Lood de Jager starts for Sale as they head to Leicester

Planet Rugby

Round Six of the Premiership is set for kick-off as six games take place, including the highly anticipated clash between Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks on Saturday.

Check on all the team news for the weekend while we also predict the results of the games.

Friday

Northampton Saints v Worcester Warriors

Form: Northampton Saints started their new Premiership Rugby campaign with three straight victories before tripping up at Wasps in Round Four. They had a bye week in Round Five. Saints have won three of their last four home games at Franklin’s Gardens. Worcester Warriors have slipped to four straight defeats following their opening weekend victory over London Irish in mid-September. The Warriors’ last two victories away from home in Premiership Rugby were both at the Twickenham Stoop against Harlequins in November 2019 and London Irish in September 2020. Northampton have won their last seven fixtures against Worcester since the Warriors’ 30-15 triumph in November 2017. Worcester have not won at Franklin’s Gardens since a 10-9 victory on New Year’s Day 2007.

Prediction: Northampton Saints by 15

The teams:

Northampton: 15 Tommy Freeman, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Alex Coles

Worcester: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Harri Doel, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Kyle Hatherell, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Andrew Kitchener, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Jack Owlett, 19 Joe Batley, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Oli Morris, 23 Noah Heward

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Christophe Ridley
TMO: Adam Leal

Saturday

Exeter Chiefs v London Irish

Form: Exeter Chiefs began their Gallagher Premiership Rugby campaign with defeats in Rounds 1 and 2 but have since reeled off three straight victories against Sale, Worcester, and Wasps. The Chiefs have lost only on three occasions at Sandy Park in Premiership Rugby in 2021, to Bristol in January and twice to Northampton in February and September. London Irish are without a victory in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since beating Bath 36-33 at Brentford Community Stadium at the end of March, they have however drawn two of their last four matches. The Exiles most recent away success in Premiership Rugby came at Wasps on 27 February. Exeter have been defeated just once by London Irish in their last eight encounters: 19-22 at Sandy Park on 30 September 2020 – the Exiles first victory at Exeter’s home since 2010.

Prediction: Exeter Chiefs by 18

The teams:

Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade (c), 12 Tom Hendrickson, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Will Witty, 3 Sam Nixon, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 Don Armand, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Ollie Devoto

London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Curtis Rona. 12 Terrence Hepetema, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 George Nott, 20 Jack Cooke, 21 Ben White, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Benhard van Rensburg

Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Phil Watters
TMO: David Rose

Gloucester v Newcastle Falcons

Form: Gloucester Rugby are unbeaten in their last three Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches. Excluding unplayed games, the Cherry & Whites have lost just once at Kingsholm in Premiership Rugby since mid-March: 26-33 to Leicester in Round 2. Newcastle Falcons have won three of their last four Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches, the defeat being 23-37 at Saracens in Round 4. The Falcons have won only once on the road in Premiership Rugby since last December: 20-13 at Bath on 25 September. Gloucester have won three of their last four fixtures against Newcastle whilst the Falcons most recent success at Kingsholm was by a single point in March 2018.

Prediction: Newcastle Falcons by 3

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Jonny May, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Santiago Carreras

Newcastle: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Pete Lucock, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Carl Fearns, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Callum Chick, 5 Philip van der Walt, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 George Merrick, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 George Wacokecoke

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Neil Chivers, Christophe Ridley
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Harlequins v Bath

Form: Harlequins six match winning run in Gallagher Premiership Rugby ended with their 22-28 reversal at Sale last Friday. Harlequins have won their last ten Premiership Rugby home games since drawing 27-all at the Stoop with London Irish on 10 January. They have not been defeated at the venue in the tournament since Bristol were the visitors on Boxing Day 2020. Bath Rugby have slipped to four straight defeats in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since beating Northampton 30-24 at the Rec on 12 June. Bath have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since the long trip to Newcastle on 13 March. Harlequins won both fixtures when the two clubs met last season to reverse the trend of the 2019/20 campaign. Bath have been successful on two of their last three visits to the Stoop in Premiership Rugby.

Prediction: Harlequins by 20

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Tom Lawday, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Luke Northmore

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Clark, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Ollie Fox, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb

Venue: The Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT (14:00 BST)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Wayne Falla
TMO: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks

Form: Leicester Tigers have won their last six Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches and have not won seven in a row in the competition since 2014. The Tigers only two defeats at home in Premiership Rugby since the end of January were to Northampton in April and Bristol in June. Sale Sharks 28-22 victory at home to Harlequins on Friday was their first victory in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since beating Bath on the opening weekend. The Sharks are without a win in their last four away games although they did draw 31-all at London Irish in Round 2. Sale have won their last five matches against Leicester, their best sequence against the Tigers in Premiership Rugby. The Sharks have been victorious on their last three visits to Mattioli Woods Welford Road in all competitions.

Prediction: Leicester Tigers by 5

The teams:

Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Ellis Genge (c)
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 George Martin, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Matías Moroni

Sale: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Sam James

Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Rob Warburton
TMO: Rowan Kitt

Sunday

Saracens v Wasps

Form: Saracens’ only defeat in their last fourteen matches in all tournaments was by a single point at Leicester in Round 3 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby. Saracens have not been defeated at StoneX Stadium in Premiership Rugby since today’s visitors, Wasps, were the visitors in September 2020. Wasps last ten fixtures in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have been evenly split with five wins and five defeats. Wasps only victory on the road in their last five trips was 39-36 at London Irish on 5 June. Wasps have won their last two matches against Saracens in Premiership Rugby, both in season 2019/20, and have not achieved three successive victories against them in the tournament since 2003. Wasps won on their most recent visit to StoneX Stadium in September 2020 whilst their only other victory at the venue was 64-23 in Round 12 of the 2015/16 campaign.

Prediction: Saracens by 12

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Dom Morris, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Max Malins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Andy Christie, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alex Lewington

Wasps: 15 Ali Crossdale, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Alex McHenry, 12 Will Simonds, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Jimmy Gopperth (c), 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Morris, 5 Tim Cardall, 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Will Holling, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Kieran Curran, 21 Will Porter, 22 Tommy Mathews, 23 Luke Mehson

Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Craig Maxwell-Keys