Preview: Premiership, Round 20
Comments
0
If the attacking talents of George Ford and Jonathan Joseph were not enough to worry about, London Irish loose forward Tom Guest admits his side will be just as wary of Bath's pack on Friday.
The Exiles have been in sterling form in recent weeks, losing just one of their last four Premiership encounters and downing Sale Sharks in a 25-23 thriller last time out.
Yet Guest admits his side face an altogether tougher proposition in high-flying Bath at the Rec, with the West Country outfit only having lost once at home this season in Premiership, against Northampton Saints in February.
Recent history is also not on the visitors' side, with Irish having not won at the Rec since November 2009 and only recording one victory in the last ten encounters between the sides.
But with the Exiles looking to finish a mixed campaign in style, Guest is confident his side will not be afraid to take on Bath on all fronts.
"Bath have got a big powerful pack, although they have big guys around the whole team too so it will be a tough game for us," he said
"We've performed very well recently so hopefully we can keep that up and pick up a win.
"They've got a lot of good players and a lot of threats – George Ford has skilful hands and the speed of Jonathan Joseph and out wide.
"So they've got plenty of different aspects to their game and can beat you in a few ways.
"But when we're on the ball we can't be afraid to use it and try to put them under pressure by putting together 80 minutes of good rugby."
For the hosts, they will be looking to extend their winning streak against Irish to five games while keeping up the pressure on Saracens for a home semifinal.
And while Leroy Houston admits his side relish being able to beat teams with different approaches, the No.8 is guarded against an Exiles side with ability to spring a surprise.
"Of course it won't be easy as London Irish are one of those teams that can come up out of nowhere and dominate a game," he said.
"They can kind of have a hot or cold game but they are in form and no doubt we are wary of what they are able to bring.
"Being able to beat teams in various ways it what makes us a good side as we can draw from the forwards and the backs.
"It also depends on the weather so if it rains we look to the pack to drive things or if it's dry then the backs can express themselves."
All of the weekend's match details:
Friday, April 24
Bath v London Irish
(Recreation ground, Bath – Kick-off: 19.45; 18.45 GMT)
Teams:
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Sam Burgess, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Kane Palma-Newport, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Matt Garvey, 21 Carl Fearns, 22 Chris Cook, 23 Ollie Devoto.
Irish: 15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Fergus Mulchrone, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Luke Narraway, 5 Jebb Sinclair, 4 George Skivington (captain), 3 Richard Palframan, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Sean Cox, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Eamonn Sheridan.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Ashley Rowden, Kelvin Stewart
TMO: Graham Hughes
Saturday, April 25
Sale Sharks v Harlequins
(AJ Bell Stadium, Manchester – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 TJ Ioane 7 Magnus Lund, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 David Seymour, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Tom Arscott.
Harlequins: 15 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 George Lowe, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Luke Wallace, 5 George Robson, 4 Nick Easter, 3 Matt Shields, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler (captain).
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Darryl Marfo, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Netani Talei, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ugo Monye.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Robin Goodliffe, Roger Baileff
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Gloucester v Newcastle Falcons
(Kingsholm, Gloucester – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Teams:
Gloucester: 15 Charlie Sharples, 14 Jonny May, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 John Afoa, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 James Hook, 23 Bill Meakes.
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Ruki Tipuna, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Josh Furno, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Will Witty, 20 Sean Robinson, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Andy Tuilagi, 23 Adam Powell.
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Andy Watson, Wayne Falla
TMO: Keith Lewis
Leicester Tigers v London Welsh
(Welford Road, Leicester – Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 George Catchpole, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Laurence Pearce, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Riccardo Brugnara, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Seremaia Bai.
London Welsh: 15 Alan Awcock, 14 Rhys Crane, 13 Nic Reynolds, 12 James Lewis, 11 Chris Elder, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Rob Lewis, 8 Chris Hala’ufia 7 Darren Waters, 6 Ben Pienaar, 5 Matt Corker (captain), 4 Ben West, 3 Ben Cooper, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Nathan Trevett.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Morris, 17 Eddie Aholelei, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Opeti Fonua , 21 Richard Thorpe, 22 Paul Rowley, 23 Will Robinson.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Simon McConnell, Nigel Carrick
TMO: David Grashoff
Northampton Saints v Saracens
(Stadiummk, Northampton – Kick-off: 15.15; 14.15)
Teams:
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 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 Lee Dickson, 22 Tom Stephenson, 23 James Wilson.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Ernst Joubert, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 George Kruis, 3 James Johnston, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Kieran Longbottom, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Chris Ashton.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: JP Doyle, Ashley Rowden
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Sunday, April 26
Wasps v Exeter Chiefs
(Ricoh Arena, Coventry – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Cannon, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Rob Miller.
Exeter: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Jack Nowell, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Kai Horstmann, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Mitch Lees, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom James.
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Gareth Copsey
TMO: Sean Davey
ADVERTISEMENT
