Saracens have named their side to face Glasgow Warriors in Sunday’s European Rugby Champions Cup clash at Allianz Park.
Saracens have named an unchanged starting XV from the side that beat Bath with the north Londoners’ solitary change to the matchday 23 being scrum-half Ben Spencer, who comes back onto the bench after recovering from a leg injury.
Alex Goode starts at full-back alongside Scotland Six Nations wing Sean Maitland and Chris Ashton in the back three. At centre, Marcelo Bosch continues to partner skipper Brad Barritt in a familiar looking Sarries midfield. Owen Farrell is named at fly-half and he is partnered by Richard Wigglesworth in the halves.
Up front, England pair Mako Vunipola (loosehead prop) and Jamie George (hooker) continue in the Saracens starting line-up alongside Juan Figallo in the Saracens front-row. Maro Itoje is named at lock to join Jim Hamilton, whilst in the back-row Billy Vunipola is named at number eight and is joined by Michael Rhodes (blindside flanker) and Jackson Wray (openside flanker).
In injury news, Schalk Burger misses out with a calf injury whilst George Kruis (knee), Chris Wyles (leg), Will Fraser (back) and Richard Barrington (hand) are also unavailable for selection.
Speaking ahead of the game, director of rugby Mark McCall said: “The Warriors are a team we have a huge respect for. They have been building as a side and in this year’s competition they have produced some fantastic performances against sides who have real European pedigree in Leicester Tigers and Racing 92. We are well aware of how much the occasion means to them as a club, but this is also a competition that is dear to our hearts, and one that I know the players love being a part of – Sunday’s quarter final is a prime of example of how special the Champions Cup can be.”
Meanwhile, Gregor Townsend has named his side to travel to Allianz Park for this Sunday’s European Rugby Champions Cup Quarter-Final.
Nine Scotland internationals return to the starting XV following Glasgow’s bonus point victory over Connacht last weekend, including co-captains Jonny Gray and Henry Pyrgos.
Pyrgos starts at scrum-half while outside of him, Finn Russell and Peter Horne are named at 10 and 12, with Alex Dunbar returning to the starting line-up at outside centre.
On the wings, Tommy Seymour and Lee Jones both return and Stuart Hogg retains his place at full-back to complete the back three.
It is a familiar front row, with Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown and Zander Fagerson combining several times for Scotland during the Six Nations.
Jonny Gray partners Brian Alainu’uese in the second row on his return to the side.
Ryan Wilson wears number seven, joining Rob Harley and Adam Ashe at the back of the scrum.
On the bench USA international Greg Peterson returns from injury to be involved in a Glasgow squad for the first time since September.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “There has been a real buzz around Scotstoun this week, the players are excited and focused on the task at hand.
“It’s great to be able to bring back the guys who were not involved last week after the Six Nations, they will be fresh and ready for what promises to be a hugely physical fixture.
“Saracens have an incredible record in this competition and are extremely hard to beat at home, but we have trained well and in front of over 5,000 travelling Warriors fans the players will give it everything.”
Form: The clubs have met twice before in the European Cup with Saracens winning both pool stage matches in 2007/08. They also met in the 2007 Challenge Cup quarter-final with the Premiership side winning again on that occasion. Saracens have won their last 12 home games in the tournament, with their last four defeats at home all coming against Top 14 opposition. Glasgow have lost 16 of their 18 away games against Premiership opposition, however, their two victories in that time have come in their last four trips, including Round 6 this season when they inflicted a record 43-0 defeat on Leicester Tigers at Welford Road. This is the seventh time Saracens have reached the quarter-finals and the sixth season in a row. Glasgow have reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history, and they are the 34th club to achieve the feat. Saracens were one of just three sides to manage success rates of 90 percent plus at both lineout (93 percent) and scrum (90 percent) during the pool stage (also Toulon and Leinster). Last season’s EPCR European Player of the Year, Maro Itoje, didn’t miss a tackle in the pool stage, completing all 47 he attempted. Only Tom Palmer (53) of Bordeaux-Bègles attempted more without missing at least one. The two players to make the most tackles during the pool stage were Glasgow’s Jonny Gray (76/80) and Ryan Wilson (70/81). Chris Ashton’s try in Saracens’ win over Toulon moved him past Brian O’Driscoll’s total on the all-time list to 34, and he is now just two behind Vincent Clerc on 36. Owen Farrell, who made his 50th tournament appearance for Saracens against Toulon, was the pool stage top points scorer with 79 and his overall total of 549 points puts him sixth on the all-time list.
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt(c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola , 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Titi Lamositele, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Joel Conlon, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Duncan Taylor
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos(cc), 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray(cc), 4 Brian Alainu’uese, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Nick Grigg, 23 Rory Hughes
Date: Sunday, April 2
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 13:00 local
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France) Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
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