Preview: Premiership, Round One
Flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth says he can't wait to get the season underway.
Having snuck into the European Champions Cup two seasons ago after finishing in seventh place domestically, Wasps qualified outright last season in sixth-place and Dai Young's men now have continued improvement firmly in their sights.
Young has added a number of players with the talent and experience that could help his squad achieve their goal, with Gopperth among the list of new recruits. Gopperth said the squad are desperate to get out there and make what they've been working so hard on during pre-season a reality.
"We've had a very long pre-season, so everyone's mad keen to get it going and get out there in the first competitive game. What a one to have first up – Quins at The Stoop. It's going to be a great game and one we're all looking forward to.
"I've watched a number of the Wasps against Quins games in the last few seasons and there are two teams who like to attack, both going for it. I enjoy playing at The Stoop and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to play there for Wasps and the first game should be a great occasion. We're all pumped to get out there and play.
We have a look at all the Round One matches!
Friday, October 16
Harlequins v Wasps
(Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 19.45, 18.45 GMT)
Harlequins' only defeat on the opening weekend of a Premiership season since 2006 was to Wasps in the London double header in 2009. Quins finished off the 2014/15 campaign with a pair of defeats, at home to Bath and away at Newcastle Falcons.
Wasps have not been victorious in Round One since beating Saracens 20-15 at Twickenham in 2011. Wasps were winless in their final two encounters last season, going down 21-26 to Leicester in Coventry and drawing 40-all with London Irish at Reading.
The two clubs clashed four times last season, with each side winning its respective home game, but the away side triumphant in the two European Champions Cup encounters. Wasps have won just once at the Twickenham Stoop in the Premiership since March 2007.
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 George Lowe, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Nick Evans (captain), 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 Sam Twomey, 4 James Horwill, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Mike Brown.
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Brendan Macken, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 George Smith, 6 Sam Jones, 5 James Gaskell, 4 James Cannon, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan (captain).
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Simon McConnell
TMO: Sean Davey
Worcester Warriors v Northampton Saints
(Sixways – Kick-off: 19.44, 18.45 GMT)
Worcester Warriors return to the Premiership following a one year absence and have only been victorious in their opening fixture of a new season once before – in 2011 when they beat Sale at Sixways.
Northampton Saints are formidable in Round One, having won their first fixture for the past nine seasons, since they tripped up 0-32 at Leicester in September 2005. The Saints concluded the last Premiership campaign with back-to-back defeats, at Leicester in Round 22 and at home to champions Saracens in the semi-final.
The Warriors solitary victory over The Saints in their last 10 fixtures was 12-3 at Sixways in Round Five of the 2011/12 season.
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Gerrit-Janse van Velze (captain), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin.
Replacements: 16 Dan George, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Darren O'Shea, 20 Marco Mama, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Alex Grove, 23 Perry Humphreys.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Jon Fisher, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Teimana Harrison, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 George Pisi.
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant referees: Andrew Pearce, Paul Dix
TMO: Geoff Warren
Newcastle Falcons v Gloucester
(Kingston Park – Kick-off: 20.00, 19.00 GMT)
You have to go back to September 2007 to discover the last time that Newcastle Falcons won their opening fixture of a new season, beating Sale Sharks 33-12 at Kingston Park. The Falcons beat Harlequins 37-21 in Round 22 last season and have not won successive Premiership encounters for exactly 12 months.
Gloucester's most recent triumph in a Premiership Round One fixture was 24-5 at home to Bath in 2009, whilst their concluding game in the tournament last season saw them go down 30-50 at Bath in Round 22. Gloucester have not won on the road since beating Brive in the European Challenge Cup on January 22.
Newcastle's only victory over Gloucester in their last five meetings, in all tournaments, was 20-10 at Kingston Park in the Premiership in Round Eight last season, whilst Gloucester's only win on Falcons soil, since 2008, came in September 2013.
Teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Tom Catterick, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Ruki Tipuna, 8 Todd Clever, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Calum Green, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Josh Furno, 20 Ally Hogg, 21 Micky Young, 22 Craig Willis, 23 Tom Penny.
Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Bill Meakes, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Lewis Ludlow, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Jacob Rowan, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paddy McAlister.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Sione Kalamafoni, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Jonny May, 23 Steve McColl.
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Andrew Small, Wayne Falla
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Saturday, October 17
Bath v Exeter Chiefs
(Recreation Ground – Kick-off: 14.00, 13.00 GMT)
Bath's single opening weekend loss in the Premiership since 2006 came when they were defeated 5-24 at Gloucester in 2009. Last season's losing finalists ended their regular season campaign with six straight victories. Bath have lost only once at the Recreation Ground in the tournament since March 2014.
Exeter Chiefs have been defeated just once in Round One since being promoted into the Premiership for the first time in 2010. The Chiefs finished off last season with a pair of victories, at Saracens and at home to Sale Sharks.
Exeter beat Bath for the first time on their 10th Premiership meeting at Sandy Park in February, whilst their only competitive victory at the Recreation Ground in any tournament was 22-19 in the semi-final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in March 2014.
Teams:
Bath: TBC
Exeter Chiefs: TBC
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Ross Campbell, Gareth Copsey
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Saracens v Sale Sharks
(Allianz Park – Kick-off: 14.00, 13.00 GMT)
Champions Saracens have been victorious in Round One of the Premiership for the past three seasons and have also won their last three Premiership matches – although none of these were played at Allianz Park. Saracens were defeated 20-24 by Exeter in their most recent match at the venue and have never lost successive games at Allianz Park.
Sale Sharks have won just once on the opening weekend since 2010. The Sharks' only victory in their last four Premiership matches was a 34-28 win over Newcastle at AJ Bell Stadium in Round 21, while their only win on the road in the tournament so far came at relegated London Welsh in February 2015.
The two clubs met on four occasions last season with Sale's only triumph being 14-10 in Salford in the Premiership on February 21. The Sharks have won just once on Saracens soil in the history of the Premiership.
Teams:
Saracens: TBC
Sale Sharks: TBC
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Andy Watson, Nigel Carrick
TMO: David Sainsbury
Sunday, October 18
London Irish v Leicester Tigers
(Madejski Stadium – Kick-off: 15.15, 14.15 GMT)
London Irish have slipped up in Round One for the past four seasons. The Exiles were winless in their last three Premiership matches, losing at Bath and Gloucester but drawing 40-all at home to Wasps in Round 22. London Irish's only defeat at Madejski Stadium, since November 2014, came at the hands of Leicester Tigers, 6-12 in a try-less encounter in February.
Leicester Tigers have been victorious on the opening weekend for the past three seasons, beating London Welsh, Worcester and Newcastle respectively. The Tigers won their last three regular season
fixtures, before going out of the competition at the semi-final stage at Bath.
London Irish have beaten Leicester just once in any tournament since October 2009, 22-19 at Welford Road in Round Four last season, whilst the Tigers have won on their last six visits to Reading.
Teams:
London Irish: TBC
Leicester Tigers: TBC
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Ashley Rowden, Robin Goodliffe
TMO: Stuart Terheege
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