Preview: Premiership Round Eight

Table-topping Saracens will be bolstered by the return of their England internationals for the Premiership clash with Exeter Chiefs.

With the Premiership taking a backseat as the Anglo-Welsh Cup burst into the life, the same could be said for Ben Ransom as he made the most of his first-team opportunities.

With Alex Goode away with England Ransom filled the Sarries No.15 shirt as they recorded successive wins against London Wasps and Scarlets – grabbing a try against the former.

But with England's three games at Twickenham now over and Goode – who came off the bench against Argentina and New Zealand – back in training, Ransom might not be so lucky as Saracens get back to Premiership action with a trip to Exeter.

However Ransom is not about to cry over spilt milk, insisting that the greater good is all that matters to him as Sarries bid to stay on top of the chasing pack.

"We have Exeter on Saturday so all the international boys will be back and it will be good to get them back in the mix and we can push on with the Premiership now," said Ransom.

"There were quite a lot of young boys who played in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and played some really good games against Worcester and Scarlets.

"Plus you had someone like Charlie Hodgson who came back and played really well too so it is going to be tough for the selectors and coaches to see what side they put out.

"But if everyone is playing well then that can only be a good thing for Saracens. You ask any rugby player and they just want to be playing week in week out, but you have just got to look at the bigger picture with rotation and all that.

"We are going to get opportunities when you are rotated in and you have just got to take them.

"Confidence in the camp, especially over the last few weeks with the Anglo-Welsh Cup, is really high. Obviously when guys from the internationals come back it will only strengthen the team so it is a good period for us now."

Ransom was talking from the Movember Barber Shop in Covent Garden as he and team-mate Will Fraser were showing off their facial hair efforts.

All 12 Premiership clubs are battling it out to see who can raise the most, with Saracens having some work to do to catch the leaders 'Front Mo Union' from Northampton Saints – led by England hooker Dylan Hartley.

Ransom added: "Quite a few of the boys at the club have joined our Movember team online.

"Obviously it is for a great charity as well, geared at men obviously but there are lots of women sporting fake moustaches as well and we want to raise as much money as possible for a good cause.

"There are a few at the club that can't really do it, and I am pretty sure that Owen [Farrell] has dyed his, that is the word on the street.

"Plus there are a few who have woeful attempts, like myself, with Will putting my to shame really."

We look at all the Premiership matches:

Friday, November 22

Sale Sharks v Worcester Warriors

(Salford City Stadium – Kick-off: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)

Sale Sharks have slipped to successive Premiership reversals at the hands of Harlequins and Exeter. The Sharks have been defeated in their last two encounters at the AJ Bell Stadium in alltournaments.

Worcester Warriors remain the only side in the Premiership without a victory so far in this campaign, but at least did win their first game since March against Cardiff Blues in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on 8th November.

The Warriors have been victorious only once on the road in the Premiership since April 2009, beating Wasps at Adams Park on 1st January 2012.

The two clubs are scheduled to meet on five separate occasions this season, twice in the Premiership,

twice in Europe and once in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The only encounter already played was in the European Challenge Cup at Sixways last month with Sale winning 29-15. The last six meetings between the two sides in the Premiership have all been won by the home side on the day.

Teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Will Addison, 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 Henry Thomas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.

Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings.

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 James Stephenson, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Ravai Fatiaki, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Sam Betty, 6 Jonathan Thomas (captain), 5 Mike Williams, 4 James Percival, 3 Rob O'Donnell, 2 Chris Brooker, 1 Ofa Fainga'anuku.

Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Jeremy Becasseau, 18 John Andress, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Paul Warwick, 23 Josh Matavesi.

Referee: Andrew Small

Assistant referees: Robin Goodliffe, Stuart Terheege

TMO: David Grashoff

Saturday, November 23

Exeter Chiefs v Saracens

(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Exeter Chief’s only defeat in their last six Premiership matches was 9-21 at home to Leicester in Round Four.

The last opposing team other than the Tigers to have been victorious at Sandy Park in the Premiership was Northampton on 5th January.

Saracens’ only defeat in the Premiership so far this season came in round six at Northampton. The Sarries have not lost successive away games in the tournament since January 2011.

The two clubs each won their respective home game when they played each other in the Premiership last season, whilst Saracens have been victorious twice before at Sandy Park.

Teams:

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Dave Ewers, 7 Ben White, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Brett Sturgess.

Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Don Armand, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Luke Arscott.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Tim Streather, 12 Marcelo Bosch, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.

Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Jared Saunders, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 George Kruis, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Michael Tagicakibau, 23 Ben Ransom.

Referee: tba

Assistant referees: Roger Baileff, Andrew Pearce

TMO: David Sainsbury

Harlequins v Gloucester

(Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Harlequins have won their last two matches in the Premiership, against Sale and Leicester, but have been victorious just once in their last five matches at Twickenham Stoop in all competitions : 24-3 against Sale in the Premiership on 26th October.

Gloucester have slipped to three successive Premiership defeats since their 22-16 victory against Newcastle at Kingston Park on 29th September, this remains their only away victory in any competition since February.

The last 13 clashes between the two clubs in the Premiership since 2006 have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Gloucester have been victorious at the Stoop in the tournament only once since 2003: 31-21 in September 2006.

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Nick Easter (c), 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Harry Allen, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Nic Mayhew, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 George Merrick, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Charlie Walker.

Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Tom Savage (captain), 5 James Hudson, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Nick Wood.

Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Will James, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Martyn Thomas.

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant referees: Andy Watson, Gareth Copsey

TMO: Roy Maybank

Leicester Tigers v London Irish

(Welford Road – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Defending Premiership title holders, Leicester Tigers, are winless in their last three encounters in the competition, and have not been without a win in four successive games in the tournament for a decade.

The Tigers last five Premiership defeats at Welford Road have all been at the hands of London-based clubs.

London Irish have slipped to four straight defeats in all competitions since their 67-6 win in Portugal

against Lusitanos in the European Challenge Cup on 19th October.

The Exiles have won just once on the road in the Premiership since January: 20-18 at Worcester on 14th September.

London Irish have not beaten Leicester since the 24th October 2009 at Madejski Stadium, whilst their only previous victory in any first team match at Welford Road was 20-19 in the Premiership on 3rd May 2003.

Teams:

Leicester: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Toby Flood (captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Boris Stankovich.

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 David Mélé, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Adam Thompstone.

London Irish: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 George Skivington (captain), 4 Ian Gough, 3 Leo Halavatu, 2 David Paice, 1 John Yapp.

Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 Matt Parr, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Nic Rouse, 20 Danny Kenny, 21 Guy Armitage, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Darren Allinson.

Referee: Martin Fox

Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Nigel Carrick

TMO: Trevor Fisher

London Wasps v Bath

(Adams Park – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

London Wasps solo defeat in their last four Premiership matches was 12-19 at Saracens in Round Five. The Londoners have been victorious in both of their home games played at Adams Park in the tournament this campaign.

Bath have won their last six matches in all tournaments since Sale beat them 19-13 in the Premiership at Salford on 4th October. Bath have not won four successive away games in all tournaments since 2006.

The last four encounters between the two clubs have all been won by the home since on the day, whilst

Bath have been victorious at Adams Park just once since 2005: 27-23 in the Premiership on 1 Oct 2008.

Teams:

Wasps: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Chris Bell (captain), 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Jones, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Phil Swainston, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Will Taylor, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 James Haskell, 21 Guy Thompson, 22 Charlie Davies, 23 Joe Carlisle.

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nathan Catt.

Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Mat Gilbert, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Anthony Watson. 

Referee: Luke Pearce

Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Paul Dix

TMO: Sean Davey

Northamptain Saints v Newcastle Falcons

(Franklin's Gardens – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Alex Waller says that the Northampton Saints team will need to keep its focus if the home winning momentum is to be maintained in Saturday's Premiership clash with Newcastle.

After playing for the last four weeks without the club's England contingent, the Saints welcomed the sextet back to Franklin's Gardens this week ahead of the Falcons' trip down from the north east.

And while Waller, who hit his century of first team appearances in the Saints' last home match, a bonus point Anglo-Welsh Cup win over Gloucester, has welcomed the England players back, he says that the players who were left all represented the black, green and gold with aplomb.

"It's always good when the squad gets back together," Waller said. "There are some big characters that have been away and they always bring a certain dimension back to the club. But I think while they've been away we've held the fort well, come away with some good victories and the young boys have definitely stepped up."

Saturday's game marks Newcastle's first visit to the Gardens since their return to the Premiership. The Falcons have had a mixed record in the top flight this term, but Waller insists that despite the Saints' own unbeaten home record there is no complacency in the squad.

"Newcastle have got a decent backline, they've got some previous Saints players like Noah Cato; he's always dangerous," he added. "Their front rowers and the rest of the forwards are big, so obviously we need to be a hundred percent on our game and we can hopefully come away with a victory.

"You've just got to keep going game by game. They might not have had the best run but we can't switch off and slip up because we need to keep this momentum going."

Last Sunday's win at London Irish was the first time Waller has not been involved in a match day squad for over two-and-a-half years, bringing to an end a run of over 80 consecutive first team appearances.

He says that he has benefitted from the mini-break, adding: "I had the week off last week but I came in fresh this week, flying into training and just doing my best at everything.

"There's only so much you can do, you've just got to let the selectors and the coaches choose the team. You put your hand up but that's the only thing you can do and that's what I've done."

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 James Wilson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.

Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 GJ van Velze, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Alex Day, 22 Glenn Dickson, 23 Dom Waldouck.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Danny Barnes, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Ally Hogg (captain), 7 Will Welch, 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Carlo del Fava, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Scott MacLeod, 20 Chris York, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 James Fitzpatrick.

Referee: Dean Richards

Assistant referees: Kevin Stewart, Ashley Rowden

TMO: Rowan Kitt