Wasps recall big guns for Exeter Chiefs clash

Adam Kyriacou
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Following the cancellation of two matches, there’s three games on the schedule over Saturday and Sunday in Round Five of the Premiership.

Saturday

Wasps v Exeter Chiefs

Lee Blackett has named his Wasps side to host league leaders Exeter Chiefs in Premiership, making nine changes to the starting XV that beat Sale Sharks last time out.

Captain Joe Launchbury returns to form the second-row partnership with Will Rowlands.

James Gaskell switches to blindside flanker, where he is joined in the back-row by the returning Jack Willis and brother Tom Willis.

Up front, Kieran Brookes comes back into the front-row alongside Tom Cruse and Tom West.

In the backline, Dan Robson and Jacob Umaga return to form the half-back partnership.

Outside them, Paolo Odogwu switches to the wing in the absence of Zach Kibirige. Juan de Jongh takes Odogwu’s place at outside centre, with De Jongh in line to make his 50th Premiership appearance.

Lima Sopoaga starts at full-back once more and will make his 50th appearance for Wasps.

Meanwhile, Exeter’s recent victory over Gloucester came at some cost with Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg hobbling out of the action with a tight hamstring, whilst South African powerhouse Jannes Kirsten picked up a nasty facial injury.

Both miss the trip to the Ricoh Arena, whilst the likes of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Harry Williams, Jonny Gray, Jonny Hill, Sam Skinner and Henry Slade are all rested following their exertions in the Autumn Nations Cup.

Even without such talent, the Chiefs are still able to parade a formidable looking squad, which includes Academy youngsters Marcus Street and Richard Capstick in the pack alongside the recalled Alec Hepburn, Jack Yeandle, Will Witty and Don Armand.

Behind them, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne makes his first league start of the season at scrum-half, whilst Hogg’s absence means a re-jig of the back division with Tom O’Flaherty shunting into the anchor role; Ian Whitten switching to the wing; whilst Tom Hendrickson is promoted from the bench to partner Ollie Devoto in the centre.

Form: Wasps have won their last three matches in all competitions since their reversal to Newcastle at the Ricoh Arena in Round Three of Premiership Rugby. That defeat to the Falcons is Wasps’ only home loss since Sale won in Coventry in August. Exeter Chiefs have not been defeated in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since they last visited the Ricoh Arena on 4 October with Wasps running out 46-5 victors. The last six meetings between the two clubs have been evenly split with three wins apiece, whilst the Chiefs only victory at Ricoh Arena since 2015 was in September 2018.

The teams:

Wasps: 15 Lima Sopoaga, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Jack Willis, 6 James Gaskell, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Ben Morris, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Will Porter, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Jimmy Gopperth

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

Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, John Meredith
TMO: David Grashoff

Gloucester v Sale Sharks

Gloucester have made a handful of changes to the side that faced Exeter with James Hanson, Alex Craig, Stephen Varney, Alex Seville, Matt Garvey and Billy Twelvetrees all returning to the matchday 23.

Val Rapava-Ruskin and Fraser Balmain start at prop with James Hanson coming in at hooker. Ed Slater keeps his position in the second-row and is joined by Alex Craig who makes his first start for Gloucester this season.

The back-row is unchanged with Jordy Reid at blindside flanker, Ruan Ackermann at number eight and Lewis Ludlow captaining the side from the openside flanker position.

In the backs, Stephen Varney returns to start at scrum-half, linking up with Lloyd Evans who keeps the 10 shirt. In the midfield, Mark Atkinson and Chris Harris continue their centre partnership and the back three outside them is unchanged with Kyle Moyle at full-back and Louis Rees-Zammit and Jonny May on the wings.

Meanwhile, Sale interim boss Paul Deacon has made six changes to the team defeated by Wasps in Round Four, as Jono Ross, Josh Beaumont and Byron McGuigan all return to action.

Bevan Rodd is rewarded for his solid form in the Champions Cup with a start in the Premiership as the academy prop joins Akker van der Merwe and Coenie Oosthuizen in the front-row. The powerful lock partnership of Cobus Wiese and JP du Preez slots in behind them for the trip to Kingsholm.

Ross returns to the starting XV for the first time in three weeks. Sale’s club captain is joined in the back-row by last week’s standout performer Tom Curry at openside flanker and the towering Daniel du Preez at number eight.

Faf de Klerk and AJ MacGinty continue to marshal the team at half-back and have an unchanged centre partnership of Sam Hill and Robert du Preez outside them.

Sale Sharks name England U20 wing Tom Roebuck in their starting line-up for the first time this season, and the academy star is alongside Marland Yarde and Sam James in the back three.

On the bench, Curtis Langdon continues to provide further options at hooker, whilst Jake Cooper-Woolley and Coenie Oosthuizen cover the front-row. Beaumont makes a welcome return to the Sale matchday squad as he is named as second-row replacement while McGuigan also returns to the Sale squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the first game of the season.

Form: Gloucester Rugby have won only one of their last four first team matches; 38-34 at home to Ulster in the European Champions Cup. The Cherry & Whites have lost just twice at Kingsholm in any tournament since August, both in Premiership Rugby to Harlequins in September and December. Sale Sharks have lost their last three matches in all tournaments and have not been defeated in four successive matches in the same season since 2016/17. The Sharks have lost just once away from home in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since August: 13-15 at Newcastle on 27 November. The Sharks’ only defeat in their last four encounters with Gloucester was 16-18 at Salford in the opening round of last season, whilst Sale’s most recent victory at Kingsholm came in December 2017.

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 Kyle Moyle, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Jonny May, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Alex Craig, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Seb Nagle-Taylor, 21 Toby Venner, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Ollie Thorley

Sale Sharks: 15 Sam James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 JP du Preez, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Valerey Morozov, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Byron McGuigan

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 16:30 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: Gareth Holsgrove, Peter Allan
TMO: Geoff Warren

Sunday

Leicester Tigers v Bath

Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick has named his team for the opening game of 2021, against Bath at Welford Road on Sunday.

Kobus van Wyk returns from injury to join Freddie Steward, Jaco Taute, Matt Scott and Nemani Nadolo in the backline for the Premiership Round Five fixture, with England international colleagues George Ford and Ben Youngs at half-back this weekend.

Ellis Genge and Dan Cole return to the front-row, either side of captain Tom Youngs, with Harry Wells and Calum Green selected at lock.

George Martin, who is among eight Tigers academy graduates in the starting line-up, returns from injury to join South African duo Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese in the back-row.

Fiji international Kini Murimurivalu is among the replacements, with Jack Van Poortvliet and Zack Henry providing the other cover in the backline. Charlie Clare, Nephi Leatigaga, Joe Heyes, Cameron Henderson and Luke Wallace are the forwards named on the bench.

In the absence of Borthwick, the team will be coached by Mike Ford, Aled Walters and Brett Deacon, assisted by Matt Smith and Tom Harrison.

Meanwhile, following two cancelled fixtures in recent weeks for the Blue, Black and White from outbreaks of Covid-19 – Bath make three changes to the side that last faced Scarlets in the Champions Cup at the Rec.

Semesa Rokoduguni comes in on the wing for Joe Cokanasiga and we see the return of Rhys Priestland in the number 10 jersey, who replaces Josh Matavesi, after suffering from concussion against Worcester Warriors back in Round Three.

After a good performance against Scarlets off the bench, Zach Mercer (number eight) returns to the starting XV pushing Taulupe Faletau to blindside who will make his 50th appearance for the Blue, Black and White in what is his his first Premiership appearance since returning from international duty.

Also returning to the Premiership scene since their Autumn Nations Cup triumph is Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Will Stuart and Sam Underhill.

Form: Leicester Tigers have won the last two matches they have played, both against Top 14 opposition in this season’s European Challenge Cup. The Tigers’ last eight home games in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have been evenly split with four wins and four defeats. Bath Rugby’s most recent match was their 19-23 defeat at home to Scarlets in Round One of the European Champions Cup on 12 December. Bath have won just once away from home in any competition since October: 33-17 at Worcester on 5 December. Bath have won their last four matches against the Tigers in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since Leicester’s 34-19 victory at Twickenham in “The Clash” in April 2018. Bath have won on their last three visits to Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

The teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 George Martin, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Cameron Henderson, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Zack Henry, 23 Kini Murimurivalu

Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Taulupe Faletau, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Miles Reid, 22 Will Chudley, 23 Josh Matavesi

Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Simon Harding, Wayne Falla
TMO: Clare Hodnett

Bath