Five games take place in the Premiership on Saturday and Sunday with Harlequins’ encounter against Wasps the standout match.
Exeter Chiefs v Worcester Warriors
Rob Baxter says his Exeter Chiefs side are facing a pivotal month ahead as they look to strength their position at the summit of the Aviva Premiership.
The reigning champions head into tomorrow’s Round 14 battle against visiting Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park, looking to build on their five-point advantage over next-best Saracens at the top of the table.
Having used the past fortnight in the Anglo-Welsh Cup to not only recharge a number of his frontline stars, Baxter has also seen others first-team stars come to the fore as Devon’s finest progressed into the last four of the competition for a fourth successive year.
Getting so many of his squad primed and ready for battle over the coming weeks has been a key objective for Baxter, particularly as he has to contend with five of his regulars being away on Six Nations duty this weekend, plus a number of others still battling their way back to fitness after various injuries.
It was around this time last season, however, that the Chiefs started to really find their rhythm, making the most of rivals also losing star names, before producing a swath of five-point victories that led them ultimately to their first-ever English title.
Addressing the media this week, the Chiefs Director of Rugby said he was keen for a repeat performance, even though there could potentially be more distractions this time round.
“There have potentially been all kinds of distractions going into this week and the next few weeks,” said Baxter. “One is we’re coming out of a month of playing in different competitions like Europe and the Anglo Welsh. Another is we have a number of players away on international duty and – like any squad – we’ve picked up the odd injury, so suddenly we’ve become a different group to say a month ago.
“What we’ve said to the guys this week is simple – you can allow those distractions to get in your way or you can really zone in and attack these next few weeks week. If you focus on yourselves and what you want to achieve, teams that can do that are the teams that can make real strides over this next month.
“Teams who get distracted are the ones who get hurt the most. What we have to do is avoid getting distracted and talk about the positives we can gain over this next month, which is to cement ourselves even further within that top four. That will take some doing, we know that, just because of the tough fixtures we have coming up. However the reality is if you want to be Premiership champions, you have to deal with times like this.”
Certainly the strength in depth within the Chiefs squad has been a telling factor in recent seasons and Baxter is confident his current crop of stars, plus those he is planning to use in the future, can cope with the demands being asked of them.
“We had Wilhelm Van Der Sluys come back last week to help thickening us out in the second row, it was the same with Ollie Devoto coming back as well. Santiago [Cordero] coming in and playing so well on his debut, there were lots of positives to take from last week.
“As I’ve said, though, I’m comfortable with where we are as a group. The bigger picture of what is going on here at Exeter Chiefs looks very comfortable to me. I like the look of the squad we have not just now, or for the next 12 months, but for the next two or three years. But on top of building that squad that can mean we are a good, solid Premiership team for a number of years, we’ve got to keep talking about how we drive through that top end quality.
“There has to be a real emotional desire amongst us all to be a top end club. That’s the day-by-day, week-by week battles we have to win because ultimately what will die us to stay top of the Premiership is what we do every day. That has to be the focus for the players because the minute you try and get the enjoyment in before the hard work starts, then you find yourself on a slippery slope and going nowhere.”
Hard work and the ability to never give up has been ket facets of the Chiefs make-up for some time and they were evident in last weekend’s 43-20 win over Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Knowing they needed a try bonus success, Exeter did not disappoint in front of a near capacity home crowd.
“I can’t praise the attitude of the players enough,” continued Baxter. “They saw on Friday night that they still had something to fight for. They came in the next day knowing they had to score all five points on a day when the wind and rain were coming in. Then, they had to do all of that against Saracens, who traditionally have the stingiest defence around.
“They did all of that in the first half, but then they had to come in at half time and take in from the coaching staff that four tries wasn’t going to be enough if they wanted a home semi-final. Not only did they then have to go out and keep scoring more than Newcastle, who were already on four tries in their game and two ahead overall, but they had to keep Saracens out at the same time.
“What I liked watching the last five, six minutes of the game was how our guys went from defending on their own line to getting the ball down the other end, five metres out and then driving in what proved to be a crucial score from a line-out. It’s passages of play like that which can often define seasons and in this case it defined how we now have a home semi-final.”
As expected, Baxter has recalled a number of his key stars for tomorrow’s visit of the Warriors. However, there is a Premiership debut for Argentinian international Cordero on the right wing. He lines up in a back division which will be skippered by Gareth Steenson.
Up front, Aussie international Greg Holmes comes into the front-row, while Thomas Waldrom starts at No.8 with Sam Simmonds joining Harry Williams, Alec Hepburn, Jack Nowell and Tomas Francis in featuring in the Six Nations clash between England and Wales at Twickenham. On the bench, England Under-20s prop Marcus Street gets his first-ever call-up for Premiership action, while Devoto is also included after scoring twice in last weekend’s win.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Jamie Shillcock will start at fly-half as Warriors go in search of a first win.
The youngster is one of four changes to the side which started Warriors’ last Premiership match in January, with Nick Schonert, Dean Hammond and Alafoti Faosiliva also handed starting berths.
Schonert made his comeback from injury off the bench in last weekend’s Anglo-Welsh Cup trip to Dragons and starts in the front row alongside Ethan Waller and Jack Singleton.
Donncha O’Callaghan captains the side in the second row next to Will Spencer, while in the back row Sam Lewis and GJ van Velze start alongside Faosiliva.
In the backs, winger Hammond comes in for Josh Adams, who starts for Wales against England in the NatWest 6 Nations, and joins Chris Pennell and Bryce Heem in the back three.
Jackson Willison and Ryan Mills form the centre partnership while Shillcock is joined by Springbok Francois Hougaard in the half-back combination.
Kurt Haupt, Darren Barry, Matt Cox, Luke Baldwin and Tom Howe are all called up to the replacements after impressing in the recent European Challenge Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup games, while Anton Bresler could be set for his first Premiership appearance from the bench.
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Moray Low, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ollie Devoto
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Anton Bresler, 20 Darren Barry, 21 Matt Cox, 22 Luke Baldwin, 23 Tom Howe
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Philip Watters
TMO: David Rose
Gloucester v Leicester Tigers
After missing the past four matches, Willi Heinz returns to captain Gloucester.
After European Rugby Challenge Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup action over the past four weeks, it’s back to domestic duties and the Premiership for the Cherry and Whites.
Heinz returns to lead a side which features none of the starting line-up from last Saturday’s Anglo-Welsh-Cup fixture away at Newcastle.
Gloucester are currently in fourth place in the Premiership table and are six points ahead of the eighth-placed Tigers. So, a home win would extend that gap, but Leicester were triumphant in the two previous meetings this season, both at Welford Road.
Head coach Johan Ackermann acknowledged this week that it’s the first of an important block of matches, and that Leicester missing a few players on international duty won’t make much of a difference to the overall strength of the Tigers.
“We played them early in the season, not long after I arrived. That particular day we made a lot of simple errors. A few months later, I think both teams have developed, there have been some changes in personnel etc.
“It’s a block of four games and it’s important that we don’t fall into the trap of targetting games or putting more emphasis on one game over another. When we had a good run before Christmas, we only focused on the next training session, the next game.
“The quality they have in their squad is still such that the can beat any side. We also went through a period when we had a lot of players unavailable, and we actually did really well.
“They’re missing four players out of a squad of 30 plus players. They’ll have planned for that and prepared for that. They’re missing world-class players, but we can’t think that will do the job for us. Whoever comes in will be good enough, they wouldn’t be at the Tigers otherwise.”
Meanwhile, Telusa Veainu and Manu Tuilagi return to the Leicester Tigers backline.
Veainu and Tuilagi are included after their recovery from injury as Tigers resume league action with the Round 14 trip to Kingsholm.
Tom Youngs also returns to captain the team, joining Greg Bateman and Logovi’i Mulipola in the Tigers front row.
Brendon O’Connor makes his 50th appearance for the club since his arrival in November 2015.
“Having Telusa and Manu back has been a real positive around the place and gives us more options in the backline,” said head coach Matt O’Connor.
“We have a big challenge and we have to make sure we are bang-on for Saturday. The competition is still very tight and every point will be at a premium.”
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Mariano Galarza; 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa; 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Matt Scott
Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Nick Malouf, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Joe Ford, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Simmons, 22 Gareth Owen, 23 Mathew Tait
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Paul Dix
TMO: Claire Hodnett
Saracens v Newcastle Falcons
Liam Williams, Jackson Wray and Christopher Tolofua will make their returns to the Saracens line-up this weekend after being named to face Newcastle at Allianz Park.
In the backs, Williams returns to take his place on the wing while in the halves Alex Lozowski, who will make his 50th Saracens’ appearance, partners Ben Spencer, with both Owen Farrell and Richard Wigglesworth away on international duty.
Up front, Richard Barrington joins Tolofua and Vincent Koch in the front-row, while Will Skelton and Nick Isiekwe make up the second-row pairing. Wray is named at number eight.
On the bench, Sione Vailanu returns after missing the Anglo-Welsh Cup fixture against Exeter with a hand injury.
Meanwhile, Ryan Burrows makes his first Aviva Premiership start for Newcastle on Saturday.
The former Yorkshire Carnegie captain has featured in all 10 of the Falcons’ games in cup competitions this season, starting nine during their progression to the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup and the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Ally Hogg makes his first Premiership start of the season after appearing five times from the bench, Nili Latu completing the back row trio with Gary Graham (neck), Mark Wilson (hamstring) and Will Welch (head) all missing out.
The Falcons have lost only one of their last 10 matches in all competitions, and have been victorious in their last four Aviva Premiership outings. They last won five top-flight games in succession during the 2008-09 season and will be captained by scrum-half Michael Young on Saturday.
He partners Joel Hodgson in the half-backs, Toby Flood missing out as he completes his return to play protocols following last weekend’s head knock which removed him during the first half of the 31-19 Anglo-Welsh Cup victory over Gloucester.
Tom Penny starts at outside centre after impressing in cup action, Juan Pablo Socino returning to the midfield as Josh Matavesi misses out with a head knock. Sinoti Sinoti returns on the wing where he partners Vereniki Goneva, Rob Vickers coming in at loosehead prop while Calum Green and Will Witty are paired in the second-row.
On the bench, Evan Olmstead returns from Canadian national team duty and French centre Maxime Mermoz is in contention for a second Aviva Premiership appearance of the season after recovering from injury.
Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards said: “We’ve had a good couple of months.
“We were disappointed not to win down at Bath a fortnight ago despite starting the game well, but overall we have been pleased with how we have turned teams over during December, January and last weekend.
“With jumping between competitions we have used a number of guys during that period, our squad depth has shown up well and we have not been hindered by having guys away or rotating our team. The players coming in have not looked out of place, the senior players have helped them but a lot of it is down to the quality of our youngsters.”
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Ben Earl, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Max Malins, 23 Nathan Earle
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Michael Young (c), 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Ryan Burrows, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Maxime Mermoz, 23 Alex Tait
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Simon McConnell, Roy Maybank
TMO: Trevor Fisher
London Irish v Sale Sharks
London Irish have made two changes for this weekend’s Aviva Premiership fixture against Sale Sharks at the Madejski Stadium.
Samoan international Teofilo Paulo replaces Mike Coman in the second-row, the New Zealander ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained two minutes into last weekend’s 42-21 victory at Cardiff Blues in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Meanwhile, Luke McLean starts at inside centre alongside Tom Fowlie.
The Exiles ran in six tries in the Welsh capital last week as they stretched their winning run to four games ahead of Saturday’s contest.
New recruit Arno Botha, who scored the third of Irish’s six tries, partners Max Northcote-Green and Ofisa Treviranus in the back-row, while two-time Rugby World Cup winner Ben Franks, David Paice and Ollie Hoskins all retain their place in the front-row.
Franco van der Merwe skippers the Exiles in the absence of Coman and packs down alongside Paulo in the engine room.
Scrum-half Piet van Zyl, like fellow South African Botha, gets his first taste of Aviva Premiership action and combines with fly-half Theo Brophy Clews at the heart of the Exiles’ backline.
James Marshall, who converted all six of Irish’s tries last week, starts at full-back with Alex Lewington and Joe Cokanasiga providing the pace on either wing.
“The lads have worked extremely hard in training this week and we’re all looking forward to the visit of Sale Sharks,” said London Irish director of rugby Nick Kennedy.
“Execution, work rate and effort have all been there in training and it’s up to us to take this into the game.”
For Sale, centre Mark Jennings returns to the bench after last playing for the Sharks in their home game against Cardiff Blues December 9.
Paolo Odogwu also starts, with Denny Solomona and Byron McGuigan both absent, while 18-year-old centre Luke James, brother of Sam, gets an opportunity in the Premiership.
Looking ahead to the game, Sale Sharks’ director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “We face possibly one of the most challenging games in going to London Irish.
“They are a very proud club, they are desperate and they will probably target this month when they face ourselves, Northampton and Worcester as their lifeline.
“They are unbeaten in the last four games and in their last three league games they have only lost by three or four points so I think it’s a big obstacle for us and we’ve got to make sure we get over it.”
The teams:
London Irish: 15 James Marshall, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 6 Arno Botha, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 David Paice, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma
Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Will Addison, 12 Luke James, 11 Josh Charnley; 10 Sam James, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 James Flynn, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 George Nott, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Cameron Nield, 22 Will Cliff, 23 Mark Jennings
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Madejski Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Keith Lewis
Harlequins v Wasps
Harlequins have made nine changes to the starting XV that lost to Northampton Saints last weekend for their encounter against Wasps at the Stoop.
Following his recent contract renewal, Tim Visser is named to start on the left wing, Jamie Roberts partners Joe Marchant in the centres and Marcus Smith comes in at fly-half.
There is a completely different front-five – featuring a return from injury for Kyle Sinckler – while Mat Luamanu is named at number eight. Dave Ward takes over captaincy duties as James Horwill picked up a knock in last week’s match against Northampton.
Ahead of the match, Harlequins director of rugby John Kingston said: “Last month’s match against Wasps was an absolute belter. For us to come back in the way that we did showed fantastic belief and desire, but we know they’re a good side and they’ll pose a huge threat on the weekend again.
“The next three home games against Wasps, Newcastle and Bath are going to have a significant impact on whether we will be able to sustain a genuine challenge for the top-four. The crowd was massive in getting the team over the line a few weeks ago, so we need them right behind the side from the very first minute.”
Meanwhile, James Gaskell captains Wasps at Harlequins when the Aviva Premiership resumes on Sunday following a four-week break.
The match-day 23 named by director of rugby Dai Young is boosted by the return from injury of Jimmy Gopperth, Matt Mullan, Gaby Lovobalavu and Nathan Hughes.
This quartet are joined on a power-packed bench by Ashley Johnson, Joe Simpson, Marty Moore and Tommy Taylor.
Last week’s Anglo-Welsh Cup man-of-the-match Jack Willis shifts from Number eight to the blindside flank, while Tom Cruse, who picked up the same award following the recent European Cup win over Ulster, starts at hooker.
Behind the scrum, Young makes only one change to the line-up that claimed a bonus point success over the Northern Irishmen. This sees fit-again Josh Bassett, who claimed an Anglo-Welsh brace from the bench against Leicester last Sunday, selected on the left wing.
Young said the round 14 clash launches a sequence which he believes could define Wasps’ season. “We have a block of four games now which will pretty much determine where we’re going to sit in the league,” he said.
“If we can get the results we want we should be sitting comfortably in the top four after which we can push for the top two in the last three or four games. “But if we don’t get these results right, we’re probably going to be fighting to get into that top four.
“When we played at the Stoop last month we dominated the game for 55 minutes, then let it slip, so it is essential we play for the full 80 minutes against them tomorrow.
“That result also knocked us out of Europe. The boys will carry that hurt with them this week and if we play to the best of our ability we’re more than capable of going anywhere and winning.”
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Alofa Alofa, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Ben Glynn, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward (c), 1 Lewis Boyce
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Archie White, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Aaron Morris
Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Guy Thompson, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Nathan Hughes, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Gaby Lovobalavu
Date: Sunday, February 11
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Stuart Terheege
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