Sam Underhill starts as Bath pick outstanding back-row

Colin Newboult
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There are five matches in the Premiership on Saturday and Sunday, with the West Country derby between Gloucester and Bath the standout game.

Saturday

Leicester Tigers v Bristol Bears

Jordan Olowofela returns from injury and Sam Harrison is included in the matchday squad for a final time as Leicester Tigers host Bristol Bears at Welford Road.

Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy names Olowofela on the wing and includes Harry Wells in the back-row as the only changes to the XV that started against Harlequins at Twickenham last weekend.

Sam Lewis, who started against Quins, misses out due to illness as Tigers go into Round Eight of the Premiership season.

Scrum-half Harrison, who made his club debut in January 2009 and has now made 177 appearances for the club, is named among the replacements on his final matchday with the club before his departure for a new life in Australia.

Greg Bateman and Guy Thompson return from their lay-offs and have a place on the bench, but Will Spencer and Manu Tuilagi, who both missed the game against Quins, sit out again with injury.

Meanwhile, Dan Thomas returns from a groin injury to start for Bristol Bears in one of five changes to the side that suffered defeat last weekend to Wasps.

Harry Randall and Will Hurrell come into the backline for the Welford Road encounter, while Alapati Leiua switches to the wing.

Ed Holmes is named in the engine room, while Jordan Lay is set for his first Premiership start of the season in the front-row.

Nathan Hughes will make his 100th Premiership appearance in the Round Eight clash.

Ian Madigan and Nic Stirzaker come onto the bench and could make their first league outings of the campaign if called upon.

The teams:

Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Jordan Olowofela, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Jordan Taufua, 6 Harry Wells, 5 Calum Green, 4 Tomás Lavanini, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Nephi Leatigaga, 19 Guy Thompson, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Noel Reid, 23 George Worth

Bristol: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Toby Fricker, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Will Hurrell, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Ed Holmes, 4 Chris Vui, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Morahan

Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Michael Hudson, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Nigel Carrick

Gloucester v Bath

Gloucester make half a dozen changes to their starting team, a number injury enforced, for Saturday’s Premiership fixture at home to Bath.

It’s the first fixture of a new decade and the Cherry and Whites will be looking to get back to winning ways after last weekend’s narrow defeat away at Northampton Saints.

In the backline, Jason Woodward features for the first time since mid-November and will play at full-back with Tom Marshall moving to the right wing. Ollie Thorley also returns on the left wing and Billy Twelvetrees in midfield.

Up front, Fraser Balmain starts at tighthead with Jamal Ford-Robinson having picked up a knock in training this week. Ben Morgan is also sidelined with the injury picked up at Saints so it’s a new look back-row with Freddie Clarke and Jake Polledri coming into the starting line-up alongside Ruan Ackermann.

Of note amongst the replacements is the inclusion of Owen Williams in the matchday 23 for the first time this season, having worked his way back to fitness following a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Sam Underhill and Chris Cook return to the Bath starting line-up for the West Country derby at Kingsholm.

Taulupe Faletau, Francois Louw and Underhill will all play in the back-row for the first time together in two years. Underhill comes back into the side and replaces Tom Ellis, which sees Louw switch to blindeside with the South African again captaining the side.

Cook replaces Will Chudley, who has been on impressive form since returning to the side in mid-December. The scrum-half is unavailable for selection this week following a minor injury sustained in the Premiership match against Sale Sharks last weekend.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Francois Louw (c), 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Ollie Fox, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Aled Brew

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Roy Maybank
TMO: David Rose

Saracens v Worcester Warriors

Saracens have made five changes for their first match of the New Year against Worcester Warriors at a sold-out Allianz Park.

Alex Lewington returns to the wing meaning a switch to full-back for Elliot Daly while Alex Lozowski comes into the centre alongside captain Brad Barritt.

Scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth resumes his half-back partnership with Owen Farrell and Scotland international Sean Maitland completes the backline.

December’s Premiership Player of the Month nominee Ben Earl is back on the flank after coming off the bench in Saracens’ defeat at Exeter Chiefs and a change in the front-row sees Titi Lamositele named at tighthead.

Academy duo Joel Kpoku and Manu Vunipola, the latter one of four Sarries selected in England U20s’ 2020 squad, are among the replacements as is prop Richard Barrington.

Meanwhile, Worcester number eight GJ van Velze will make his first Premiership start of the season against Saracens.

Van Velze has featured as a replacement in all seven Premiership matches so far and gets his first start in place of Cornell du Preez who suffered an ankle injury in last week’s win over London Irish.

Van Velze is one of six changes Warriors have made to their starting XV with tighthead prop Nick Schonert (gashed head) and fly-half Duncan Weir (jaw) ruled out by injuries sustained against Irish.

Richard Palframan starts in place of Schonert with Jono Lance called up to replace Weir.

Michael Heaney starts at scrum-half with Jamie Shillcock, a try-scorer against Harlequins in November on his last Premiership start, recalled at full-back.

Samoa international wing Ed Fidow will make his second Premiership appearance having recovered from concussion which he suffered after he had scored a hat-trick of tries against Wasps A in a recent Premiership Rugby Shield match.

Marco Mama returns to the squad after a two months absence as back-row replacement having recovered from a severe dead leg.

Utility back Scott van Breda is also named as a replacement after a run of impressive performances for Worcester Cavaliers and on two loan spells with Southern Kings in the PRO14 recently.

Centre Ollie Lawrence is set for a return to action off the bench having returned to action after a month out with an ankle injury in Monday’s Premiership Rugby Shield win over Northampton Wanderers.

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Manu Vunipola, 23 Duncan Taylor

Worcester: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Ed Fidow, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Tom Howe, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Matt Moulds (c), 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Michael Fatialofa, 20 Marco Mama, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Scott van Breda, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Philip Watters
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Sunday

London Irish v Exeter Chiefs

Allan Dell, Saia Fainga’a and Ollie Hoskins start in the London Irish front-row for their home clash with league leaders Exeter Chiefs.

Franco van der Merwe and Adam Coleman form the second-row, with Steve Mafi, Blair Cowan and Albert Tuisue named in the back-row.

Ben Meehan starts at scrum-half and partners Stephen Myler, who is named at fly-half. Tom Stephenson is at inside centre with Curtis Rona at outside centre. Ollie Hassell-Collins, Belgium Tuatagaloa and Alivereti Veitokani are the back three.

Among the replacements sees a welcome return from injury for Dave Porecki, who is set to make his first competitive appearance of the season.

Meanwhile, Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has been forced to change his winning formula with England prop Harry Williams suspended following his red card against Saracens. His absence means a first Premiership start for Argentinian international Enrique Pieretto.

Other changes in the pack see Jannes Kirsten come into the engine room in place of Jonny Hill and Don Armand start in the back-row with Jacques Vermeulen sitting this weekend out.

Behind the scrum, the vastly experienced Gareth Steenson starts at fly-half, while Sam Hill comes into the centre alongside Ollie Devoto.

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Alivereti Veitokani, 14 Belgium Tuatagaloa, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 Dave Porecki, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Barney Maddison, 20 Matt Rogerson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Jacob Atkins, 23 Bryce Campbell

Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Dave Dennis (c), 4 Jannes Kirsten, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Phil Dollman

Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Tim Wigglesworth
TMO: Geoff Warren

Wasps v Northampton Saints

Wasps academy graduate Tom West will make his first Premiership start against Northampton Saints this Sunday at the Ricoh Arena.

The 23-year-old loosehead prop is the only change to the starting line-up as Wasps look to back up last weekend’s bonus-point win over Bristol Bears.

West deputises for the injured Ben Harris who misses out with a shoulder injury, adding to Wasps’ injury woes in the number one position with Zurabi Zhvania (knee) and Simon McIntyre (concussion) also out.

Back-row Nizaam Carr, who was the hero last week when he raced over to earn Wasps the win at Bristol, is set to start again at number eight for his 50th club appearance.

Despite some illness across the squad, Thibaud Flament has recovered to be named among the replacements while Jack Owlett and Jeff Toomaga-Allen are named as loosehead and tighthead replacements respectively.

Meanwhile, Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has made four changes to his side to face Wasps. They are looking to maintain their excellent start to the league campaign, having won five of seven matches so far to sit second on the ladder.

Boyd has made three changes to the pack that helped see off Gloucester last time out at Franklin’s Gardens, with club captain Alex Waller and tighthead Paul Hill coming into the front-row either side of Mikey Haywood.

The other switch sees David Ribbans start his first match since mid-November at lock, with Courtney Lawes moving into the back-row and Alex Moon keeping his spot in the engine room.

Flanker Tom Wood and number eight Teimana Harrison round off the pack, with Cobus Reinach – scorer of two tries against the Cherry & Whites – and Dan Biggar shaking off knocks to start just behind them in the half-back berths.

Piers Francis and Rory Hutchinson start together again in the centres to complete a midfield of international quality for Saints, while the only change to the backline sees Ahsee Tuala come in on the wing to join Tom Collins and fullback George Furbank in the back three.

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Jack Owlett, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Thibaud Flament, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Juan de Jongh

Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison (cc), 7 Tom Wood, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Henry Taylor, 22 Matt Proctor, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro

Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Hamish Smales
TMO: Graham Hughes

Bath