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Preview: Premiership, Round 18

By Online Editors
Thursday 26 Mar 2015
Thomas Waldrom heads back to his old Welford Road stomping ground determined to keep Exeter firmly in the mix at the top end of the Premiership.

 

The 31-year-old spent four successful seasons with Leicester Tigers, amassing over 100 appearances for the East Midlands clubs.

 

Last summer, though, Waldrom opted for a move to the Westcountry and a new start with the Chiefs where he has excelled this season, topping the Premiership try chart with 12 touchdowns already.

 

This Saturday, however, will be the first time Waldrom has returned to the Tigers since his move and the England international admits he has "mixed feelings" ahead of the crunch clash.

 

"It's a game I am looking forward to, but I'm also a little bit nervous as well," said Waldrom. "I knew the time was going to come when I'd have to go back there, but it's here now and I know how important a game it is in the context of the season and where we want to go.

 

"We know what we have to do between now and the end of the season – and the first of those tests starts this weekend at Welford Road.

 

"You have to go to Leicester and play, you can't be afraid of all the history. For them it's great to have that history and I was very fortunate to be a part of that during my time at the club, but we have to go there and play our style and attack them as best we can."

 

Whilst a number of his Exeter team-mates have been battling hard over the past fortnight in their attempts to reclaim the Anglo-Welsh Cup, Waldrom has been recharging his batteries for what is a crucial final run-in for the Chiefs, both in the Premiership and Europe.

 

And the Devon club will be looking to match the form of their last Premiership block – when they won four from four – over the coming weeks.

 

"The last block of Premiership games was huge for us – we set goals internally and when we don't achieve them we're disappointed," continued Waldrom.

 

"We were really happy with that last period and we played some outstanding rugby during that time, but now it's about pushing on and taking all the positives from those games into this next block."

 

All of the weekend's match details:

 

Friday, March 27

 

Northampton Saints v Wasps

(Franklin's Gardens, Kick-off: 21.45; 21.45 GMT)

 

Teams:

 

Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Corbisiero.

Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Dom Waldouck, 23 Ah See Tuala.

 

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 James Downey, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Cannon, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan (captain).

Replacements: 16 Simon McIntyre, 17 Phil Swainston, 18 James Gaskell, 19 Ed Jackson, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Glyn Hughes, 23 Will Helu.

 

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Assistant referees: Simon McConnell and Nigel Carrick

TMO: Keith Lewis

 

Saturday, March 28

 

Sale Sharks v Gloucester

(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 16.00; 16.00 GMT)

 

Teams:

 

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Dave Seymour, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 Magnus Lund, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Tom Brady.

Gloucester: 15 Billy Burns, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 James Hook, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Tom Savage, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Nick Wood .

Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 James Hudson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Bill Meakes, 23 Ross Moriarty.

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant referees: Robin Goodliffe, Ashley Rowden

TMO: David Grashoff

 

Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs

(Welford Road – Kick-off: 17.00; 17.00 GMT)

 

Teams:

 

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Logovi'i Mulipola, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Jack Whetton, 20 Laurence Pearce, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Vereniki Goneva.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Jack Nowell, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Dean Mumm (captain), 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Carl Rimmer.

Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Ben White, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom James.

Referee: JP Doyle

Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey, Andy Watson

TMO: Rowan Kitt

 

London Irish v Newcastle Falcons

(Madejski Stadium – Kick-off: 17.00; 17.00 GMT)

 

Teams:

 

London Irish: 15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Tom Fowlie, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Conor Gilsenan, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 Matt Parr, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Luke Narraway, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Chris Noakes, 23 Topsy Ojo.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Ruki Tipuna, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Kane Thompson, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Juan Orlandi, 19 Josh Furno, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Andy Davies, 22 Juan Socino, 23 Chris Harris.

Referee: Gregory Garner

Assistant referees: Kelvin Stewart, Andrew Pearce

TMO: Stuart Terheege

 

Saracens v Harlequins

(Wembley Stadium – Kickoff: 17.15; 17.15 GMT)

 

Teams:

 

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Chris Wyles, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 George Kruis, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Catalin Fercu.

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler (captain).

Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Matt Shields, 19 Netani Talei, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Charlie Walker.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Roger Baileff

TMO: Geoffrey Warren

 

Sunday, March 29

 

London Welsh v Bath

(Kassam Stadium – Kick-off: 16.30; 16.30 GMT)

 

Teams: 

 

London Welsh: 15 Seb Jewell, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Nic Reynolds, 12 Tom May (captain), 11 Alan Awcock, 10 Tristan Roberts, 9 Rob Lewis, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Lachlan McCaffrey, 5 James Down, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Ben Cooper, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Nathan Trevett.

Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Eddie Aholelei, 18. Jack Gilding, 19 Ben West, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21. Paul Rowley, 22 Will Robinson, 23. James Lewis.

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Sam Burgess, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Ollie Devoto, 9 Micky Young, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Kane Palma-Newport, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nick Auterac.

Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 David Sisi, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Matt Banahan, 23 Horacio Agulla.

 

Referee: Thomas Foley

Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Paul Burton

TMO: David Sainsbury

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