Back-row duo David Denton and GJ van Velze are both restored to Worcester Warriors’ starting XV for Friday’s clash with London Irish at Sixways.
Van Velze returns following a rib knock while Denton has impressed in the recent block of European Challenge Cup matches to earn a starting spot as Gary Gold’s side look to pull away from Irish at the bottom of the table.
The rest of the starting line-up is unchanged from the one that took on Sale Sharks three weeks ago, as Chris Pennell, Bryce Heem and Josh Adams form the pacey back three with Jackson Willison and Ryan Mills in the centre.
Francois Hougaard and Jono Lance complete the half-back combination.
Ethan Waller, Jack Singleton and Nick Schonert start in the front row while skipper Donncha O’Callaghan and Will Spencer maintain their places in the second row.
Sam Lewis joins Denton and Van Velze in the back row.
Darren Barry, Sam Olver and Perry Humphreys are called up to the squad as replacements after shining in the past couple of weeks against Oyonnax.
Warriors have picked up 13 points in their last four Premiership outings to move off the bottom of the table and sit six points ahead of Irish going into the clash.
Meanwhile, Saia Fainga’a will make his full Premiership debut for London Irish in this encounter.
The 36-times capped Wallaby starts at hooker alongside double World Cup winning All Black Ben Franks and experienced tighthead Petrus Du Plessis.
Former Springbok international Franco van der Merwe and Samoan Teofilo Paulo get the nod in the engine room, while Mike Coman, Blair Cowan and Ofisa Treviranus make up the back row. Cowan, who is closing in on 100 appearances for Irish, returns to his former club having spent the 2012/13 campaign at Sixways.
In the back-line, Ben Meehan and James Marshall start at scrum-half and fly-half respectively, with Greig Tonks controlling affairs from full-back.
Skipper Fergus Mulchrone and Luke McLean start in the centres, while Joe Cokanasiga and Alex Lewington provide the pace on either wing.
“We’ve had a very good training week and we’re all looking forward to the game,” said Exiles’ director of rugby Nick Kennedy.
“Selecting a team wasn’t easy, with a number of players forcing themselves into the starting XV on the back of good performances.
“Worcester are an excellent team with threats right across the park and it’s important that we’re at it from the very first whistle.
“We’re now approaching the midway point in the season and there are many points still to be won starting with tomorrow night’s game.”
Form: Worcester Warriors have won two of their last three Aviva Premiership Rugby matches, at home to Northampton and away at Leicester. The Warriors beat Oyonnax 35-14 in their most recent fixture at Sixways, although they were beaten there 14-18 by Sale in their round 10 Premiership Rugby match. London Irish have won only once in any competition since the opening weekend of the 2017-18 season: 44-7 over Stade Francais in Paris in round two of the European Challenge Cup. The Exiles have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since a trip to Oxford to take on London Welsh in February 2015. The Warriors won their most recent encounter with London Irish 12-6 at Sixways in March 2016 to end a run of five successive Exiles victories in this fixture.
The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 David Denton, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Alafoti Faosiliva, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Perry Humphreys
London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Fergus Mulchrone (c), 12 Luke McLean, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 James Marshall, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Mike Coman, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Max Northcote-Green, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma
Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: JP Doyle, Paul Dix
Television match official: Stuart Terheege
After two rounds of Champions Cup, the Aviva Premiership returns to take centre stage for the festive season – as does our latest Betsafe preview, which can be read over at their site.
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