Preview: Premiership, Round four
THE LEGACY: It has already been a record-breaking Premiership Rugby campaign and that looks set to continue in Round 4 as Richard Wigglesworth eyes up a personal milestone.
The scrumhalf currently sits joint top of the all-time appearance list alongside Steve Borthwick with the pair having played in 265 top-flight games, but he could take sole ownership of the record should he feature for Saracens against Gloucester Rugby in Sunday’s game.
If he does it will continue the record-breaking theme this season as after only three rounds there has been 1001 points and 116 tries scored, beating the previous bests at that stage of 931 points in 1998 and 102 tries tallied last season.
And you wouldn’t bet on the scoreboards ticking over up and down the country, starting with Newcastle Falcons hosting Exeter Chiefs and their perfect record on Friday night in a repeat of last year’s semi-final.
There are three games on Saturday to keep you entertained as new-boys Bristol Bears host Harlequins and Northampton Saints head to Bath Rugby, while Sale Sharks take one Wasps at the AJ Bell Stadium.
And the weekend finishes off with Worcester Warriors taking on Leicester Tigers at Welford Road, while Allianz Park sees two teams yet to lose this term go head-to-head as Saracens host Gloucester Rugby, with Wigglesworth hoping to make history for the defending Champions.
All the action of Round four!
Friday, September 21
Newcastle Falcons v Exeter Chiefs
(Kingston Park, 19.45, 18.45 GMT)
Newcastle Falcons ended a four-game losing run in Premiership Rugby with their 23-10 win at Worcester last weekend. The Falcons have lost their last two home games at Kingston Park in Premiership Rugby but have not lost three in a row at the venue since December 2015.
Exeter Chiefs have maximum points after three rounds whilst their only defeat in the tournament since February was in last season’s final. The Chiefs most recent away loss in Premiership Rugby was to Wasps at the Ricoh Arena in round 15 last season.
Exeter’s only defeat in their last eight matches against Newcastle in Premiership Rugby was 20-28 at Kingston Park in round 13 last year.
Teams:
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Gary Graham, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 Jack Payne, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Tom Penny
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Don Armand (c), 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Sam Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Sam Hill
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales & John Meredith.
TMO: Graham Hughes
Saturday, September 22
Bath Rugby v Northampton Saints
(Recreation Ground, 15.00, 14.00 GMT)
Bath Rugby’s only defeat in their last five Premiership Rugby matches was 10-17 at Bristol Bears on the opening day of the new season. Bath have won only once at home in the tournament since February: 63-19 against London Irish in round 22 last season.
Northampton Saints have lost three of their last five Premiership Rugby encounters, whilst their only win away from home in the tournament since September 2017 was at Leicester in April.
Bath have lost only one of their last four fixtures with the Saints: 6-24 at Franklin’s Gardens in round 3 last year whilst the Saints most recent victory at the Recreation Ground was December 2015.
Teams:
Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Aled Brew, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Luke Charteris (c), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Max Wright
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Andrew Symons, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Andrew Kellaway, 23 Harry Mallinder
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley & Simon McConnell.
TMO: David Grashoff
Bristol Bears v Harlequins
(Ashton Gate, 15.00, 14.00GMT)
Bristol Bears have lost their last two Premiership Rugby matches, but both games were played away from home. The Bears have won their last three matches in all competitions at Ashton Gate since Jersey Reds beat them there in the Championship in March.
Harlequins only victory in their last eight Premiership Rugby encounters was 51-23 at home to Sale on the opening week of the new campaign. The Londoners have not won away from home in any tournament since visiting Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup last November.
Bristol have not beaten Harlequins in Premiership Rugby since a contest at Memorial Stadium in October 2006, however, they did win both encounters in the European Champions Cup in season 2007/08. Harlequins only previous visit to Ashton Gate ended with a 42-8 victory in February 2017.
Teams:
Bristol Bears: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Nick Fenton-Wells, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Jack Lam, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Zane Kirchner
Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Stan South, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Paul Lasike
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal & Jonathan Healy.
TMO: David Rose
Sale Sharks v Wasps
(AJ Bell Stadium, 15.00, 14.00GMT)
Sale Shark’s only victory in the last six rounds of Premiership Rugby was 21-15 at home to Worcester on 9 September. The Sharks have lost just once at AJ Bell Stadium since February: 13-35 to Leicester in round 22 last season.
Wasps’ only regular season defeat since round 19 of Premiership Rugby last season was 31-42 at home to Exeter on 8 September. Wasps record away from home in Premiership Rugby in 2018 is an even won three, drawn one, lost three.
The last eight meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the only time that Wasps have won on Sale’s soil since 2005 was by a single point at Edgeley Park in October 2010.
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Jono Ross (c), 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Cameron Neild, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Luke James, 23 Arron Reed
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Elliot Daly (c), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Rob Miller
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Philip Watters & Steve Lee.
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Sunday, September 23
Leicester Tigers v Worcester Warriors
(Welford Road, 15.00, 14.00 GMT)
All three of Leicester Tigers matches this season have been won by the home side on the day. Tigers have scored a try bonus point in their last two matches and have not achieved that in three successive Premiership Rugby games since April 2012. Worcester were one of five clubs to beat Leicester at Welford Road in Premiership Rugby last season.
Worcester Warriors have lost their last four Premiership Rugby matches since beating Harlequins at Sixways in April, whilst their two away victories in any competition last season were both in Premiership Rugby, at Leicester and at Exeter.
The last three matches between the two clubs have all been won by the away side on the day.
Teams:
Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements:16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 David Feao, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Ben White, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Kyle Eastmond
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements:16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ashley Beck
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Greg Macdonald & Wayne Falla.
TMO: Geoff Warren
Saracens v Gloucester Rugby
(Allianz Park, 15.00, 14.00 GMT)
Saracens have won their last ten Premiership Rugby matches, scoring four or more tries in each of the last nine, since Exeter beat them at Sandy Park in March. Saracens most recent defeat at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby was at home to Leicester Tigers in February.
Gloucester are unbeaten after the first three rounds of Premiership Rugby, their best start to a campaign since 2007/08. Gloucester’s only victory on the road since November in Premiership Rugby was 33-29 at London Irish in March.
The last five encounters between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Gloucester’s most recent victory on Saracens turf was at Vicarage Road in November 2008.
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 David Strettle, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Will Skelton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Nick Isiewke, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alex Goode
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Tom Hudson
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix & Rob Warburton.
TMO: Trevor Fisher
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