Premiership Preview: Saturday, Sunday
There's two games on Saturday before three matches take place on Sunday as the race for top spot in the Premiership heats up.
Saturday
Gloucester vs Newcastle
Gloucester make seven changes to their starting line-up for Saturday's Premiership clash with Newcastle Falcons at Kingsholm.
Notable returnees are skipper Willi Heinz and loosehead prop Val Rapava Ruskin. Heinz is back to skipper the side having missed the past two games. His return is one of three changes to the backline, Matt Scott coming in at centre and David Halaifonua replacing Henry Trinder on the left wing.
Rapava Ruskin is set for his first appearance since mid-November. Fraser Balmain gets a start in place of John Afoa at tighthead, Tom Savage comes into the second-row for Ed Slater and Freddie Clarke replaces Lewis Ludlow in the back-row, Jake Polledri moving to openside flanker.
Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons have made just two changes to their team for Saturday's Premiership trip.
Ally Hogg replaces Mark Wilson on the blindside flank after the England international limped out of last weekend's 28-10 victory at Harlequins, a result which propelled the Falcons into the Premiership top four going into this weekend's round of matches.
The only other switch comes in the second-row where Sean Robinson replaces Will Witty, Newcastle going for a repeat of the 18-13 victory they enjoyed on their last trip to Kingsholm in September 2016.
The in-form Falcons have lost just one of their last seven games in league action and defeated Gloucester as recently as four weeks ago, when they enjoyed a bonus-point 31-19 home victory in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Form: Gloucester have won just one of their last four Aviva Premiership Rugby matches: 24-17 at home to Leicester Tigers in round 14. Gloucester are the only side in the tournament unbeaten at home this season, although they did draw 25-all with Wasps at Kingsholm last weekend. Newcastle Falcons only loss in the last seven rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby was 3-25 at Saracens on 10 February. The Falcons have lost just one of their last four away games in the tournament. Newcastle have beaten Gloucester twice in the last six meetings between the clubs in Premiership Rugby, including an 18-13 success on their most recent visit to Kingsholm in September 2016.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 David Halaifonua, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 John Afoa, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Tom Marshall
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Michael Young, 8 Nili Latu, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Ally Hogg, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Will Witty, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Maxime Mermoz
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Steve Lee
Television match official: Trevor Fisher
Northampton vs Sale
Tom Wood, Api Ratuniyarawa and Nafi Tuitavake all return to Northampton's starting line-up this weekend as they prepare to host Sale Sharks.
Technical coaching consultant Alan Gaffney and interim head coach Alan Dickens have made just three changes to the side that narrowly went down to Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs last weekend for the clash at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saints’ two clashes with the Sharks so far this season have come down to the final play of the game, with both sides notching up one win each so far, but the hosts are unbeaten on home soil in 2018 and Sale have not been victorious at Franklin’s Gardens since May 2006.
Wood returns to the Saints back-row to partner up with Heinrich Brüssow and Teimana Harrison, while Ratuniyarawa has shaken off the knock which kept him out of last weekend’s trip to Sandy Park.
The titanic Fijian joins skipper Christian Day in the engine room, while the hosts’ front-row remains unchanged meaning Campese Ma’afu, Mikey Haywood and Kieran Brookes will pack down together once again.
Saints’ back-line is largely unchanged, but Ahsee Tuala makes the shift to full-back as Nafi Tuitavake – who grabbed the match-winning score the last time Northampton met Sale – comes in on the wing.
Rob Horne and Luther Burrell continue in Saints’ midfield after impressing together over the last two weeks, and half-backs Piers Francis and Nic Groom are also retained.
And Ken Pisi, who has five tries from six appearances in 2018, returns to take a spot amongst the replacements – Jamie Gibson also switching onto the bench.
Meanwhile, there is one change from the Sale starting side which began at Bath last weekend with former All Blacks lock Bryn Evans returning to the second-row after recovering from injury.
England wing Denny Solomona, who signed a new long-term contract with the Sharks earlier this week, is also named in the starting XV.
Scotland winger Byron McGuigan, who also penned a new long-term deal with the club on Thursday, makes a welcome return on the replacements bench after being injured on international duty with Scotland during the Six Nations.
Form: Northampton Saints have won just two of their last eleven Aviva Premiership Rugby encounters, both in their last two home games, against Gloucester and London Irish. The Saints have won their last four matches at Franklin’s Gardens in all competitions since Exeter Chiefs beat them there in round 11 of Premiership Rugby. Sale Sharks have slipped to two straight defeats in Aviva Premiership Rugby, 3-13 at home to Saracens and 32-33 away at Bath. Sales’ two away wins in Premiership Rugby this season have been at the home venues of the bottom two clubs, Worcester Warriors and London Irish. Sale beat Northampton 18-15 at AJ Bell Stadium in round 9 and have not achieved a season’s Premiership Rugby double over The Saints since 2005/06. The Sharks have not been victorious at Franklin’s Gardens since May 2006.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Nafi Tuitavake, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Heinrich Brüssow, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day (c), 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Ken Pisi
Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Will Addison (c), 12 Luke James, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Sam James, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 James Flynn, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Byron McGuigan, 23 Josh Charnley
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Roy Maybank
Television match official: Sean Davey
Sunday
Exeter vs Saracens
Exeter are boosted by the return of centre Henry Slade and prop Tomas Francis to their XV that will face Saracens at Sandy Park on Sunday.
Rob Baxter will be hoping his troops pick up for battle from where they left off against the Saints and look to establish further daylight between themselves and the Londoners at the summit of the table.
Team news for the Chiefs sees Ben Moon and Francis come into the front-row, Dave Ewers – fresh from signing a new two-year deal with the club – is restored to the back-row, while behind there are starts for Nic White, Joe Simmonds, Slade and Phil Dollman.
On the bench, club captain Jack Yeandle is back after an ankle injury, while England international Sam Simmonds is also included having recovered from a shoulder injury sustained in the Six Nations clash with Wales.
Meanwhile, George Kruis returns from international duty to take his place in the Saracens second-row for Sunday's Premiership match.
The 28-year-old partners Dominic Day in the boiler as one of two changes made by Mark McCall from last weekend’s defeat to Leicester Tigers.
Academy product Ben Earl is in line for his 14th outing for the Men in Black, replacing Schalk Burger at openside while Nick Isiekwe switches to the other flank.
On the bench, there is a place for new recruit Blair Cowan who joined the club for the remainder of the campaign from London Irish on Thursday.
Form: Exeter Chiefs last minute victory over Northampton Saints last weekend ended a three game losing run in Aviva Premiership Rugby. The Chiefs have suffered just one reversal at Sandy Park in the competition since October 2016: 5-6 to Worcester Warriors on 10 February. Saracens' five game winning run in Aviva Premiership Rugby ended at home to Leicester Tigers on Sunday. Saracens have won their last three away games in Premiership Rugby since losing by a single point to Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop in round 10. Exeter are unbeaten in their last three matches against Saracens in Premiership Rugby whilst Saracens record at Sandy Park in the tournament is won five, lost three.
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Ian Whitten
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 George Kruis, 4 Dominic Day, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Mark Flanagan, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Max Malins, 23 Rotimi Segun
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Paul Dix
Television match official: Keith Lewis
Wasps vs London Irish
Josh Bassett will make his 50th Premiership appearance when London Irish visit the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.
The wing is joined in the Wasps starting line-up by fit-again Danny Cipriani, who missed last week’s battling draw at Gloucester with an Achilles injury.
He is reunited with half-back partner Dan Robson against opponents buoyed by last weekend’s win over Worcester.
The absence of hamstring victim Juan de Jongh means Brendan Macken partners Jimmy Gopperth in midfield.
Director of rugby Dai Young has also shuffled his front-row resources following Matt Mullan’s knee injury. As a result, Simon McIntyre wears the one shirt, while Ben Harris, Will Stuart and TJ Harris provide cover from the bench.
They are joined among the replacements by Jack Willis, who has shaken off a shoulder problem, plus pacy trio Joe Simpson, Rob Miller and Owain James.
Meanwhile, London Irish are unchanged for this Sunday’s Premiership clash.
The Exiles travel to Coventry on the back of a 22-9 victory over Worcester Warriors, a result which has given Nick Kennedy’s men a real confidence boost going into the latter stages of the campaign.
Arno Botha, who was integral to the win, continues in the back-row alongside Conor Gilsenan and Ofisa Treviranus. Botha was a colossal presence throughout last week’s contest, the South African earning himself the BT Sport man of the match accolade. Fellow countryman Piet van Zyl, scorer of the only try against the Warriors, also retains his place at scrum-half.
Form: Wasps have lost only one of their last ten Premiership Rugby matches: 15-38 at home to Saracens on 7 January. Wasps 50 league points this season have been evenly split with 25 points obtained at home and another 25 on their travels. London Irish doubled their tally of Aviva Premiership Rugby victories this season with their home win over Worcester Warriors on Sunday. The Exiles have lost their last 22 away games in Premiership Rugby since beating London Welsh at Oxford in February 2015. Wasps are unbeaten in their last five fixtures against London Irish in Premiership Rugby since the Exiles 23-20 win at Adams Park in February 2014.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Guy Thompson, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 James Gaskell (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 TJ Harris, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Owain James
London Irish: 15 James Marshall, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Arno Botha, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 David Paice, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Dave Porecki, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Nigel Carrick
Television match official: David Rose
Worcester vs Leicester
Worcester welcome back five players to their starting line-up ahead of Sunday's clash with Leicester Tigers at Sixways.
Jackson Willison, Jonny Arr, Jack Singleton, Will Spencer and David Denton all return to the starting XV as director of rugby Alan Solomons looks for his side to bounce back from last weekend’s loss at London Irish.
Willison steps back in for Chris Pennell in the centre next to Ryan Mills, while Pennell returns to full-back.
Josh Adams and Bryce Heem start on the wings while fly-half Jamie Shillcock is joined by scrum-half Arr, who will make his 199th club appearance as he deputises for the injured Francois Hougaard.
In the front-row, Singleton returns to join Ethan Waller and Nick Schonert while Spencer is restored to the starting line-up next to Darren Barry in the second-row.
Denton returns to the back-row in place of Sam Lewis, who misses out with a hamstring injury, and lines up next to Alafoti Faosiliva and GJ van Velze – the latter of whom skippers the side.
The bench includes Donncha O’Callaghan and also Academy centre Will Butler, who if features, will make his Premiership debut.
The 19-year-old recently captained England U20s in their Six Nations campaign while he has also led Warriors in the Anglo-Welsh Cup this season.
Meanwhile, Tom Youngs and Mathew Tait return to the Leicester Tigers line-up for this crucial fixture.
Club captain Youngs swaps places with Tatafu Polota-Nau to start in the front-row, while Tait takes over from Gareth Owen in midfield. Owen faces surgery after suffering a shoulder injury in the win at Saracens in Round 16.
In the only other change to the squad from last weekend, there is a place among the replacements for Nick Malouf on his recovery from injury.
Mike Williams makes his 50th appearance for the club since a move from Warriors in the summer of 2015.
Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor said: “Worcester beat us at home in November and we have got to be significantly better this time and deliver on what we have done in the last couple of weeks against Harlequins and Saracens.
“At Sarries we managed to put them under pressure and didn’t give them an opportunity to recover through our inaccuracies. We defended well and we took our opportunities in attack too.
“But we have to keep improving week on week because this league has never been tighter and we need to stay in the mix.”
Form: Worcester Warriors five wins in Aviva Premiership Rugby this season have all been in the space of the last nine rounds. The Warriors have lost just once at Sixways in any competitions since early December: 25-46 to Bath in round 13 of Premiership Rugby. Leicester Tigers have won three of their last four Aviva Premiership Rugby encounters, whilst their victory at Saracens on Sunday was their first on the road since the end of October. Worcester beat Leicester at Welford Road for the first time ever in November and are attempting to achieve their first Premiership Rugby season’s double over the Tigers. The Tigers have won on their last nine visits to Sixways in all competitions, including beating Northampton there in the 2012 Anglo-Welsh Cup final.
The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Alafoti Faosiliva, 6 David Denton, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Darren Barry, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Donncha O’Callaghan, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Will Butler, 23 Dean Hammond
Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Mathew Tait, 11 Jonah Holmes, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Simmons, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Nick Malouf
Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Simon McConnell
Television match official: Geoffrey Warren