Preview: Premiership, Round 19
The top two sides in the Premiership will go head to head this weekend when log-leaders Saracens host Northampton Saints at Allianz Park.
Last Thursday's Challenge Cup quarterfinal victory at Sale Sharks saw the Saints run in four tries in 20 first-half minutes, blowing the hosts away.
The result set up a semifinal clash with Harlequins but attention first turns back to domestic pursuits, as Northampton visit league leaders Saracens on Sunday.
The gap back to Leicester Tigers – looking to pinch a home semifinal – in third is down to seven points but Australian prop Salesi Ma'afu believes there is plenty left in the tank with four rounds to go.
"We are a team that is always capable of doing it," he said.
"What we did well last week was keep possession for long periods of time. The game management was run very well by young lads and it was a real good job.
"We were really happy with the guys' performance that they put in and it showed the depth that we have in our squad. Everyone is putting up their hands for selection."
Beating reigning Premiership champions Leicester to that second spot is still an important goal for Northampton, according to Ma'afu.
And despite a 22-16 defeat at home to the Tigers last time out in the Premiership, he expects Northampton's squad depth to prevail in England and Europe.
"It was disappointing in the Leicester game but we move on from that," he added. "We can look back and learn the lessons.
"For us it is still very important. We have got a lot of opportunities for everyone in the squad to get some game time.
"It (Challenge Cup) is a priority for us but we can't look too far ahead of what we have got this weekend. When it comes around the boys will definitely be up for it."
But before the Saracens clash, Jim Mallinder's side are in Lanzarote for some warm weather training – and an opportunity to bond ahead of a huge run-in.
"It is a chance to get together with the guys," said Ma'afu. "A large chunk of the squad has been away with international duties and guys have been stepping in.
"It is a chance to mix around off the field and get a little bit of the social side going. But the focus is going to be rugby all the time – it's no holiday."
We take a look at all of the weekend's matches:
Friday, April 11
Sale Sharks v Harlequins
(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45 GMT)
Sale Sharks only defeat in their last seven Premiership matches came at home to Saracens in Round 14. The Sharks have scored at least one try in all 20 Premiership matches they have played at AJ Bell Stadium.
Harlequins last nine Premiership matches have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Londoners have not won on the road in the tournament since they visited Newcastle in December.
Harlequins have won their last six Premiership encounters with the Sharks since Sale were victorious 21-17 at Edgeley Park in September 2010.
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 (captain), 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Rob Miller.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 13 Tim Molenaar, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 George Robson, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Tom Guest, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ross Chisholm.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Robin Goodliffe
TMO: Geoffrey Warren
Saturday, April 12
Leicester Tigers v London Wasps
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Leicester Tigers are unbeaten in their last eight Premiership fixtures, including six successive victories. The Tigers have lost only once at Welford Road in the Premiership since February last year: 16-23 to Harlequins in Round Seven.
London Wasps' only victory in their last six Premiership encounters was 13-11 at Worcester in Round 17. The Londoners have failed to score a try in a Premiership match only once since September 2012, that was at home to Northampton in December 2013.
The last ten Premiership contests between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day since the Wasps most recent victory at Welford Road in September 2008.
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Ed Slater (captain), 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Logovi'i Mulipola, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 David Mele, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Niall Morris.
London Wasps: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 James Short, 13 Chris Bell (captain), 12 Charlie Hayter, 11 Will Helu, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Ed Jackson, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 James Cannon, 3 Phil Swainston, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Ricky Reeves, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Elliot Daly.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Ross Campbell, Kelvin Stewart
TMO: David Grashoff
Worcester Warriors v Exeter Chiefs
(Sixways – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Worcester Warriors' 22 game losing run in the Premiership ended at Newcastle in Round 18. The Warriors are now attempting back to back wins in the tournament for the first time since January 2012.
Exeter Chiefs only victory in their last eight Premiership encounters was 18-0 at home to London Irish in Round 16. The Devonians have not won on the road in the tournament since they visited Sale in November.
Exeter have won their last six matches against the Warriors in all tournaments since Worcester beat the Chiefs in National One at the County Ground in March 2004.
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 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 Paul Warwick, 23 Andy Symons.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Dean Mumm, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Don Armand, 3 Alex Brown, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 James Phillips, 20 James Scaysbrook, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Luke Arscott.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff, Ashley Rowden
TMO: Graham Hughes
Gloucester v Bath
(Kingsholm – Kick-off: 15.15; 14.15 GMT)
Gloucester have won three of their last four matches in the Premiership, the loss being 13-29 at Northampton in Round 16. Gloucester's only defeat in their last four Premiership games at Kingsholm was to Saracens in January.
Bath's last three matches in the Premiership have all been won by the away side on the day, whilst Bath’s solo defeat on the road in any tournament since October came at Northampton in the Premiership in December.
Bath have won their last three matches against Gloucester in al tournaments but have not been victorious at Kingsholm in the Premiership since February 2006.
Teams:
Gloucester: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Jonny May, 10 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Gareth Evans 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Will James, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Dan George, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 James Hudson, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Rob Cook.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 George Ford, 9 Micky Young, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Carl Fearns, 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 Anthony Perenise 19 Dominic Day, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Peter Stringer 22 Gavin Henson, 23 Anthony Watson.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Andrew Pearce, Gareth Copsey
TMO: David Sainsbury
Sunday, April 13
Saracens v Northampton Saints
(Allianz Park – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Saracens only loss in their last twelve Premiership matches was 13-22 at home to London Irish in Round 13. Saracen are one of only three sides to have lost just once at home this season, the others are Northampton and Leicester.
Northampton Saints have slipped to successive Premiership defeats but have not lost there in a row in the tournament since November 2012.
Northampton's only loss away from home in any tournament since October came at Sale in the Premiership on March 22. Northampton have won their last four matches against Saracen in all tournaments including a 27-13 victory on their only previous visit to Allianz Park in last season’s Premiership semifinal.
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 James Johnston, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Eoin Sheriff, 20 Jacques Burger, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Tim Streather.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Ross McMillan, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Will Hooley, 23 James Wilson.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Andy Watson
TMO: Rowan Kitt
London Irish v Newcastle Falcons
(Madejski Stadium – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
London Irish have slipped to four straight defeats since beating Wasps at Adams Park in February. The Exiles only win in their last six Premiership matches at Madejski Stadium was 22-9 over Worcester in Round 12.
Newcastle Falcons have lost their last twelve Premiership matches since beating London Irish 13-11 at Kingston Park on 27th October. The Tynesiders have not won away from home in the tournament since a visit to Worcester in Round Five.
Newcastle have won their last three matches against London Irish in all competitions but all games were played at Kingston Park. The Falcons most recent victory in Reading was 15-11 in the Premiership in November 2009.
Teams:
London Irish: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Gerard Ellis, 6 Blair Cowan, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 Mike Mayhew, 1 Matt Parr.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 John Yapp, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Ian Gough, 20 Bryn Evans, 21 Alex Lewington, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Darren Allinson.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Noah Cato, 14 Ryan Shortland, 13 Jamie Helleur, 12 Lee Smith, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Warren Fury, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Will Welch (captain), 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Scott Macleod, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 2 Matt Thompson, 1 Grant Shiells.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Gary Strain, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Richard Mayhew, 21 Mike Blair, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 James Fitzpatrick.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Simon Mcconnell, Paul Burton
TMO: Keith Lewis
