Preview: Exeter Chiefs v London Irish
England full-back Delon Armitage returns to the London Irish starting line-up for the leaders' trip to Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.
England full-back Delon Armitage returns to the London Irish starting line-up for the Aviva Premiership leaders' trip to Exeter on Saturday.
The 26-year-old returns to the side to make up an all international back three with Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau. The Chiefs defence will have their hands full containing the in-form trio who have already scored ten tries between them.
The other changes take place in the front row where the England Saxons pair of David Paice and Alex Corbisiero come in for James Buckland and Faan Rautenbach respectively.
Meanwhile, Exeter Chiefs Head Coach Rob Baxter wants his side to put on a “special performance” at Sandy Park on Saturday.
Unbeaten at home in the Aviva Premiership so far this term, the Chiefs know that record will be put firmly on the line against the Exiles.
However, buoyed by an impressive victory over Bourgoin in European competition last weekend, Baxter believes his troops can continue to flourish in battle.
Not surprisingly, Baxter sticks with an unchanged starting line-up from that which did so well at the Stade Pierre Rajon.
The only changes come on the bench where there is a first inclusion for Australian international Peter Kimlin, as well as returns for Hoani Tui, Ryan Davis and Sireli Naqelevuki.
“The starting line-up performed very well, right across the board,” said Baxter.
“All along we have said if guys perform well, they deserve to be rewarded for that. I know this may sound strange, but the players pick the team really. I think the team which took to the pitch over in Bourgoin kind of picked itself with that level of performance they showed over there.
“That said, it is good to have Sireli back available and its the same with Peter Kimlin coming in as well.
Baxter is well aware of the threat posed by Toby Booth's Exiles, who have so far this season defeated Saracens, Gloucester, Newcastle Falcons and Leeds Carnegie.
“Our last performance at home wasn't such a great performance against Montpellier, so we know we have got some tough work ahead of us,' said Baxter.
“But, as I keep saying to the boys, we didn't work this hard to get into the Premiership to dread fixtures like this. You get into the Premiership to relish fixtures like this and that is still our mindset.
Form: Exeter Chiefs ended a three game losing run with their 34-19 victory in Bourgoin on Friday evening. The Chiefs have won both Aviva Premiership matches played at Sandy Park so far: 22-10 over Gloucester and 22-17 against Newcastle. London Irish's four game winning sequence in all competitions ended at the hands of Ospreys in Swansea on Friday. The Exiles' only away win so far this season was 46-12 at Newcastle in the Premiership in round four. The two teams have met just twice before in competitive rugby, with Irish winning on both occasions: 27-25 at The Avenue in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup in February 1998, and 57-12 at the County Ground in the Tetley's Bitter Cup in November 2000.
The teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Andrew Higgins, 13 Phil Dollman, 12 Bryan Rennie, 11 Mark Foster, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (c), 3 Chris Budgen, 2 Neil Clark, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Hoani Tui, 19 Peter Kimlin, 20 Chad Slade, 21 Garrick Cowley, 22 Ryan Davis, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.
London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11, Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 George Stowers 7 Chris Hala'ufia, 6 Kieran Roche, 5 Bob Casey, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Alex Corbisiero, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody (c).
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Faan Rautenbach, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Matt Garvey, 21 Jonathan Joseph, 22 Chris Malone, 23 Darren Allinson
Date: Saturday, October 23
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15.15 BST (14.15 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes