Preview: Harlequins v Wasps

Harlequins return to the Stoop for their first home game of 2011 and will boasts a side full of home-grown English talent against Wasps.

Harlequins return to the Stoop for their first home game of 2011 and will boasts a side full of home-grown English talent against Wasps.

Conor O'Shea's side sees 21 out of the 23 being available to Martin Johnson. In the XV there are 10 who have been products of the club's academy.

With the last home game having been played across the road at Twickenham for Big Game 3, where they claimed the victory over London Irish, Quins will hope to keep their home record intact after finding themselves unbeaten at the Stoop in all competitions since losing out to Saints in September.

There are only two changes to the side that beat Saints on New Year's Day and they both appear in the front row. Starting alongside Joe Marler is Joe Gray, who returns from a one match absence, in place of Matt Cairns. Completing the trio is Mark Lambert who replaces the injured John Andress.

The rest of the side remains unchanged. Ollie Kohn and George Robson combine in the second row, with last week's man of the match Tom Guest, captain Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter comprise a formidable back row.

In the backs, the only non-English player in the side, Nick Evans, will be looking to reproduce the scintillating partnership with Danny Care that has threatened so many teams this season.

The remaining backs, all ex-Quins academy, complete the line-up; Ugo Monye and Tom Williams cover the wings, with young duo Jordan Turner-Hall and George Lowe joining forces in the centre. Mike Brown covers at full-back.

Two academy players, Rob Buchanan and Will Collier, appear on the bench.

Meanwhile, Wasps will welcome Richard Birkett back from injury at The Stoop on Saturday as they go head-to-head with their local rivals.

Birkett is just one of the changes made to the side that secured a 33-16 win over Newcastle at Adams Park last week. The stalwart, with 223 appearances to his name, returns to play following surgery to his elbow having last featured in black and gold back in October against Glasgow in the Heineken Cup.

As well as the addition of Birkett, who replaces Will Matthews in the back row, further changes are made in the pack as Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley are rested. Shaw is replaced by Marty Veale whilst Serge Betsen comes in for Worsley.

The front row remains unchanged but with injuries sustained to Rob Webber and Joe Ward in recent weeks, Wasps name new signing Michael Mayhew on the bench. Hooker Mayhew joins the club on a short-term contract from North Harbour, where he has worked under former Wasp Craig Dowd.

Amongst the backs Mark Van Gisbergen starts at full back, having been named on the bench last weekend. Richard Haughton moves to the wing to partner Tom Varndell, with David Lemi named amongst the replacements. Ben Jacobs again captains the side and partners Steve Kefu in midfield as Riki Flutey moves to fly- half.

Looking ahead to the game, Director of Rugby Tony Hanks said, “We are pleased to welcome Richard Birkett back to play, he is a huge part of the club and is a proven performer so he certainly bolsters the side going into this game which is huge for both teams.

“Notable changes see Riki Flutey at fly half for this game – a position that he is equally comfortable in. Steve Kefu and Ben Jacobs have formed a strong partnership in midfield and this move allows Riki to continue to build on his game time following a return from injury. Dave Walder has played a lot rugby already this season so these changes allow us to manage our squad but also name the right team for this fixture.

“We are pleased to welcome Michael Mayhew to the club. Working under Craig Dowd at North Harbour he is already familiar with Wasps and comes highly recommended, providing us with vital cover following injuries to Rob Webber and Joe Ward. We are also pleased to see Joe Launchbury step up to the senior stage. Joe has impressed since joining from Worthing and fully deserves his place, which would have come sooner had injury not hampered the start of his season.

“Wasps v Quins fixtures are always hugely competitive and we expect Saturday's game to be no different. Both teams are pushing for vital points and on the back of recent form it should be a good showdown between the two London sides.”

Form: Harlequins have not beaten Wasps since November 2008, although the two clubs did draw 29-all at Twickenham in round one of Aviva Premiership Rugby. Harlequins have won their last four games in all competitions and on Sunday became the first team this season to defeat Northampton on their own patch. Quins' only home loss since February 2010 was 16-20 to Northampton on 11 September. London Wasps have lost just one of their last eight matches in all competitions: 6-13 against Saracens at Wembley Stadium on Boxing Day.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown 14 Tom Williams 13 George Lowe 12 Jordan Turner-Hall 11 Ugo Monye 10 Nick Evans 9 Danny Care 8 Nick Easter 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Guest 5 George Robson 4 Ollie Kohn 3 Mark Lambert 2 Joe Gray 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Rob Buchanan, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Will Skinner, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Tom Casson.

Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Ben Jacobs (capt), 12 Steve Kefu, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Riki Flutey, 9 Nic Berry, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Serge Betsen, 6 Richard Birkett, 5 James Cannon, 4 Marty Veale, 3 Zak Taulafo, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Michael Mayhew, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Ben Broster, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Dave Walder, 23 David Lemi.

Date: Saturday, January 8
Kick-off: 14:45
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Referee: Wayne Barnes