Preview: Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, Bath v Exeter
Charlie Ewels will captain Bath from the second-row as they prepare to face Exeter Chiefs in the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Kingsholm.
Beno Obano, Nathan Charles and Shaun Knight make up a physical front-row trio, while Levi Douglas, a try-scorer in the 13-12 semi-final victory over Northampton Saints joins Ewels at lock.
Tom Ellis starts at blindside flanker, with Josh Bayliss and James Phillips at openside flanker and number eight respectively.
Freddie Burns, who is the leading scorer in the competition’s history with 215 points, starts at fly-half, with Chris Cook completing the half-back partnership. Will Hurrell returns at outside centre, with James Wilson completing the midfield partnership against last year’s finalists.
Cooper Vuna and Matt Banahan line-up on the wings, with Tom Homer completing the backline.
Jack Walker could make his first team comeback after being named among the replacements, whilst Victor Delmas is in line for his Bath debut, after arriving at the Club from Colomiers this week.
Meanwhile, fly-half Joe Simmonds has been given the nod at fly-half over Gareth Steenson for Exeter, while on the bench Shaun Malton has recovered from a groin injury and offers back up to Jack Innard at hooker.
With the two set to meet a fortnight ago – only for the ‘Beast from the East’ to put pay to that – the West Country counterparts locked horns last Friday night in the Aviva Premiership with the Chiefs emerging triumphant thanks to a late Simmonds penalty.
Now, the pair are set for a third and final round of battle with the prize at stake being the first piece of major silverware on offer this season.
“We’re all really looking forward to the match,” said coach Ricky Pellow. “I know both teams will be fully prepared in terms of how they need to play, so now it’s about gluing it all together and putting in those emotional and physical attributes to win the game.
“Last Friday in the Premiership was obviously very pleasing from our perspective, but now this is another game and another opportunity for Bath to potentially turn us over and vice-versa.”
As expected, the Chiefs stick with a virtually unchanged line-up from that which was selected for the original final. Kai Horstmann will lead the team on his 100th appearance for the Devon club, but there is plenty of experience around him with the likes of Moray Low, Greg Holmes, Dave Dennis, Julian Salvi, Will Chudley Ollie Devoto and Santiago Cordero amongst the starters.
“Throughout the competition we’ve looked to utilise the squad as a whole, so nothing has changed from that perspective,” added Pellow. “The guys who were in and around the last final selection will be involved again on Friday.
“What Bath put out last Friday against us and what they put out again this week, I don’t think it will change too much. Therefore, we know we can expect one hell of a game, so we need to be on our mettle and be ready for what they throw at us.
“Yes, it will be a strong Bath side that we’re up against, but equally we’re a very strong side and I know we’ve got a group of players selected who are really hungry to go out there and put in a performance for Exeter Chiefs.”
The teams:
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 James Wilson, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Chris Cook, 8 James Phillips, 7 Josh Bayliss, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Victor Delmas, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Max Green, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Darren Atkins
Exeter: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Tom Hendrickson, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 James Short, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Kai Horstmann (c), 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Matt Kvesic, 5 Dave Dennis, 4 Toby Salmon, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Moray Low
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 James Kenny, 18 Jack Owlett, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 James Freeman, 21 Joe Snow, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Harry Strong
Date: Friday, March 30
Venue: Kingsholm, Gloucester
Kick-off: 14:30 local (13:30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Gareth Newman (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)