Preview: Premiership, Round 17
With six rounds left to go, the Premiership bounds back into action following a mini two-week break with some key clashes lined up.
Sale Sharks will be hoping the time off has not affected them in any way as they look to secure a third-straight win, but that is easier said than done as standing in their way at the AJ Bell Stadium on Saturday will be current log leaders Northampton.
The last time the two teams met it was the Saints celebrating a 33-14 win, Northampton taking their anger out on Sale having lost a nail-biting clash with Gloucester the previous weekend.
And after Jim Mallinder's men were denied lifting the Anglo-Welsh Cup trophy on Sunday as Exeter Chiefs claimed the spoils, Sharks captain Braid insists he is ready for Northampton this time around.
"I don't think it's great to face a team just after a loss, last time we played them they lost a close game to Gloucester and they were fired up and played one of their best games of the season against us," he said.
"But we are fresh and have had two weeks off and that will go a long way into getting into a team physically.
Sale currently find themselves comfortably in sixth in the table – with seventh-place London Wasps eight points further back.
But Braid is adamant the Sharks won't just be content with a top-half finish as they eye up climbing the ladder before the season is out.
The England cavalry return to the Premiership this weekend and George Robson knows Harlequins' standout quartet will be vital in a tricky run-in.
Mike Brown, Danny Care, Joe Marler and captain Chris Robshaw each shone for Stuart Lancaster's England side over the last two months.
In their absence Quins have not been at their flowing best, losing to Gloucester and edging narrowly past bottom-half opponents London Wasps, Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors.
Worcester were just two points from claiming their first league win of the campaign last time out at The Stoop and Conor O'Shea's side are now four points from the top four.
And lock Robson, who has amassed more than 100 Premiership appearances for Quins, expects England's in-form quartet to hand the squad a timely boost.
"I think there is a lot that they can bring," he said. "You just look at Chris – his leadership is great – and it is great to have Browny back with his happy, smiling face.
"All four of them played really, really well and obviously having them back will be a massive boost on the playing side of things.
"If they are dominating at international level it goes without saying that they are going to give something and give us a boost.
"We have got six games left and it is all about making sure that we are winning as many of those games as possible. If you start looking at trying to keep even with people, you are playing a losing game.
We take a look at all of the matches:
Friday, March 21
Worcester Warriors v London Wasps
(Sixways – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
The last match that Worcester Warriors won in the Premiership was against this weekend’s opponents, London Wasps, at Sixways in this equivalent fixture last season.
The Warriors have lost their last three games at Sixways since beating Oyonnax there in the European Challenge Cup on January 18.
London Wasps have lost their last five matches in all tournaments and have not won away from home in the Premiership since they visited Newcastle on December 27.
Worcester have won just two of their last seven Premiership clashes with the Londoners, but Wasps' only two victories in nine previous visits to Sixways in all tournaments both came in the Premiership in 2010 and 2011.
Worcester Warriors have won just two of their last seven Premiership clashes with the Londoners, but London Wasps only two victories in nine previous visits to Sixways in all tournaments both came in the Premiership in 2010 and 2011.
Andrew Small becomes only the ninth referee to take charge of 100 Premiership matches.
Teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Ravai Fatiaki, 11 David Lemi, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Jonathan Thomas (captain), 7 Sam Betty, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 James Percival, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Ofa Fainga'anuku.
Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Paul Andrew, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Semisi Taulava, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Andy Symons.
London Wasps: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 James Short, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Chris Bell, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Sam Jones, 7 James Haskell, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Ricky Reeves, 18 Simon McIntyre, 19 Tom Palmer, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Charlie Hayter.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Ashley Rowden, Paul Dix
TMO: David Grashoff
Saturday, March 22
Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints
(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Four of the last five matches that Sale Sharks have played in the Premiership have curiously been won by the away side on the day.
The Sharks only loss in their last five matches in the tournament was at home to Saracens in Round 14.
Northampton have won their last 11 Premiership matches since drawing 19-19 at Leicester in October – their best ever winning run in the competition.
The Saints only defeat in the Premiership this season came away at Gloucester in Round Three.
The Sharks have won only one of their last ten encounters with Northampton in all competitions: 29-21 at Edgeley Park in the Premiership in September 2011.
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 James Gaskell 7 David Seymour, 6 Dan Braid, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Aston Croall, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Rob Miller.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 James Wilson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Gareth Denman, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 James Craig, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Will Hooley, 23 George Pisi.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Kelvin Stewart
TMO: Keith Lewis
Gloucester v Newcastle Falcons
(Kingsholm – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)
Gloucester's solo victory in their last five Premiership matches was 25-20 at home to Harlequins in Round 15.
Gloucester have won their last two games at Kingsholm in all tournaments, whilst another victory will give them their best run at the famous venue in 12 months.
Newcastle Falcons have lost their last ten Premiership matches, another defeat would equal their worst ever run in the competition, set in 2011.
The Falcons' two away victories this season were against Sale in Round Two and at Worcester in Round Five.
Gloucester have already beaten Newcastle twice this season, once in the Premiership at Kingston Park and once at Kingsholm in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
The Falcons have won only once at Gloucester since 1998: 29-20 in this equivalent fixture 2011/12 season.
Teams:
Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Mike Tindall (captain), 11 Martyn Thomas, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 James Hudson, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Will James, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jonny May.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Danny Barnes, 11 Zach Kibirige, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Chris York, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Will Welch (captain), 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Scott MacLeod, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Gary Strain, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Sean Tomes, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Lee Smith.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff, Gordon Goodliffe
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Saracens v Harlequins
(Wembley Stadium – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Saracens have won their last three Premiership matches since going down 13-22 at home to London Irish in Round 13.
Saracens are without a win on their last three visits to Wembley Stadium since defeating Ospreys there 31-26 in the European Cup in December 2011.
Harlequins' last seven Premiership matches have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Quins most recent away victory in the tournament was at Newcastle in December.
Harlequins have played twice before at Wembley Stadium, both against Saracens in the Premiership in 2010 and 2012, with each side registering one victory. The 2012 win is Quins only one in their last nine clashes with Saracens.
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 George Kruis, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 James Johnston, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Duncan Taylor.
Harlequins: 15 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Nick Easter (captain), 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Joe Trayfoot, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Sam Smith.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Andrew Pearce
TMO: Sean Davey
London Irish v Bath
(Madejski Stadium – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
London Irish have slipped to successive defeats in the Premiership, at home to Leicester and away at Exeter.
The Exiles' only win in their last five Premiership games at Madejski Stadium was 22-9 against Worcester on January 4.
Bath have lost their last two matches in all tournaments, both at the Rec, to Saracens in the Premiership and Exeter in the Anglo Welsh Cup, but have not lost three successive first team games since April 2012.
Bath are unbeaten in their last four away games in all competitions and have lost only once on the road since early October.
The only London Irish victory in their last eight encounters with Bath since 2009 was 29-22 at Reading in the Premiership in September 2012.
Teams:
London Irish: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Kieran Low, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 David Paice, 1 Matt Parr.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 John Yapp, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Chris Hala'ufia, 21 Andrew Fenby, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Ed Hoadley.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Semesa Rokoduguni, 10 George Ford, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Micky Young, 22 Gavin Henson, 23 Horacio Agulla.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick, Peter Huckle
TMO: David Sainsbury
Sunday, March 23
Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 14.00; 14.00 GMT)
Leicester Tigers have won their last four matches and are unbeaten in their last six Premiership games.
The Tigers only defeat in their last twelve Premiership encounters at Welford Road was 16-23 to Harlequins in November.
Exeter Chiefs are the new Anglo-Welsh Cup holders having beaten Northampton in the final last Sunday.
The Chiefs won their most recent Premiership fixture 18-0 against London Irish to end a five game losing run in the tournament.
Exeter have not won away from home in the Premiership since they visited Sale in November.
The Tigers have won their last three encounters with the Chiefs whilst Exeter's only two victories at Welford Road came against Nottingham in the Championship in November 2009 and against the Tigers themselves in September 2011.
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Ed Slater (captain), 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 David Mele, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Scott Hamilton.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Phil Dollman, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Ben White, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Don Armand, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Matt Jess.
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege, Simon Mcconnell
TMO: Rowan Kitt
