Premiership Preview: Saturday, Sunday
Four matches are scheduled in the Premiership on Saturday, with Wasps and Northampton closing out the action at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.
Saturday
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has made some changes to his starting line-up after suffering a narrow defeat to Northampton Saints last weekend.
Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dave Dennis and Jonny Hill all return to the starting XV up front, with Cowan-Dickie replacing Elvis Taione at hooker while Dennis and Hill come in for Sam Skinner and Mitch Lees to pack down in the second-row.
In the backline, Henry Slade is brought into the midfield alongside Ian Whitten and Phil Dollman gets the nod ahead of Joe Simmonds at full-back.
Meanwhile, Tom Lindsay is set for his first Premiership start for Bristol after being named at hooker for this encounter.
Lindsay is one of six changes to Bristol boss Pat Lam’s side for the Sandy Park clash, with only Jordan Crane and Chris Vui remaining in the pack from the team that overcame Newcastle last weekend.
Jake Woolmore and Lewis Thiede come into the front-row, while Ed Holmes and Joe Joyce form the second-row partnership.
Vui switches to blindside flanker for the injured Steven Luatua and Jack Lam is selected at openside after recovering from a rib injury.
Form: Exeter Chiefs last four games in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. The Chiefs have not lost at home in the tournament since Worcester were the visitors on 10 February. Bristol Bears last four games in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. The Bears only two away victories this season were at Wasps in the Premiership Rugby Cup and at La Rochelle in Round 4 of the European Challenge Cup. Bristol have won just one away game in the tournament since March 2008, by a solitary point at Sale on New Year’s Day 2017. Exeter have won their last six encounters with Bristol in all tournaments since the Bears’ 25-16 victory at Sandy Park in the RFU Championship in December 2009.
The teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Sean Lonsdale, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 21 Nic White, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ollie Devoto
Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau (cc), 11 Tom Pincus, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Jordan Crane (cc), 7 Jack Lam, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 Lewis Thiede, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 John Afoa, 19 George Smith, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Piers O’Conor
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Paul Dix
TMO: Geoff Warren
Worcester welcome back lock Michael Fatialofa and tighthead prop Nick Schonert for Saturday’s Premiership match against Bath at Sixways.
Schonert (sternum) and Fatialofa (illness) were both ruled out of last Saturday’s game at Saracens with Fatilofa withdrawing on the morning of the game.
Both have been passed fit to face Bath and take their places in an otherwise unchanged starting XV.
Ben Te’o will again partner Francois Venter in the centre with Ryan Mills, who has recovered from a wrist injury which forced him to miss his first Premiership match this season, named as a replacement.
Back-row forward Marco Mama is also on the bench having recovered from a sore knee with lock Darren Barry, who was a late addition to the matchday squad at Saracens, being retained as a replacement.
Meanwhile, Bath have made five changes to their side to face Worcester.
Dave Attwood, Charlie Ewels, Zach Mercer, Jacques van Rooyen and Cooper Vuna all come into the starting line-up for the Premiership clash.
South African Van Rooyen starts at loosehead in an otherwise unchanged front-row which includes Tom Dunn and Henry Thomas. Attwood returns to the second-row alongside Ewels, as Bath look to make it three wins on the bounce.
Zach Mercer returns to the starting line-up at number eight with Francois Louw and Tom Ellis completing the pack.
Will Chudley captains the team from scrum-half, with Freddie Burns alongside him at fly-half. Jamie Roberts and Max Wright continue in the centre partnership, with Cooper Vuna coming into the fold on the left wing. Semesa Rokoduguni and James Wilson complete the backline for the trip to Sixways.
Form: Worcester Warriors have lost their last three Premiership Rugby matches since beating Harlequins 20-13 at Sixways at the end of November. The Warriors’ defeat to Northampton in their most recent game at Sixways ended a five-game home winning run in all competitions. Bath have won their last two Premiership Rugby fixtures, at Wasps and at home to Leicester but have not won three in succession in the competition since November 2016. Bath’s only two away victories in Premiership Rugby this season were at Harlequins in round 3 and at Wasps in Round 10. Bath’s only defeat in their last dozen fixtures with Warriors in Premiership Rugby was 19-25 at Sixways in April 2017.
The teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Perry Humphreys, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Darren Barry, 21 Marco Mama, 22 Jonny Arr, 23 Ryan Mills
Bath: 15 James Wilson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Max Wright, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Josh Bayliss, 2 Max Green, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Aled Brew
Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: JP Doyle, Simon Harding
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Will Evans and Mike Williams return to the Leicester Tigers forward pack for Saturday’s home game against Gloucester.
Head coach Geordan Murphy names Evans and Williams in the back-row, with Mike Fitzgerald moving into the second-row alongside Graham Kitchener.
There is also a change in the backline where Jordan Olowofela returns on the wing, with Jonah Holmes reverting to the full-back spot.
Greg Bateman returns from injury to take his place among the replacements, and there is a place for Kyle Eastmond after serving a ban.
Meanwhile, Gloucester number eight Ben Morgan will skipper the Cherry and Whites in this fixture.
Morgan, who has already skippered Gloucester this season in the Champions Cup at home to Castres Olympique, will lead a team that features half a dozen changes from the side that started against Sale Sharks last weekend.
Gerbrandt Grobler comes in to partner Franco Mostert in an all-South African second-row, while Freddie Clarke and Gareth Evans return to the back-row.
Callum Braley replaces Willi Heinz at scrum-half, and Ollie Thorley and Mark Atkinson both return from injury to line up on the left wing and at inside centre respectively.
Form: Leicester Tigers’ only victory in the last five rounds of Premiership Rugby was 35-24 against Harlequins at Welford Road on 22 December. Tigers have not won successive fixtures at home in Premiership Rugby since March. Gloucester Rugby’s last four matches in all competitions have all been won by the away side on the day. Gloucester have not won three in succession on the road since they beat Zebre, Exeter and Brive four years ago. Gloucester have won their last two matches against Leicester, but both were played at Kingsholm, in February and November. The last time that the Cherry and Whites won at Welford Road was in October 2007.
The teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Jonny May, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Will Evans, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Brendon O’Connor, 21 Ben White, 22 Kyle Eastmond, 23 George Worth
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ben Morgan (c), 7 Gareth Evans, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Henry Trinder, 23 Matt Banahan
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Matthew O’Grady
TMO: David Rose
Newcastle Falcons v Harlequins
Newcastle Falcons welcome back fit-again lock-forward Will Witty as they prepare for Saturday’s Premiership visit of Harlequins.
A head knock for Toby Flood sees Brett Connon starting at fly-half, the 22-year-old having impressed in his recent Champions Cup start away to Edinburgh, while a head knock also rules out flanker John Hardie.
Trevor Davison and Kyle Cooper both come into the front-row after featuring from the bench last weekend, Tom Arscott starting on the wing in the only other change to the side which took a losing bonus-point on Sunday at Bristol.
Meanwhile, Harlequins full-back Mike Brown will break the club’s all-time appearance record on Saturday when he takes his place in the starting XV.
Brown broke Nick Easter’s record for most appearances in the professional era last season, but when he runs out for Quins for the 308th time at the weekend he will be breaking the all-time record set by Grahame Murray in 1973.
The backline has one change from the one that started Big Game against Wasps with the exciting Gabriel Ibitoye starting at left wing while Cadan Murley has been rested.
Danny Care will captain the side in the absence of James Chisholm, who is rotated, with the in-form Alex Dombrandt moving to number eight and Semi Kunatani joining the back-row at blindside alongside the consistently impressive Jack Clifford.
Form: Newcastle Falcons have won just three games in Premiership Rugby this season, at Worcester in Round 3, at home to Bath in Round 8 and at Northampton in Round 9. The Falcons have won only one of their last six home games in Premiership Rugby. Harlequins last eight matches in all tournaments have been won by the home side on the day, the Londoners’ only away win in their last 14 trips in Premiership Rugby was at Gloucester on 29 September. The last six meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have been evenly split with three wins apiece, however Harlequins have not been victorious at Kingston Park since December 2013.
The teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Michael Young, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Will Welch (c), 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Trevor Davison
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 David Wilson, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Ryan Burrows, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Pedro Bettencourt
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care (c), 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Semi Kunatani, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Will Collier, 19 George Merrick, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 James Lang, 23 Aaron Morris
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Thomas Foley
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth, John Meredith
TMO: Claire Hodnett
Sunday
Wasps v Northampton Saints
Joe Launchbury has recovered from injury to play for the first time since September as Wasps host Northampton at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.
The England lock has been absent with knee and neck problems over the past several months but will make his long-awaited return in Round 12 of the Premiership this weekend.
Meanwhile, hooker Tom Cruse is set for his 50th appearance for the club as he is joined by Jake Cooper-Woolley and Georgian prop Zurabi Zhvania in the front-row.
In the backs, Springbok Juan de Jongh returns to the starting line-up in place of Michael Le Bourgeois while Nathan Hughes returns to the match-day 23 after missing last weekend through a family bereavement.
Gaby Lovobalavu’s impressive showing in the Premiership Rugby Shield clash for Wasps A against Northampton Wanderers sees him recalled to the squad among the replacements.
Meanwhile, Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has made four changes to his line-up.
Flanker Tom Wood will lead Saints – bidding for their third away win in the Premiership this season – from the blindside.
Lewis Ludlam and number eight Teimana Harrison continue in the line-up at the base of the scrum, while locks Courtney Lawes and David Ribbans are again selected together in the engine room.
Boyd has made two changes to his front-row as props Francois Van Wyk and Ehren Painter come into the side, but hooker Reece Marshall is rewarded for an impressive all-around showing last weekend with another start.
Fraser Dingwall starts at outside centre in the only change to Northampton’s back-line, with Piers Francis ruled out through injury.
Form: Wasps’ only victory in their last thirteen first team fixtures was 32-28 at home to Bristol in Round 8 of Premiership Rugby.Wasps’ only other home win in any other tournament this season was against Leicester in Round 3 of Premiership Rugby. Northampton Saints have won their last four matches including a walkover awarded to them for their aborted trip to Romania in Round 4 of the European Challenge Cup. Saints have won twice away from home in Premiership Rugby this season, at Bristol in Round 5 and at Worcester in Round 10. Northampton’s victory over Wasps at Franklin’s Gardens in Round 7 was the first over their local rivals in their last six Premiership Rugby meetings. They have not achieved a season’s double over Wasps since 2013/14. Northampton’s only previous victory at Ricoh Arena was by a single point in the Premiership Rugby Cup in November.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Antonio Harris, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Gaby Lovobalavu
Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Tom Wood (c), 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Reece Marshall, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Heinrich Brüssow, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 James Grayson, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson, Wayne Falla
TMO: Geoff Warren