Harlequins have made six changes to the XV from for Friday’s game against Bath, with Demetri Catrakilis starting his first match since coming back from a serious throat injury.
Catrakilis was stretchered off against Gloucester in September and stopped breathing for several seconds, but has made an outstanding recovery to feature alongside Dave Lewis at half-back.
James Lang starts at full-back as Aaron Morris picked up a knee injury last week while Tim Visser starts on the left wing. Jamie Roberts will line-up at centre, making his 50th appearance for the club.
Up front, Will Collier and Mat Luamanu come in to start in an otherwise unchanged pack. On the bench Francis Saili makes a welcome return and is involved for the first time in five months.
Following the conclusion of his short-term deal, signed in November 2017, Jono Kitto has departed the club to return home to New Zealand after making nine appearances. Ian Prior will also leave Harlequins following the Bath match to return home to Australia.
Ahead of the match, Harlequins director of rugby John Kingston said: “Bath are presently fighting for a play-off position and so will – undoubtedly – pose a major challenge.
“However, we need to focus on ourselves as we strive to get a much-needed victory. My message to all the supporters is clear, park the frustrations that we have all been feeling from the moment you come into the ground and create an atmosphere that the players can feed off.
"I would also like to extend my huge thanks to both Jono and Ian for the effort and commitment they have shown in their three months here. Both arrived in November when we had the remarkable situation of Danny Care away with England and all four of our other nines long term injured.
“They have both been very popular members of the squad and have at all times sought to give of their very best for Harlequins. We wish them all the best in their rugby careers in the southern hemisphere.”
Meanwhile, Beno Obano will make his 50th appearance for Bath against Quins at the Stoop on Friday.
Obano will start at loosehead prop, while Tom Homer, Matt Banahan and Luke Charteris all return to the line-up.
Homer, who made his comeback off the bench in last week’s win against Sale Sharks, starts at full-back, with Banahan on the right wing and Aled Brew completing the back three.
Will Hurrell and Ben Tapuai continue in the centre partnership, with last weekend’s match-winner James Wilson at fly-half. The versatile New Zealander will once again link up with Kahn Fotuali’i in the half-back combination.
Obano will mark his milestone in the front-row alongside Ross Batty and Henry Thomas. Charteris come into the starting line-up to captain the team in the absence of Matt Garvey, and will be joined in the second-row by Elliott Stooke.
Zach Mercer, Josh Bayliss and Taulupe Faletau complete the pack in an exciting back-row for the trip to Twickenham.
Nathan Catt could make is return to action, with the prop named amongst the replacements.
Form: Harlequins have slipped to four straight Aviva Premiership defeats since beating Northampton Saints at Twickenham Stadium on 30 December; they have not lost five in a row in the competition since 2006-07. Harlequins have not won at Twickenham Stoop in the Premiership since beating Saracens there on 3 December. Bath’s only loss in the last four rounds was 12-29 at Newcastle on 16 February. Bath have won only once on the road in the Premiership since November; 46-25 at Worcester in round 13. The last four matches between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day, while Bath’s only victory at Twickenham Stoop in the Premiership since 2004 was in May 2015.
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 James Lang, 14 Alofa Alofa, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 James Chisholm, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Ben Glynn, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Mark Lambert
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Cameron Holenstein, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Archie White, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Francis Saili
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Aled Brew, 10 James Wilson, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Bayliss, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Luke Charteris (c), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 James Phillips, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Cooper Vuna
Date: Friday, March 2
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Paul Burton
Television match official: Stuart Terheege
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