Premiership: Start of the Burgess era
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Code-crossing star Sam Burgess is in line to make an earlier than expected rugby union debut after being named on the bench for Bath's Premiership encounter with Harlequins on Friday.
The 25-year-old rugby league convert was not expected to make his Bath bow until the end of December, but he has reportedly asked his coaches to be integrated into the squad more quickly.
Burgess has not played since fracturing his cheekbone and eye socket during his final appearance for South Sydney in their 30-6 NRL Grand Final victory over Canterbury Bulldogs on October 5.
He will provide cover for the centres against Harlequins, but his ultimate playing position has been the subject of conjecture since he arrived at Bath last month.
Bath head coach Mike Ford believes Burgess will develop into a loose forward, while England coach Stuart Lancaster is eager to see him play at inside centre.
"If I am quite honest, I don't know where I am best suited. Over time, I think that will become clear," Burgess said.
"Nothing is set in stone, and there is no pressure on myself from Mike [Ford] to do anything. I am just going to get in there, knuckle down, and do my best."
England coach Stuart Lancaster said it was a "bonus" that Burgess was set for an earlier than expected Union debut.
"It's a bonus that he's starting this early, but it's a long way to go before we start picking our World Cup squad," said Lancaster, whose side play Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.
"It will come down to how he plays; the earlier he learns how to play the game, the more he can learn about it," he added.
"Having worked in the north at Leeds, we've had a lot of players come across from league. Some adapted very quickly and others took longer.
"I'm pleased, and I'll be watching: it will be fascinating to see how he goes."
Bath lost 12-16 at home to Sale last weekend and currently sit in third place in the Premiership, two points below leaders Northampton.
Meanwhile, in one of the bigger games of the weekend Second placed Exeter Chief play fourth place Saracens.
Chiefs prop Moray Low insists the form book will go out of the window in Saturday's clash with rivals Saracens.
The Chiefs have won their last five matches in all tournaments since tripping up in Bayonne in the European Challenge Cup on October 18.
And their form at Sandy Park is as impressive – they have won their last six fixtures at home since Leicester Tigers won there in the second fixture of the Premiership season.
By contrast Saracens are winless in their last two matches, against Leicester and Northampton Saints, and have not been victorious away from home in the league since they visited London Irish back in September.
But Low, a summer signing from Glasgow Warriors, says they will not be taking Sarries lightly.
"It's going to be a massive game, and a big battle at the set piece," said Low.
"Saracens are one of the top four best sides in the Premiership, they have proven that over the last few years, so we'll need to be switched on.
"The last two results haven't got their way, but we are at home and we'll try to use that to our advantage.
All the Premiership match details:
Friday, November 28
Bath v Harlequins
(The Rec Ground – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Bath: 15 Gavin Henson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Ollie Devoto, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 David Sisi, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Paul James, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Burgess, 23 Horacio Agulla.
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter (captain), 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Jordan Turner-Hall.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Andrew Pearce, Paul Dix
TMO: David Grashoff
Saturday, November 29
Leicester Tigers v Wasps
(Welford Road – Kick-off 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Owen Williams, 9 David Mele, 8 Laurence Pearce, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Brad Thorn (captain), 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Matt Smith.
Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Chris Bell (captain), 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Sam Jones, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Ed Jackson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Simon McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 John Yapp, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Cannon, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Rob Miller.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Steve Lee, Simon McConnell
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 16.30; 16.30 GMT)
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Moray Low, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Ryan Caldwell, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Byron McGuigan.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Chris Wyles, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Will Fraser, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 James Johnston, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Ben Ransom.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Gareth Copsey
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
Sunday, November 29
London Irish v Gloucester
(Madejski Stadium – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Shane Geraghty, 11 James Short, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Kieran Low, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Geoff Cross, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolsencroft, 17 Leo Halavatau, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Conor Gilsenan, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Eoin Griffin, 23 Topsy Ojo.
Gloucester : 15 Steve McColl, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Meakes, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 James Hook, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 James Gibbons, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Shane Monahan.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Gareth Copsey
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
London Welsh v Northampton Saints
(Kassam Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 GMT)
Teams:
London Welsh:15 Seb Jewell, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Nic Reynolds, 12 Tom May (captain), 11 Nick Scott, 10 Gordon Ross, 9 Paul Rowley, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Pete Browne, 5 James Down, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Nathan Vella, 1 Ricky Reeves.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ben Cooper, 19 Matt Corker, 20 Ben Pienaar, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Will Robinson, 23 Alan Awcock.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 James Wilson, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Phil Dowson (captain), 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 James Craig, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Dom Waldouck, 23 Ken Pisi.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Andy Watson
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks
(Kingston Park – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Calum Green, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 Alex Rogers, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Josh Furno, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Adam Powell, 23 Simon Hammersley.
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Luke McLean, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 Mark Easter, 20 Viliami Fihaki, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings.
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