Preview: Premiership, Round nine

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: After an action packed November Test series and with another break for European action around the corner, Round nine of Premiership Rugby is crucial as clubs look to head into those clashes off the back of a promising result.

And it all starts on Friday at the Twickenham Stoop as Harlequins host an Exeter Chiefs side that have so far won all eight of their League games.

Saracens are the only other side in Premiership Rugby to have won all their games and will look to keep it that way at Allianz Park when they host Wasps.

The action on Saturday starts with Bristol Bears hosting Leicester Tigers, before Gloucester Rugby take on Worcester Warriors at Kingsholm, and Newcastle Falcons travel to Northampton Saints.

But the excitement doesn’t stop there as Round 9 concludes on Sunday with Bath Rugby hosting Sale Sharks.

Friday, November 30

Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs
(Twickenham Stoop, Kick-off: 19.45)

Harlequins have won just twice in Premiership Rugby since Round 1 – at Gloucester in Round 5 and at home to Newcastle in Round 7. The Londoners have won just three of their last nine home games in the competition.

Exeter Chiefs’ only defeat in any competition this season was a 25-29 loss in Castres in Round 2 of the European Champions Cup. The Chiefs have not lost away from home in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since a visit to Wasps on 18 February.

Exeter have won their last eight Premiership Rugby matches against Harlequins since Quins won by a single point in 59 at Sandy Park in May 2014.

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm (captain), 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 George Merrick, 4 Ben Glynn, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Mat Luamanu, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Cadan Murley.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Dave Dennis, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Moray Low.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Ollie Devoto.

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal & Wayne Falla.
TMO: Keith Lewis.

Saturday, December 1

Bristol Bears v Leicester Tigers
(Ashton Gate, Kick-off: 13.00)

Bristol Bears have won only once in  Premiership Rugby since the opening weekend, at home to Harlequins in Round 4. The Bears have lost only twice at Ashton Gate in any competition since March: both in Gallagher Premiership Rugby – 40-45 to Northampton in Round 5 and 29-31 to Exeter in Round 7.

Leicester Tigers have lost their last two Premiership Rugby matches, against Gloucester and Saracens, but have not lost three in a row since the end of 2017. The Tigers’ only ‘away’ win in Gallagher Premiership Rugby this season was against Northampton at Twickenham on 6 October.

The Tigers have won their last seven fixtures against Bristol since the Bears’ 30-13 victory at Ashton Gate in April 2007. Leicester have twice before visited Ashton Gate, losing there in 2007 but gaining a 21-16 victory in November 2016.

Teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau (co-captain), 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Jordan Crane (co-captain), 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua, 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lewis Thiede, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Piers O’Conor.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford (captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Mike Fitzgerald, 21 Ben White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Matt Smith.

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson & Paul Dix.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.

Gloucester v Worcester Warriors
(Kingsholm, Kick-off 15.00)

Gloucester Rugby’s 6-23 reversal to Exeter last weekend ended a two-game winning run in  Premiership Rugby. Gloucester’s only defeat at Kingsholm in any competition this season was 25-27 to Harlequins in Round 5 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby.

Worcester Warriors’ last four fixtures in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. The Warriors only away victory in Premiership Rugby since February was 44-37 at Leicester in Round 4.

Worcester beat Gloucester 25-15 at Sixways in February, the last time they met, but have not achieved successive victories against them since April 2009. The Warriors have won only once before at Kingsholm, 13-6 in Premiership Rugby on 21 April 2009.

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Ed Slater, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Henry Trinder, 23 Tom Hudson.

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 GJ van Velze (captain), 7 Matti Williams, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Wynand Olivier.

Referee: Thomas Foley
Assistant Referees: Tim Wigglesworth & Philip Watters.
TMO: David Rose.

Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons
(Franklin’s Gardens, Kick-off: 15.00)

Northampton Saints have won just twice in the last six rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, at Bristol in Round 5 and at home to Wasps in Round 7. The Saints have been defeated just twice at Franklin’s Gardens in any tournament since April, by Saracens in Round 3 of Premiership Rugby and by Clermont Auvergne in Round 1 of the European Challenge Cup.

Newcastle Falcons have lost only one of their last seven first-team matches: 7-20 at Harlequins in Round 7 of Premiership Rugby. The Falcons only win in their last five Premiership Rugby away games was 23-20 at Worcester on 15 September.

Newcastle have won their last five fixtures against Northampton in Premiership Rugby – their best ever sequence against them – including two successive victories at Franklin’s Gardens.

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dylan Hartley (co-captain), 1 Alex Waller (co-captain).
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois Van Wyk, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Ollie Sleightholme.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood (captain), 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 John Hardie, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 David Wilson, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Sam Lockwood.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Pedro Bettencourt.

Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Robert Warburton.
TMO: David Grashoff.

Saracens v Wasps
(Allianz Park, Kick-off: 15.00)

The only time that Saracens have not won a match in any competition since April was in a 15-all draw at Sale in the Premiership Rugby Cup on 2 November. Saracens have won their last eight home games in Premiership Rugby since Leicester beat them at Allianz Park in Round 16 last season.

Wasps ended a seven-game losing run in all competitions with their 32-28 home win over Bristol last weekend. Wasps’ record away from home in Premiership Rugby this season is won three lost one, with the defeat being at Northampton in Round 7.

Saracens have lost just twice to Wasps in any tournament since 2011, both in Premiership Rugby: 23-64 at Allianz Park in February 2016 and 15-35 at Ricoh Arena in May 2017.

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Mike Rhodes, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Titi Lamositele.
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Ralph Adams-Hale, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Dom Day, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Nick Tompkins.

Wasps: 15 Wille le Roux, 14 Ross Neal, 13 Elliot Daly (captain), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Michele Campagnaro, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Craig Hampson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Antonio Harris, 1 Ben Harris.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Mike Daniels, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Will Porter, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Juan de Jongh.

Referee: JP Doyle

Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales & Michael Hudson.
TMO: Stuart Terheege.

Sunday, December 2

Bath Rugby v Sale Sharks
(Recreation Ground, Kick-off: 15.00)

Bath Rugby’s only victory in the last four rounds of Premiership Rugby was 28-13 at home to Worcester on 17 November. Bath have now won successive home games in the tournament since February.

Sale Sharks had been victorious just once in the opening five rounds of Premiership Rugby but have now won two of their last three encounters. The Sharks have lost their last six away games in Premiership Rugby since beating Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens in March.

The last seven meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Sharks have not been successful at the Recreation Ground since a 12-11 victory in March 2014.

Teams:

Bath: 15 Ruaridh McConnochie, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Max Wright, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Charlie Ewels (captain), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Will Chudley, 22 James Wilson, 23 Cooper Vuna.

Sale Sharks: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 James O’Connor, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 James Phillips, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 James Jones, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Bryn Evans, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Josh Strauss.

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley & Jonathan Healy.
TMO: Geoff Warren.

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