Preview: Premiership, Round six
RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON: This weekend the Premiership Player of the month for September Danny Cipriani will head to his old stomping ground when Gloucester travel to Wasps on Saturday, October 6.
Flyhalf Cipriani, who joined Gloucester from Wasps at the start of the season, has been in stellar form for Gloucester as they picked up two wins in their first four matches to establish themselves in the Premiership Rugby top six.
Wasps newbie Lima Sopoaga has also been in stellar form and has truly filled the void left by Cipriani.
Last weekend the All Black pivot’s long-range late penalty helped Wasps to a 23-22 won over Newcastle Falcons.
However, the All Black flyhalf misses out with a neck injury, meaning Billy Searle deputises at flyhalf.
Wasps boss Dai Young said: “Gloucester are difficult to break down so it’s going to be a tough game and we know we will have to be at our best to win.
“It’s also an important game for us to try and finish off this block of Premiership fixtures with a win at home. If we won, I’d be totally satisfied with our points haul in the Premiership before we enter into Europe.”
Gloucester head Coach Johan Ackermann acknowledged Wasps’ quality.
“They’re one of the top teams in the competition and have been for numerous seasons now. They’ve been in finals and are already in third place in the table.
“Our whole game must be better than it has been in the last two weeks. We can’t give away ball like we have done as they have X factor throughout the team, and defensively we have to be very strong as they’ve got players who can break you.”
And pressed on whether former Wasps player, Danny Cipriani had offered any particular insights?
“Danny has focused on his own job here, and we’ve focused on the way that we want to play. We’re not there yet, we’re making errors and lose a bit of composure in certain areas of the field.
“I’m not a big believer in getting too involved in other teams, you have to do your own stuff well.”
The other intriguing fixtures see a Harlequins host the defending champions Saracens.
The Harlequins match is part of a compelling ‘Twickenham’ doubleheader with the East Midlands derby between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers being played at Twickenham Stadium before we move ‘over the road’ for the London derby.
All the attention isn’t on Twickenham weekend though as a fascinating Round six kicks off in the west country with another derby day cracker as Exeter Chiefs take their 100% record to the Recreation Ground to take on Bath Rugby, and ends at Sixways where newly-promoted Bristol Bears are the visitors.
All the action of Round six!
Friday, October 5
Bath Rugby v Exeter Chiefs
(Recreation Ground, 19.45)
Bath Rugby’s three-match unbeaten run in Premiership Rugby ended at Saracens on Saturday. Bath have not been beaten at the Recreation Ground since Exeter last visited in March.
Exeter Chiefs have dropped only one possible league point this season, in scoring only three tries when defeating Newcastle at Kingston Park in round 4. The Chiefs have not lost away from home in Premiership Rugby since they visited Wasps on 18 February.
Exeter have won their last three matches against Bath in Premiership Rugby since Bath were victorious 13-10 at Sandy Park in October 2016.
Teams:
Bath: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Cooper Vuna, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Rhys Priestland (captain), 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Charlie Ewels, 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 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Max Wright, 23 Darren Atkins
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Gareth Steenson (captain), 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ian Whitten
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Simon Harding & Jonathan Healy.
TMO: Geoff Warren.
Saturday, October 6
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
(Twickenham Stadium, Kick-off: 15.00)
Northampton Saints two victories this season were at home to Harlequins in round 2 and away at Bristol in round 5 of Premiership Rugby. Saints have been defeated on their two most recent visits to Twickenham Stadium, both last season, in the London doubleheader against Saracens and in the ‘Big Game’ against Harlequins on 30 December.
Leicester Tigers two victories this season have both been at home, against Newcastle in round 2 and Sale in round 5. Leicester have won on two of their last three visits to Twickenham Stadium, once on their only previous match against Northampton there in the 2013 Premiership Final.
The Saints won both encounters against Tigers last season and have only once before achieved three victories in a row against their East Midlands rivals in Premiership Rugby, in 2002-2003
Teams:
Northampton: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Andrew Kellaway, 12 Luther Burrell, 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 Ehren Painter, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Fraser Dingwall, 23 Tom Collins
Leicester: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Harry Wells, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 David Feao, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Sam Lewis, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Jordan Olowofela
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal & Roy Maybank.
TMO: Sean Davey.
Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons
(AJ Bell Stadium, Kick-off: 15.00)
Before this season the last time that Sale Sharks propped up the Premiership Rugby league table after round 1 was in season 2012/13. Sale’s only victory in their last eight Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches was 21-15 at home to Worcester in round 2.
Newcastle Falcons have won just one of their last seven Premiership Rugby encounters 23-20 at Worcester in round 3. Newcastle won both of their fixtures with Sale last season although the Sharks did obtain a losing bonus point in both.
The last eleven clashes between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have been evenly split with five wins apiece plus a draw and in all bar one instance (where the margin was 8 points) the defeated side has obtained a losing bonus point. The Falcons have won twice before at AJ Bell Stadium, on their first visit in September 2013 and their most recent visit in September 2017.
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Sam James, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Luke James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Mark Jennings, 23 James O’Connor
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Michael Young, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Gary Graham, 5 Tevita Cavubati, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 David Wilson, 19 Will Witty, 20 Ryan Burrows, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Tom Penny
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Tim Wigglesworth.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.
Wasps v Gloucester Rugby
(Ricoh Arena, Kick-off: 15.00)
Wasps solitary defeat so far this season was at home to Exeter in round 2 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, their only defeat at the Ricoh Arena since January.
Gloucester Rugby have slipped to back-to-back defeats at Saracens and at home to Harlequins to end their unbeaten start to the campaign. Gloucester have won only once on the road in Premiership Rugby since last November: 33-29 at London Irish in March.
Wasps are unbeaten in their last three fixtures against Gloucester whilst Gloucester’s most recent victory on Wasps soil was at Adams Park in February 2011.
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly (captain), 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Michael Le Bourgeois, 23 Gaby Lovobalavu
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (captain), 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Jason Woodward
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson & Wayne Falla.
TMO: Claire Hodnett.
Harlequins v Saracens
(Twickenham Stoop, Kick-off: 19.30)
Harlequins 27-25 victory at Gloucester on Saturday ended a three-game losing run. Harlequins have won just twice at The Stoop in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since December, against Bath in March and Sale in September.
Saracens have now won twelve successive Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches, the last eleven (including last season’s play-offs) scoring four or more tries in each. Sarries have not been defeated since Leinster knocked them out of the European Champions Cup at the quarter-final stage in Dublin in April.
The last seven meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the ‘home’ side on the day, those games being played at Wembley Stadium, The Stoop and the London (Olympic) Stadium. Saracens have not been victorious at The Stoop since a 39-0 win there in September 2014.
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Paul Lasike, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Renaldo Bothma, 5 James Horwill, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 James Lang, 23 Alofa Alofa
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 George Kruis, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Sean Maitland
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales & Robert Warburton.
TMO: David Rose.
Sunday, October 7
Worcester Warriors v Bristol Bears
(Sandy Park, Kick-off: 15.00)
Worcester Warriors have won just one of their last six Gallagher Rugby Premiership matches: 44-37 at Leicester in round 4. The Warriors most recent victory at Sixways in the tournament was against Harlequins in round 21 last season.
Bristol Bears only victory in their last four Premiership Rugby fixtures was 20-13 at home to Harlequins in round 4. Bristol’s most recent away victory came at Hartpury in round 22 of last year’s RFU Championship.
The last seven meetings between the two clubs in all competitions have been evenly split with three wins apiece plus a draw. Bristol have only ever won twice at Sixways, in Premiership Rugby in September 2006 and in the Championship in April 2015.
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 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 (captain), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Perry Humphreys
Bristol: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jack Lam, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Nick Fenton-Wells, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ryan Edwards
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Matthew O’Grady & Paul Dix.
TMO: Rowan Kitt.
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