Bath full-back James Wilson starts against his former side Northampton in their Premiership clash at the Recreation Ground on Friday.
He will be joined in the back three by Matt Banahan and Aled Brew.
Will Hurrell continues at outside centre after making his debut last Friday against Ospreys, with Ben Tapuai joining him in the midfield. Freddie Burns and Kahn Fotuali’i start at fly-half and scrum-half respectively, as Bath look to make it four wins on the bounce in all competitions.
Lucas Noguera, Tom Dunn and Max Lahiff make up the front-row combination, whilst Elliott Stooke and Charlie Ewels form the second-row partnership.
Matt Garvey captains the team from blindside flanker, with Paul Grant at openside and James Phillips continuing at number eight.
Meanwhile, Tom Wood, Rob Horne, Ben Foden and Campese Ma’afu all return to Northampton Saints’ starting line-up for this game.
The visitors head back into Premiership action full of confidence after four wins in their last five matches in all competitions, booking themselves a spot in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals last week.
It was a last-gasp triumph against Gloucester in their most recent Premiership outing that kick-started that run of form, and Saints will be hoping to continue that in Bath where they boast a superb recent record – they have lost just once on their last seven visits to the Rec.
Technical coaching consultant Alan Gaffney and interim head coach Alan Dickens have made four changes from the side that notched up five tries against Harlequins last time out.
Two of those come in the back-line with Rob Horne coming back into the fray at outside centre after a couple of weeks of rest, while Ben Foden steps back onto the wing to bring an experienced head to what will be a hostile atmosphere under the floodlights of the Rec.
Ken Pisi took his 2018 try tally to five in five matches last time out and keeps his place on the other wing, while the half-back axis of Piers Francis and Cobus Reinach is also unchanged.
There is one change in the front row, with loosehead Campese Ma’afu coming in to join Mikey Haywood and Kieran Brookes, and Tom Wood is the only change at the back of the scrum – the 31-year-old will wear the six jersey for Saints.
David Ribbans (who was the unlikely two-try hero when Saints beat Bath back in September), Francois van Wyk and Nafi Tuitavake all switch to the bench, where there is also room for Harry Mallinder who was released by England earlier in the week.
Form: Bath have won their last three matches in all competitions but in Premiership Rugby their victory at Worcester in Round 13 ended a three game losing run in the competition. Bath have a won three, lost three record at home in Premiership Rugby this season.Northampton Saints 22-19 win at home to Gloucester in round 13 ended a seven game losing run in the tournament. The Saints have won just once away from home in Aviva Premiership Rugby since March, 40-25 at London Irish in round 4. Bath’s only two victories over The Saints since 2011 in Premiership Rugby both came last season. The Saints have lost just once in their last six visits to the Recreation Ground.
The teams:
Bath: 15 James Wilson, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 James Phillips, 7 Paul Grant, 6 Matt Garvey (c), 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Lucas Noguera
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Darren Atkins
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day (c), 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Harry Mallinder, 23 Nafi Tuitavake
Date: Friday, February 9
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Peter Allan
TMO: Stuart Terheege
The post Preview: Bath v Northampton Saints appeared first on Planet Rugby.