The final regular-season round of the Premiership takes place on Saturday, with top spot up for grabs between Wasps, Exeter and Saracens.
Bristol vs Newcastle
Bristol round off their Premiership campaign against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday.
Mark Tainton names an unchanged starting line-up for the last game of the season, as Marc Jones skippers the side on his final game in the blue and white hoops.
Academy scrum-half Andy Uren is listed among the replacements and could make his Premiership debut if he features from the bench.
Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons have made just one change to their line-up as Opeti Fonua come into the side at number eight.
The Tongan international replaces Callum Chick in the only change from the side which defeated Worcester Warriors in their last outing, Newcastle travelling to Ashton Gate in search of European Champions Cup rugby.
To have any chance of qualifying for Europe’s top-tier competition the Falcons need to finish seventh in the Aviva Premiership, which means winning in Bristol and hoping that results in Gloucester and Northampton go their way.
Form: Bristol have slipped to five straight defeats in Aviva Premiership Rugby since beating Bath 12-11 at Ashton Gate on 26 February. Newcastle Falcons still have an outside chance of finishing in seventh place in the table and maybe making the European Champions Cup play-offs. The Falcons last four matches have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Tynesiders two victories on the road in Premiership Rugby this season were at Gloucester in round 4 and at Northampton in round 9. Newcastle’s only defeat in their last five fixtures with Bristol was 14-19 at Kingston Park in the Championship in April 2013. This is the Falcons first ever visit to Ashton Gate.
The teams:
Bristol: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Ryan Edwards, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Jack Tovey, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Sam Jeffries, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 James Phillips, 3 Gaston Cortes, 2 Marc Jones (c), 1 Jack O’Connell
Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Ollie Dawe, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Ben Glynn, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Siale Piutau
Newcastle: 15 Marcus Watson, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Will Witty, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sam Egerton, 22 Craig Willis, 23 Alex Tait
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: Ashton Gate
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal, Andrew Pearce
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Gloucester vs Exeter
Centre Matt Scott will make his first Gloucester appearance since early March, returning in the midfield as the Cherry and Whites make eight changes to their starting line-up.
Scott has recovered from a hamstring injury suffered while on Six Nations duty with Scotland and partners Mark Atkinson at centre.
Other changes to the back line see Charlie Sharples return on the right wing and a new half-back pairing where Greig Laidlaw and Billy Twelvetrees team up, Laidlaw skippering the side.
In the pack, Paddy McAllister returns at loose-head, Tom Savage comes in for Jeremy Thrush in the second row and there’s a youthful look to the back row as Freddie Clarke and Lewis Ludlow get the nod alongside Ben Morgan.
Ahead of kick-off, Exeter head coach Rob Baxter has been forced into changing his winning formula following last weekend’s win over the Saints.
Prop Greg Holmes, back-row forwards Dave Ewers and Don Armand, plus full-back Lachie Turner all picked up knocks and will miss out.
With Turner sidelined, England international Jack Nowell switches from the wing to the 15 jersey with leading try-scorer James Short recalled to the starting line-up.
Up front, Ben Moon, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Harry Williams form a new-look front-row, while Ollie Atkins comes into the second row with Dave Dennis reverting into the back-row alongside the recalled Julian Salvi.
On the bench, Tomas Francis, Sam Skinner and Sam Simmonds are added to the matchday 23 from a week ago.
Form: Potentially Gloucester Rugby have two chances to gain a European Champions Cup play-off spot over the next two weeks. First they must win this game to give them any hope of finishing seventh, and should they fail they could obtain the spot by beating Stade Francais in next week’s European Challenge Cup final. Gloucester have won just two of their last six Aviva Premriship Rugby matches, but have been defeated at Kingsholm just once in any competition since New Year’s Day: 27-30 to Harlequins in round 17 of Premiership Rugby. Exeter Chiefs have qualified for a second successive semi-final but are still battling with Wasps and Saracens to see if that will be at home. The Chiefs have set new Premiership Rugby records of seven successive maximum point wins and claiming try bonus point in each of their last eight fixtures. The Devonians have not lost in Aviva Premiership Rugby since Bath beat them at Sandy Park on 30 October. The two clubs drew 27-all at Sandy Park in round 6 whilst Exeter have been victorious on three of their last five visits to Kingsholm in Premiership Rugby.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 James Hook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Jonny May, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Jacob Rowan, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Ollie Thorley, 23 Henry Trinder
Exeter: 15 Jack Nowell, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Sam Hill
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: Kingsholm
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace, Phil Watters
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
Northampton vs Harlequins
There are a number of changes to the Northampton team which began last week’s game at Exeter as they look to end the season on a high.
George North, Louis Picamoles and Tom Wood are all back in the starting line-up, while a shoulder injury sustained by JJ Hanrahan at Sandy Park means that Harry Mallinder lines up at fly-half with Nafi Tuitavake coming into the centres.
Meanwhile, there is just one change to Harlequins' matchday squad that played Wasps. Danny Care has failed to recover from an oblique injury sustained last weekend and is replaced by Karl Dickson who, alongside Nick Evans, makes his last Premiership appearance for the club.
Care is expected to make a full recovery ahead of England’s tour to Argentina.
Tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler will make his 100th appearance for the club.
In Care’s absence, James Horwill captains the side and is assisted by vice-captain Mike Brown.
Form: This match is the battle for the final automatic European Champions Cup spot for next season. If Northampton are to overtake Harlequins they will need to obtain four more league point than their rivals in this match. Northampton Saints have lost their last four Aviva Premiership Rugby matches but have not lost five in a row in the tournament since season 2010/11. The Saints have lost four of their nine Premiership encounters at Franklin’s Gardens this season. Harlequins beat Wasps at Twickenham Stoop in round 21 and have won three of their last five Aviva Premiership Rugby matches. The Londoners have won twice on the road in the competition this season, at Bristol in round 14 and at Gloucester in round 17. Harlequins won 20-9 at Twickenham Stoop in round 6 to end a seven game losing run to the Saints in all tournaments. They have not achieved a season’s double over the East Midlanders since 2012/13.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 George North, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Harry Mallinder, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Tom Wood (c), 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Rory Hutchinson
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 George Merrick, 20 Dave Ward, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Alofa Alofa
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Peter Allan
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Sale vs Bath
Sale boss Steve Diamond has opted to make six changes and a positional change to the side which lost last weekend to Leicester Tigers.
In the front row, Ross Harrison switches to tighthead prop, and James Flynn starts his first Premiership game of the season at loosehead prop.
In the second row, Andrei Ostrikov returns to the side, having withdrawn from the matchday squad, with George Nott dropping to the bench, while in the back row, Ben Curry partners twin Tom at flanker, with captain Josh Beaumont starting.
In the backs, Mike Phillips will be making his final appearance as a rugby player, partnering AJ MacGinty at half-back.
Byron McGuigan starts on the wing, with Josh Charnley moving to the bench, and Johnny Leota starts at inside centre, with Mark Jennings also moving to the replacements.
Magnus Lund and Peter Stringer are also set to make their final appearances for the club, before moving on at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Bath have made four changes to the starting line-up for the last game of the regular Premiership season.
Beno Obano replaces the injured Nathan Catt at loosehead prop and will feature in the front row alongside Chris Brooker and Shaun Knight.
There is also a change in the second row, as Dave Attwood continues his comeback alongside the in-form Elliott Stooke, who played a key role in last weekend’s 44-20 triumph over West Country rivals Gloucester.
Tom Ellis returns to the starting line-up at blindside flanker, whilst co-captain Francois Louw dons the number seven shirt for the away trip to Manchester. Taulupe Faletau completes the pack, with the Welsh international looking to maintain his rich vein of form following his hat-trick against the Cherry and Whites.
Kahn Fotuali’i and co-captain Rhys Priestland will combine in the half-back pairing, with Ben Tapuai and Max Clark continuing at inside and outside centre respectively.
After missing the local derby, Matt Banahan returns to the squad to take his place on the right wing, with Aled Brew and Tom Homer completing the back three.
Anthony Watson, Luke Charteris and Nathan Catt all picked up slight knocks last time out, and Semesa Rokoduguni suffered a medial ligament injury playing in the Army v Navy game last Saturday, so all four are unavailable for selection this week.
Form: Sale Sharks only victory in the last six rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby was 36-26 at home to Worcester on 7 April. The Sharks have lost just one of their last six matches in all tournaments at AJ Bell Stadium: 12-32 to Northampton in round 17 of Premiership Rugby. Bath Rugby must obtain a big victory to give themselves any hope of overhauling Leicester to reach the semi-finals. Bath have won just two of their last six Aviva Premiership Rugby encounters – against Leicester at Twickenham in round 19 and over Gloucester at the Recreation Ground last weekend. Bath have not won away from home in the competition since a visit to Exeter on 30 October. Bath’s only defeat in their last five fixtures with Sale was 17-29 at AJ Bell Stadium in April 2016.
The teams:
Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Josh Beaumont (c), 7 Tom Curry, 6 Ben Curry, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Ross Harrison, 2 Rob Webber, 1 James Flynn
Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Jake Pope, 18 Diogo Ferreira, 19 George Nott, 20 Magnus Lund, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Mark Jennings, 23 Josh Charnley
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Max Clark, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Rhys Priestland (cc), 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Francois Louw (cc), 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Chris Brooker, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Chris Cook, 22 George Ford, 23 Robbie Fruean
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant Referees: Tim Wigglesworth, Andrew Jackson
TMO: Graham Hughes
Wasps vs Saracens
Over 30,000 are expected at the Ricoh Arena as Wasps and Saracens go head-to-head, with a home semi-final up for grabs.
There’s two changes in the backline, with Joe Simpson starting at scrum-half and Danny Cipriani named at 10. Jimmy Gopperth switches to 12, Kurtley Beale to full-back and Willie Le Roux to the wing, with Josh Bassett moving to the bench.
After his late withdrawal last Friday through illness, Matt Symons returns to the second row alongside Joe Launchbury.
Jake Cooper-Woolley starts at tighthead and Nathan Hughes at number eight. Phil Swainston and Guy Thompson will be ready to make an impact from the bench, where there is also a welcome return for Ashley Johnson who returns to the matchday squad after being ruled out since early April with a knee injury.
Schalk Brits will skipper Saracens at the Ricoh Arena. Brits, who made his 200th appearance for Saracens in the club’s win over Bristol last weekend will be joined by Titi Lamosiele and Vincent Koch in the front-row.
At lock, Jim Hamilton will start alongside George Kruis with academy second-rower Nick Isiekwe named on the bench. Schalk Burger will pack down at eight in the Saracens back-row with Michael Rhodes (blindside flanker) and Jackson Wray (openside flanker) joining him in the back-row.
In the halves, RPA Young Player of the Year nominee Alex Lozowski starts at fly-half against his former club alongside Ben Spencer.
At centre, Nick Tompkins will wear the number 12 jersey alongside Marcelo Bosch. In the back-three, Chris Wyles shifts to full-back with Sean Maitland (left wing) and Mike Ellery (right wing) joining him in the back-three.
Form: The winners of this encounter will guarantee themselves a home semi-final, the losers will have to wait on Exeter’s result to see if they too will play at home in the last four. Wasps have reached a second successive semi-final despite losing at Harlequins last weekend to end a five game winning run in Aviva Premiership Rugby. Wasps are the only side in the tournament with a perfect played ten, won ten record at home this season – the last side with a 100% home winning record in a season of Premiership Rugby was Gloucester in 2010/11. Saracens have reached the semi-finals for an eighth successive year and have not lost in Aviva Premiership Rugby since a visit to Gloucester in round 15. Saracens only defeat in their last twelve fixtures against Wasps in all competitions was 23-64 at Allianz Park in February 2016. Sarries have visited Ricoh Arena on three previous occasions with their only reversal being to Munster in the semi-final of the European Cup in April 2008.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Willie Le Roux, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Matt Symons, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Alapati Leiua
Saracens: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Mike Ellery, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 George Kruis, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (c), 1 Titi Lamositle
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Henry Taylor, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Nathan Earle
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Roger Baileff, Nigel Carrick
TMO: David Sainsbury
Worcester vs Leicester
Worcester have made four changes to their starting line-up ahead of their final Premiership game of the season against Leicester Tigers.
Donncha O’Callaghan is recalled to the starting line-up as captain in the second row in place of the injured Chris Vui, while Phil Dowson will make his final Warriors appearance before retiring.
Dowson steps in for Players’ and Coaches’ Player of the Season Sam Lewis who has a nose injury, as the 35-year-old gets set for his final appearance before hanging up his boots to take up a career in coaching with Northampton Saints.
In the front row, loosehead Ryan Bower starts in place of the suspended Val Rapava Ruskin while young tighthead Gareth Milasinovich is also given the nod.
Cooper Vuna, Ryan Lamb and Ryan Grant are named on the bench in what could be their final appearances for the Club before they depart this summer.
Leicester Tigers have made just one change to their starting team for Saturday, with Peter Betham recalled in place of the injured JP Pietersen.
Betham starts on the wing, with the rest of the line-up retained from a bonus-point win over Sale Sharks in Round 21 at Welford Road last weekend.
Pietersen suffered an ankle injury during the second half of that win and joins Telusa Veainu and Maxime Mermoz among the players sidelined this week.
The forward pack remains intact, with England internationals Ellis Genge, Tom Youngs and Dan Cole in the front row, Dom Barrow and Graham Kitchener continuing as the lock pairing, and Mike Williams, Brendon O'Connor and Luke Hamilton in the back row.
Form: Worcester Warriors only victory in the last four round of Aviva Premiership Rugby was 25-19 at home to Bath on 15 April. The Warriors have won three of their last four home games at Sixways since Gary Gold took over as head coach. Leicester Tigers require two league points to guarantee participation in the play-offs for the 13th successive season. Tigers only defeat in their last six first team matches was 21-27 to Bath at Twickenham in round 19 of Aviva Premiership Rugby. Leicester have won their last fourteen matches against Worcester since the Warriors 23-19 victory at Sixways in March 2008.
The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Perry Humphreys, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Marco Mama, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 1 Ryan Bower
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Alafoti Faosiliva, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Cooper Vuna
Leicester: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Jack Roberts, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Mike Fitzgerald, 20 Harry Thacker, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Matt Smith, 23 George Worth
Kick-off: 16:00 BST (15:00 GMT)
Venue: Sixways
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Simon McConnell, Paul Dix
TMO: Sean Davey
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