Preview: Premiership, Round 10

Saints return to Premiership action having secured a European Cup quarter-final berth on a dramatic weekend. They face Wasps, who may have taken a few scalps of their own in Europe this year, but have beaten Northampton once in their last 13 attempts.

Saints though have been up-and-down so far, collecting four wins from their first nine games, but Wood says the experienced internationals left behind can make a big impression.

"I think there are some guys licking their wounds a bit. Myself, Luther Burrell, Mike Haywood has been in great form this year, Ben Foden is back to his best. Jamie Gibson as well is another one who has been playing brilliant rugby but doesn't seem to be getting much of a mention.

"So it's about us galvanising as a group, pulling tight and using this period of time when other teams are perhaps having their resources stretched, to push on. We've got a batch of 10 games back-to-back in the Premiership now, it's pretty relentless and attritional.

"We're going to have to use our full squad but having been on the other side of it, away with England or periods of time, I know this period is really crucial. It's up to us guys who are back here now to really hold down the fort for the lads and make sure we're in a really strong position when they arrive back," Wood said.

Wasps brought their three-game losing streak in the league to an end last time out with victory over Worcester Warriors, though they have not been victorious at Franklin's Gardens since 2005. And though both squads undergoing a shake-up due to the Six Nations, Wasps lock James Gaskell insists the challenge remains the same.

"It's one of those where we will have a few boys missing and they will have a few boys missing, but they'll be hugely physical. In the set-piece they are dangerous and they have big ball carriers coming off at 12 or 13 who can hurt you.

"We'll need to up the physicality and whoever does the basics right is going to get the win. We're all looking forward to it, especially the boys who haven't played as much and will be wanting to step up."

We look at all the Round 10 action!

Friday, January 29

Northampton Saints v Wasps

(Franklin's Gardens – Kick-off: 19.45 GMT)

Wasps have won only one of their last 13 encounters with Northampton in all competitions since 2009: 20-16 at Adams Park in Premiership Rugby in September 2014. Wasps have not been victorious at Franklin's Gardens since a visit in November 2005.

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Tom

Kessell, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2

Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.

Replacements: 16 Matt Williams, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 James Craig, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 James Wilson.

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 James Downey, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 George Smith (captain) 6 Alex Rieder, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Jake Cooper Woolley, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Simon McIntyre.

Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 James Cannon, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Jamie Stevenson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Referee: Thomas Foley

Assistant referees: Ashley Rowden, Simon McConnell

TMO: Stuart Terheege

Saturday, January 30

Sale Sharks v London Irish

(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 14.30 GMT)

Sale Sharks only defeat in their last six matches in all tournaments was 17-33 at Exeter in the Premiership on Boxing Day. Sharks have lost just one game at AJ Bell Stadium in the last 12 months. London Irish have won two of their last three fixtures in the Premiership whilst their 31-17 victory in Agen on Saturday evening ended a 10-game losing streak on the road in all competitions.

Teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14  Will Addison, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Nev Edwards, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Josh Beaumont 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 TJ Ioane, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Tom Arscott.

London Irish: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Luke Narraway 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Will Lloyd, 4 Matt Symons (captain), 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Johnny Harris, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Theo Brophy Clews, 23 Andrew Fenby.

Referee: Gregory Garner

Assistant referees: Steve Lee, Gareth Copsey

TMO: Keith Lewis

Gloucester v Leicester Tigers

(Kingsholm -Kick-off: 15.00 GMT)

Leicester Tigers' only defeat in the last five rounds of the Premiership came on a visit to Saracens on January 2. Tigers have lost their last two away games in all tournaments but have not lost three in a row on the road since October 2014. Gloucester's only victory in their last five encounters with Tigers was 33-16 at Kingsholm in October 2014.

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Steve McColl, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Meakes, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 David Halaifonua, 10 James Hook, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jacob Rowan, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paddy McAllister.

Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Nick Wood, 18 Nicky Thomas, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Mark Atkinson.

Leicester: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Mathew Tait (captain), 12 Matt Smith, 11 Telusa Veainu, 10 Freddie Burns. 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Tom Croft, 6 Mike Fitzgerald, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Greg Bateman, 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Riccardo Brugnara, 18 Logovi'i Mulipola, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Gonzalo Camacho, 23 Jack Roberts.

Referee: JP Doyle

Assistant referees: Ross Campbell, Nigel Carrick

TMO: Graham Hughes

Saracens v Bath

(Allianz Park – Kick-off: 15.15 GMT)

Bath have slipped to four straight defeats in all tournaments since their 21-14 victory at home to Worcester on December 27. Bath's only away victory this season was 45-14 at London Irish on November 7. Bath have won just one of their last 11 encounters with Saracens including last season's final. Bath have not been successful on Saracens soil since a trip to Vicarage Road in February 2010.

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Duncan Taylor, 13 Marcelo, Bosch 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington.

Replacements: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Nils Mordt, 23 Nick Tompkins.

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nick Auterac.

Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 David Wilson, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Alafoti Faosiliva, 22 Jonathan Evans, 23 Max Clark.

Referee: Dean Richards

Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Andy Watson

TMO: Geoffrey Warren

Sunday, January 31

Newcastle Falcons v Harlequins

(Kingston Park – Kick-off: 15.00 GMT)

Harlequins' seven-game unbeaten run in all tournaments ended in Montpellier on Friday evening. Quins have lost just one of their last seven Premiership fixtures, by a single point at Exeter in Round Five. Newcastle beat Harlequins 37-21 at Kingston Park the last time the teams met and have not obtained back-to-back victories over the Londoners in the Premiership since 2000.

Teams:

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Giamba Venditti, 10 Craig Willis, 9 Michael Young, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Will Welch, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Mark Wilson, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Andy Goode, 23 Adam Powell.

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 George Lowe, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Nick Evans (captain), 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dave Ward, 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 James Horwill, 3 Will Collier, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Mark Lambert.

Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Merrick, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Calum Waters, 22 Ben Botica, Tim Swiel. 

Referee: Luke Pearce

Assistant referees: Darren Gamage, Paul Burton

TMO: Trevor Fisher

Worcester Warriors v Exeter Chiefs

(Sixways – Kick-off: 15.00 GMT)

Worcester Warriors have lost their last 10 first team matches since beating La Rochelle at Sixways in Round One of the European Challenge Cup. The Warriors have not gained a victory in the Premiership since they overcame Newcastle in Round Four. Exeter Chiefs are the top try scorers this season with 30, and have lost just one of their last eight encounters in the tournament.

Teams:

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Ryan Mills , 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Luke Baldwin, 8 GJ van Velze (captain), 7 Marco Mama, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Na'ama Leleimalefaga.

Replacements: 16 Ben Sowrey, 17 Ryan Bower, 19 James Johnston, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Andy Symons, 23 Dean Hammond.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Jonny Hill, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Alec Hepburn,

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Sam Hill.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Assistant referees: Peter Allan, Roger Baileff

TMO: Sean Davey