Preview: Premiership, Round Seven
THE RACE IS ON: In the final battles of 2019 there is just five points separating the top half of the table, with plenty of twists and turns expected over the festive season.
The action gets underway on Friday, under the bright Ashton Gate lights as Bristol Bears host Wasps.
While Wasps have won just once this campaign the hosts sit third and the Bears look to climb to the summit.
If they do then it could be a short-lived stay, as second-placed Northampton Saints take on Gloucester on Saturday.
Bath entertain Sale Sharks and London Irish travel to Worcester Warriors, before attention turns to the world-famous Twickenham Stadium and Big Game 12.
Leicester Tigers are the opposition for Harlequins this year.
And Round Seven concludes in style with current league-leaders Exeter Chiefs welcoming Saracens to Sandy Park.
We look at all the Round Seven action!
Friday, December 27
Bristol Bears v Wasps
(Ashton Gate – Kick-off: 19.45)
Bristol Bears are one of only two sides who remain unbeaten at home in the Premiership this season – the other being Northampton Saints.
The Bears 13-47 reversal at Saracens last Saturday was only their second defeat in Premiership this campaign, the other being at Harlequins in Round Two.
Wasps’ solitary victory in the first six rounds of Premiership was 30-22 at home to Bath in Round Three.
Wasps most recent away win in Premiership was at Exeter in April.
Wasps are unbeaten in their last nine encounters with Bristol in Premiership whilst The Bears only victory in their last 15 meetings in the tournament was 26-21 at Memorial Stadium in September 2006.
Teams:
Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Toby Fricker, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Steven Luatua (captain), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Sam Bedlow.
Wasps: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ben Harris.
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Jack Owlett, 19 Thibaud Flament, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Juan de Jongh.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace & Rob Warburton.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.
Saturday, December 28
Northampton Saints v Gloucester
(Franklin’s Gardens – Kick-off: 14.00)
Northampton Saints have lost their last three matches in all competitions, but in the Premiership they are the only club remaining with a one hundred percent home winning record this season.
The Saints have won their last four matches at Franklin’s Gardens in Premiership, all with maximum points.
Gloucester’s 36-3 victory over Worcester Warriors last Friday ended a three-game losing run in the Premiership.
The Cherry & Whites only away win in their last 10 trips in all competitions was 18-16 at Sale in Round One of the Premiership.
Gloucester have won three of their last four fixtures against Saints in the Premiership and were the last side to defeat Northampton at home in the tournament on 7 April.
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison (captain), 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Francois van Wyk.
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 David Ribbans, 21 Henry Taylor, 22 Andrew Symons, 23 Ahsee Tuala.
Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Matt Banahan.
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Jonathan Healy & Tim Wigglesworth.
TMO: Sean Davey.
Bath v Sale Sharks
(Recreation Ground – Kick-off: 15.00)
Bath’s five-game losing run in all competitions ended with their 38-10 victory at London Irish last Sunday, their first maximum point victory in Premiership this season.
Bath have lost their last three matches at the Recreation Ground in all competitions, but have not lost four in succession at the venue in the professional era.
Sale Sharks’ three-game losing run in all competitions ended with their 22-10 defeat of the round five table toppers, Northampton Saints.
The Sharks have not won successive matches in Premiership since January and have lost their last four away games in all competitions.
Sale’s only defeat in their last five fixtures against Bath was by a single point in 65 at the Recreation Ground in February 2018.
The Sharks have not won at Bath since March 2014.
Teams:
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Aled Brew.
Sale Sharks: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Will Cliff, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Marland Yarde.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal & Phil Watters.
TMO: Claire Hodnett.
Worcester Warriors v London Irish
(Sixways – Kick-off: 15.00)
Worcester Warriors have lost their last two matches, at Dragons in the European Challenge Cup and at Gloucester in Premiership.
The Warriors have lost just one of their last six home games at Sixways in Premiership: 20-24 to current top of the table Exeter Chiefs in Round Three.
London Irish are without a win in their last four first team games since beating Bayonne in Round Two of the European Challenge Cup.
The Exiles’ record in their last five away games in Premiership is won two, drawn one, lost two.
The last five meetings between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day whilst London Irish’ most recent success at Sixways was 20-18 in September 2013.
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Tom Howe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Matt Moulds (captain), 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Michael Fatialofa, 20 GJ Van Velze, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Jamie Shillcock.
London Irish: 15 Alivereti Veitokani, 14 Belgium Tuatagaloa, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Matt Rogerson, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Franco van der Merwe (captain), 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Allan Dell.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 George Nott, 20 Steve Mafi, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Bryce Campbell, 23 James Stokes.
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Jamie Leahy.
TMO: David Rose.
Harlequins v Leicester Tigers
(Twickenham Stadium – Kick-off: 16.30)
Harlequins have won their last two Premiership matches, their 28-22 success at Wasps on Saturday being their first maximum point win in the competition since March.
This is Harlequins 12th ‘Big Game’ match at Twickenham Stadium where their record is won six, drawn two, lost three.
Leicester Tigers solitary victory in their last nine Premiership matches was 16-13 at home to Gloucester in Round Three.
The Tigers have won on three of their last four visits to Twickenham Stadium, whilst they drew 26-all there against Harlequins in ‘Big Game 1′ in 2008.
Harlequins’ 23-19 victory over Tigers at Twickenham Stoop in May ended a five-game losing run against the East Midlanders.
The last time the two clubs met at Twickenham Stadium resulted in a 30-23 Harlequins victory in the Premiership final in 2012.
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Paul Lasike, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Tom Lawday, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Chisholm, 5 Matt Symons, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Brett Herron, 23 Gabriel Ibitoye.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Jordan Taufua, 6 Sam Lewis, 5 Calum Green, 4 Tomás Lavanini, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Nephi Leatigaga, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Ben White, 22 Noel Reid, 23 George Worth.
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson & Roy Maybank.
TMO: Rowan Kitt.
Sunday, December 29
Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 15.00)
Exeter Chiefs have won their last six first-team matches since their 17-20 reversal at home to Bristol Bears in Round Four of Premiership, the Chiefs only home defeat in any competition since April.
Saracens have won their last five Premiership fixtures since their opening weekend loss at home to Northampton Saints.
Saracens’ only two away defeats in any competition this season were both in the European Champions Cup, at Racing 92 and at Munster.
Exeter’s only victory in their last four encounters with Saracens was at Sandy Park in round 10 last season.
Saracens most recent victory at Sandy Park came in September 2016.
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis (captain), 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Don Armand, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Sam Hill.
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 George Kruis, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Nick Tompkins.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley & Paul Dix.
TMO: Geoff Warren.
Preview by @premrugby
