Stuart Hogg starts for Exeter Chiefs in Worcester clash

David Skippers

There’s four Premiership games scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday with Gloucester, Worcester Warriors, London Irish and Wasps hosting Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs, Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins respectively.

Saturday

Gloucester v Northampton Saints

After a two-week break from fixtures, Gloucester have named their matchday squad for the upcoming game against Northampton Saints this Saturday.

Willi Heinz makes his first appearance of the season, starting at scrum-half after recovering from injury, with Santiago Carreras making his first start for the Cherry and Whites on the wing after an impressive debut from the bench last time out against Newcastle.

Head coach George Skivington has made seven changes to the starting line-up from last round with five players being called up for the Six Nations and a number of individuals returning from injury.

Joining Carreras in the back three is Ollie Thorley and Jason Woodward, who is also back in action for the first time since the Cherry and Whites’ Round Two win over Wasps.

Billy Twelvetrees and Mark Atkinson link up in the midfield, with Lloyd Evans keeping the fly-half shirt.

In the forwards, Skivington has selected the tried and tested back-row of Jordy Reid, Ruan Ackermann and Lewis Ludlow who resumes the captaincy.

Val Rapava-Ruskin, Henry Walker and Fraser Balmain make up the front-row with Matt Garvey and Matias Alemanno behind them in the second-row.

Meanwhile, Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has named his side as the Premiership returns this weekend.

The men in Black, Green and Gold travel to Kingsholm on Saturday sat in eighth position in the standings, with Boxing Day’s victory over Worcester Warriors their last run-out following back-to-back cancelled league matches and a postponement of European competition in January.

Saints have enjoyed a competitive rivalry with the Cherry and Whites in recent years, with both sides winning four games apiece from their last eight meetings in all competitions.

Boyd makes four changes to the side which beat the Warriors last month, with Piers Francis and Taqele Naiyaravoro coming into the backline, and Api Ratuniyarawa and Shaun Adendorff selected in the pack.

Club co-captain Alex Waller will lead out the side in an unchanged front-row, with hooker Sam Matavesi and tighthead prop Paul Hill keeping their places in the line-up.

David Ribbans continues in the engine room with Fiji international Ratuniyarawa alongside him, while Nick Isiekwe switches to flanker and joins co-captain Lewis Ludlam and number eight Adendorff in the back-row.

Fly-half Dan Biggar spearheads an exciting Northampton backline which sees Alex Mitchell selected at scrum-half, and Rory Hutchinson and Francis link-up in the midfield.

Meanwhile a back three of Naiyaravoro, Matt Proctor and George Furbank rounds off the XV, with the likes of Mikey Haywood, Francois van Wyk, Alex Moon and Fraser Dingwall hoping to make an impact off the bench.

Form: Gloucester’s only victory in their last six fixtures in all competitions was 38-24 at home to Ulster in Round Two of the European Champions Cup. The Cherry & Whites have won only once at home in Premiership Rugby since September (excluding walkovers), 40-24 against Wasps at the end of November. Northampton’s most recent match was the 29-10 victory over Worcester at Franklin’s Gardens on Boxing Day, that win ended an unwanted sequence of 12 successive defeats in all competitions. The Saints have not been victorious on their travels since beating London Irish at the Stoop last August. The fixture between the two clubs at Kingsholm last season was declared a Gloucester victory due to the health crisis. The Saints have beaten Gloucester just once since January 2018: 33-26 at Franklin’s Gardens in December 2019 whilst, their most recent victory at Kingsholm was on New Year’s Day 2017.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Santiago Carreras, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Matt Garvey, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Tom Seabrook, 23 Kyle Moyle

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Matt Proctor, 13 Piers Francis, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Shaun Adendorff, 7 Lewis Ludlam (cc), 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Tom James, 22 Fraser Dingwall, 23 Tommy Freeman

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson, Mike Hudson
TMO: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Worcester Warriors v Exeter Chiefs

Lock Graham Kitchener will make his first appearance of the season for Worcester Warriors against reigning Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

Kitchener returned to Sixways in the summer of 2019 after a stint with Leicester Tigers but suffered a stress fracture of a foot in the latter stages of last season.

The injury has now healed but Kitchener’s comeback has been delayed by the postponement of the Challenge Cup matches against Ospreys and Pau.

He comes straight into the starting XV against Exeter and will form a new second-row pairing with Justin Clegg.

There is one other change to the side that started at Sale Sharks three weeks ago with Billy Searle, who has recovered from a calf injury, returning at fly-half.

Scotland international fly-half Duncan Weir is set to make his 50th appearance for the club off the bench. Weir is just 11 point short of 450 since he joined Warriors from Edinburgh three years ago.

South Africa international centre Francois Venter returns to the squad having recovered from illness, which forced him to miss three matches. Venter is joined among the replacements by hooker Beck Cutting.

Meanwhile, Rob Baxter is hopeful he and his Exeter Chiefs squad have made the most of their enforced two-week break – allowing them to reset themselves ahead of this Premiership trip to Worcester.

Although Baxter will be without his England quartet of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill, Henry Slade and Harry Williams, who are all preparing for the upcoming Six Nations Championship, he will have at his disposal fellow internationals Tomas Francis, Jonny Gray and Stuart Hogg.

Also in the mix will be fly-half Joe Simmonds, who has recovered from the ankle injury he sustained during the second half of the Bristol game. He forms a half-back pairing alongside the recalled Jack Maunder.

Form: Excluding the declared win against Harlequins in Round Five of Premiership Rugby, Worcester Warriors have not won since beating London Irish by a single point at Sixways on November 21. Exeter Chiefs have lost their last two Premiership Rugby fixtures, at Wasps and at home to Bristol. The Chiefs’ most recent away victory came at Leicester in Premiership Rugby on December 5. Exeter have lost only once in 16 previous fixtures against Worcester in Premiership Rugby: 5-6 at Sandy Park in February 2018.

The teams:

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Oli Morris, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Nick David, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Marco Mama, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ted Hill (c), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Justin Clegg, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Beck Cutting, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Anton Bresler, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Francois Venter

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 James Kenny, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Don Armand, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Tom Hendrickson

Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Phil Watters
TMO: Rowan Kitt

Sunday

London Irish v Newcastle Falcons

Declan Kidney has named his London Irish squad to welcome Newcastle Falcons to the Brentford Community Stadium on Sunday for their Premiership clash.

In the front-row, Will Goodrick-Clarke, Agustin Creevy and Sekope Kepu combine, with Steve Mafi and Rob Simmons making up the second-row. The latter is set to make his first start for London Irish, having made his debut from the replacements against Harlequins.

Matt Rogerson captains the side from blindside flanker and is joined in the back-row by Seàn O’Brien and Albert Tuisue.

Nick Phipps and Paddy Jackson are the half-back duo and Billy Meakes resumes his partnership with Curtis Rona in the centres.

London Irish Academy graduates make up the back three, as Ollie Hassell-Collins is named on one wing and the returning Ben Loader on the other. Tom Parton completes the line up from full-back.

Amongst the replacements sees Terrence Hepetema make his return from injury to the match day squad for the first time in the 2020/21 season and, should he be required from the substitutions, Lovejoy Chawatama is set to make his 50th appearance for London Irish.

Meanwhile, scrum-half Louis Schreuder will make his first start for Newcastle Falcons in this fixture.

The three-time Currie Cup winner has been capped by South Africa, and steps into the side after making four appearances from the bench following his summer move from Super Rugby side, the Sharks.

He forms a new-look half-back partnership with Joel Hodgson, who takes the number 10 shirt in one of four changes from the side which defeated Gloucester last time out.

Hooker George McGuigan, who scored the last of Newcastle’s three tries in the 22-10 triumph, returns to the starting XV, the only other change seeing England’s Mark Wilson replaced by Philip van der Walt in the back-row.

Sean Robinson and Toby Flood jointly captain the side in Wilson’s absence, while Newcastle’s bench could see a Premiership debut for homegrown lock Will Montgomery, plus the return of John Hardie from injury.

Form: London Irish have not won in Premiership Rugby since beating Leicester at their new home on November 29, since then the Exiles have payed two more matches at the venue losing to Sale in Premiership Rugby and beating Pau in the European Challenge Cup. Newcastle Falcons’ only defeat since Cardiff Blues beat them at Kingston Park in mid-December was 29-17 at Bristol in Round Five of Premiership Rugby. The Tynesiders have not lost successive away games since their final two trips of the 2018/19 campaign. The Falcons have won their last three encounters against London Irish since the Exiles’ 20-15 victory at Madejski Stadium in January 2016.

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Seàn O’Brien, 6 Matt Rogerson (c), 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Ben Donnell, 21 Blair Cowan, 22 Ben Meehan, 23 Terrence Hepetema

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Tom Penny, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Toby Flood (cc), 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Gary Graham, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Sean Robinson (cc), 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Trevor Davison
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Will Montgomery, 20 John Hardie, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Brett Connon, 23 George Wacokecoke

Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley & Roy Maybank
TMO: Karl Dickson

Wasps v Harlequins

Lee Blackett has named his Wasps side to host Harlequins at Ricoh Arena in their Round Seven Premiership encounter on Sunday.

Malakai Fekitoa and Zach Kibirige return from injury to take their places at 13 and on the wing respectively. After deciding against joining up with Italy for the Six Nations, Matteo Minozzi is included in the team on the other wing.

With club captain Joe Launchbury out injured, Thomas Young is named as captain at openside flanker. Will Rowlands starts in the second-row alongside James Gaskell, with Rowlands due to join the Welsh preparations for the Six Nations after this weekend.

Paolo Odogwu, Dan Robson, Jack Willis and Tom West are away with England as they build-up to their Six Nations campaign.

Meanwhile, Harlequins have been boosted by the return of Springbok duo Stephan Lewies and Andre Esterhuizen from injury and suspension respectively.

In their first Premiership game in three weeks Harlequins welcome back club captain Lewies from injury as he leads his side away to Wasps. Returning from suspension, fellow Springbok Esterhuizen bolsters Harlequins’ midfield as the 6’4”, 115kg centre starts alongside England international Joe Marchant in the midfield.

Young outside back Louis Lynagh retains his spot in the 14 jersey paired on the other wing by fit again Aaron Morris back to the starting XV fresh from his contract renewal earlier on Wednesday.

Fresh from inking his own contract renewal, Quins stalwart Danny Care returns to the matchday squad to partner Marcus Smith in the halfback department.

Archie White earns his first start of the season in the back-row, stepping in at blindside in the absence of injured duo Tom Lawday and James Chisholm.

Form: Wasps have won their last five matches in all competitions since their 27-17 reversal to Newcastle at Ricoh Arena in December. This is their only defeat at the venue since August. Harlequins’ most recent victory was 34-24 at Gloucester in Round Three of Premiership Rugby. Excluding walkovers, Harlequins have won their last five away games in Premiership Rugby, their best away sequence in the competition since 2011. Both fixtures last season in Premiership Rugby were won by the away side on the day. Harlequins’ only other victory at Ricoh Arena was 24-21 in September 2017.

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Lima Sopoaga, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Will Porter, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Thomas Young (c), 6 Brad Shields, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Michael Le Bourgeois, 23 Rob Miller

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Aaron Morris, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Archie White, 5 Stephan Lewies (c), 4 Matt Symons, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Glen Young, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 James Lang, 23 Tyrone Green

Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Sara Cox
TMO: Stuart Terheege