 21 Michael Young, 22 Mike Delany, 23 Chris Harris
Date: Saturday, March 25
Venue: The Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, Adam Leal
TMO: Keith Lewis
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Northampton Saints have announced their team for Saturday’s Premiership derby against Leicester.
With five rounds to play both teams are locked in a battle for the Premiership’s top four, and the Saints coaches are bringing back all of the club’s Six Nations players into the starting line-up that will run out at a sold-out Franklin’s Gardens.
Tom Wood captains the side while Louis Picamoles and Dylan Hartley also start.
Meanwhile, Six Nations champions Ben Youngs and Dan Cole return to the Leicester Tigers team for the Premiership derby.
Scrum-half Youngs and prop Cole reported back for club duties earlier this week after playing in all five games in England’s Championship campaign.
Only four players – Mathew Tait, Freddie Burns, Ellis Genge and Graham Kitchener – are retained from the starting line-up from last Sunday’s Anglo-Welsh Cup Final victory, with Telusa Veainu, Maxime Mermoz and JP Pietersen among those recalled for derby day at Franklin’s Gardens.
Form: Northampton Saints have lost just two of their last seven Premiership Rugby encounters, both away from home, to Bath and Newcastle Falcons in Rounds 14 and 15 respectively. The Saints have won their last five matches at Franklin’s Gardens in all tournaments since Leinster beat them there in the European Champions Cup in December, whilst their most recent loss at the venue in Premiership Rugby was to Newcastle in Round 9. Leicester Tigers have lost just one of their last six first team matches: 15-34 at home to Exeter Chiefs in Aviva Premiership Rugby on March 3. Leicester have won their last two away games, at Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and at Saracens in the semi-final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup (the final being on neutral ground), and have not won three away games in a row since December 2015. The Tigers have won their last six matches against the Saints in all tournaments since their 19-23 reversal at Franklin’s Gardens in Premiership Rugby in December 2014 – although just one of those victories was played in Northampton.
The teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Harry Mallinder, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Tom Wood (c), 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Jamie Gibson, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Ken Pisi
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 J P Pietersen, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Fitzgerald, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Ben White, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Jack Roberts
Date: Saturday, March 25
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant Referees: Andrew P Jackson, Roy Maybank
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Wasps v Worcester Warriors
James Haskell returns from England’s Six Nations winning campaign to start on the blindside flank for Wasps against Worcester on Sunday.
Matt Mullan is also included among the replacements while Joe Launchbury, Elliot Daly, Nathan Hughes and Tommy Taylor are rested after playing a large amount of rugby in recent weeks, for England and Wasps respectively.
Ashley Johnson once again captains the side from hooker, joined in the front row by Simon McIntyre and Marty Moore. Will Rowlands and Kearnan Myall pack down at lock, with Haskell joined by Thomas Young and Alex Rieder in the back-row. Guy Thompson makes his return from a thumb injury, which has side-lined him since January, to take a spot amongst the replacements.
In the backline, Kurtley Beale starts at full-back, with Christian Wade and Willie le Roux on the wings. In the centres, Jimmy Gopperth and Alapati Leiua combine once again, while Danny Cipriani and Dan Robson pair up as half-backs, with Robson set to make his 100th Premiership appearance.
Meanwhile, Worcester name an unchanged starting XV for the West Midlands derby.
Having beaten Bristol in their last outing, Gary Gold’s men will be looking to put further space between them and their relegation rivals when they battle Dai Young’s Wasps, who sit pretty at the top of table.
Chris Pennell, Bryce Heem and Josh Adams form the Warriors back three with the latter having scored twice at the Ricoh Arena in an Anglo-Welsh Cup clash between the sides in November.
Form: Wasps have lost just one of their last nine Premiership Rugby fixtures: 28-34 at Sale in Round 15. Wasps only defeat at Ricoh Arena in any competition since Saracens won there in December 2015 was to Ospreys in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in February. Worcester Warriors have doubled their tally of Premiership Rugby victories this season in the four games since Gary Gold has been head coach. The Warriors only victory on the road in the past twelve months was on a visit to Cardiff Blues in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on February 4. Wasps have won their last five Premiership Rugby matches against Worcester since the Warriors 29-23 victory at Sixways four years ago. Worcester have not won on Wasps soil since a 6-0 victory at Adams Park on New Year’s Day 2012.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Willie Le Roux, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Alex Rieder, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Ashley Johnson (c), 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Matt Symons, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Brendan Macken, 23 Josh Bassett
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Marco Mama, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Dewald Potgieter, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Dean Hammond
Date: Sunday, March 26
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 13:30 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Ian Tempest, Simon McConnell
TMO: David Grashoff
Saracens v Bath
Alex Goode returns to the Saracens side after recovering from ankle injury and will start at full-back against Bath on Sunday.
Goode, who has been out of action since early January, starts at full-back alongside Scotland Six Nations wing Sean Maitland and Chris Ashton in the back-three. At centre, Marcelo Bosch continues to partner skipper Brad Barritt in a familiar looking Sarries midfield.
England Six Nations man Owen Farrell is back in Saracens colours at fly-half and he is partnered by Richard Wigglesworth in the halves.
Up front, England pair Mako Vunipola (loosehead prop) and Jamie George (hooker) return to the Saracens starting line-up alongside Juan Figallo in the Saracens front-row. Maro Itoje comes into the side at lock to join Jim Hamilton, whilst in the back-row Billy Vunipola is named at No8 and is joined by Michale Rhodes (blindside flanker) and Jackson Wray (openside flanker).
In injury news, Schalk Burger misses out with a calf injury whilst George Kruis (knee) and Will Fraser (back) and Ben Spencer (leg) are also unavailable for selection.
Meanwhile, Francois Louw will make his 100th appearance for Bath against Saracens at Allianz Park.
The South African international, who joined the club in 2011, will co-captain the team at openside flanker with Tom Ellis and Taulupe Faletau completing the back-row.
Following his injury absence, Matt Banahan makes a welcome return to action to take his place on the left wing, whilst Bath’s top try scorer Semesa Rokoduguni continues on the right wing.
Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, who helped guide England to the Six Nations title return to the starting line-up at full-back and outside centre respectively. Joseph will be joined in the midfield by Ben Tapuai, with the Australian at inside centre.
George Ford, another key figure in England’s successful campaign will be looking to assert his authority on the game at fly-half, with the influential Kahn Fotuali’i completing the half-back pairing.
Nathan Catt, Ross Batty and Max Lahiff will form the front row against the reigning Premiership champions and will be supported by Luke Charteris and Charlie Ewels, who form the second-row partnership.
Form: Saracens have won their last two Premiership Rugby matches, against Sale and Newcastle Falcons, to end a three-game winless run in the competition. Saracens have not been defeated at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby since Northampton Saints were the visitors in March 2016. Bath have slipped to two successive defeats in Premiership Rugby, at Bristol and at home to Wasps. Bath’s only away victory since beating Exeter at Sandy Park in October was on a trip to Bristol in the European Challenge Cup on 13th January. Bath beat Saracens 14-11 at the Recreation Ground in Round 10 but have not won successive contests with the Londoners since 2004. Bath have not been successful on Saracens “soil” since a 16-14 victory at Vicarage Road in Premiership Rugby in February 2010.
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Titi Lamositele, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Joel Conlon, 21 Henry Taylor, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Duncan Taylor
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford (cc), 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Francois Louw (cc), 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Jack Wilson
Date: Sunday, March 26
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley, Paul Dix
TMO: Graham Hughes