Four games take place in the Premiership on Saturday, with Leicester Tigers and Sale closing out the weekend’s action on Sunday at Welford Road.
Saturday
Bristol v Northampton Saints
Bristol head coach Pat Lam has made two enforced changes from the side that beat Harlequins last weekend for this enocunter with Saints.
Jack Lam replaces Jordan Crane (hamstring) in the back-row, while Joe Latta recovers from a shoulder injury to come in for Chris Vui (groin).
On the replacements bench Nic Stirzaker comes into the 23-man squad in place of Harry Randall (knee), while Nick Haining is also included.
Meanwhile, Northampton’s director of rugby Chris Boyd makes two changes to his starting XV after the narrowest of defeats in Bath last weekend.
Boyd brings centre Luther Burrell back into the midfield to join Piers Francis while tighthead prop Ehren Painter comes into the front-row alongside co-captains Alex Waller and Dylan Hartley.
Northampton’s back three of Tom Collins, Taqele Naiyaravoro, and Ahsee Tuala continue together, while Cobus Reinach and Dan Biggar make their fifth straight starts in the half-back positions.
Saints’ engine room will not be short of height with towering locks David Ribbans and Courtney Lawes continuing, while Teimana Harrison keeps hold of the number eight jersey with Jamie Gibson and Lewis Ludlam either side of him after both flankers impressed in torrential conditions at Bath.
Amongst the replacements, Andrew Kellaway is named again after making his Saints debut last weekend, with the likes of Harry Mallinder, Mitch Eadie, Alex Mitchell and Api Ratuniyarawa all also looking to make an impact off the bench.
Form: Bristol Bears’ four games in Premiership Rugby this season have all been won by the home side on the day. The Bears have not lost at Ashton Gate since Jersey were the visitors in the Championship last March. Northampton Saints’ solitary victory in the first four rounds was 25-18 at home to Harlequins on 7 September. The Saints most recent away win in Premiership Rugby was 27-21 at Leicester on 14 April. Northampton have won their last five matches against Bristol in all tournaments since the Bears 14-13 victory at Memorial Stadium in the Premiership in November 2008
The teams:
Bristol: 15 Piers O’Conor, 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 (c), 5 Joe Latta, 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 Nick Haining, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Zane Kirchner
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Luther Burrell, 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 Ehren Painter, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Francois Van Wyk, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Andrew Kellaway 23 Harry Mallinder
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Dean Richards Jonathan Healy
Television match official: Trevor Fisher
Exeter Chiefs v Worcester Warriors
As has been the case in every game this season, the Chiefs have again utilised their squad to the full ahead of kick-off against the Warriors at Sandy Park.
With options aplenty at the disposal of the Exeter coaching staff right now, changes have again been made to their winning formula, including the decision to give England trio Luke Cowan-Dickie, Don Armand and Henry Slade a well-earned week off.
In the pack, a new-look front-row sees Alec Hepburn, Jack Yeandle and Tomas Francis all start Saturday’s fixture, as do powerhouse forwards Dave Dennis and Dave Ewers.
Behind the scrum, Gareth Steenson returns at fly-half for Joe Simmonds, Ollie Devoto is recalled in the centre, while on the wing Jack Nowell is also back in action, meaning a shift for Santiago Cordero to full-back.
Meanwhile, Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons has made six changes to his side for this encounter.
Perry Humphreys, Ashley Beck, Jono Lance, Gareth Milasinovich, Darren Barry and Ted Hill are all handed starts as Warriors look to replicate last season’s epic result where they picked up a remarkable 6-5 win at Sandy Park.
Humphreys returned from injury to score in Monday’s Worcester Cavaliers win against Sale Jets and replaces Bryce Heem on the wing, while Wales international Beck gets his first Warriors start in place of Francois Venter.
Lance is handed his first start of the season in place of Duncan Weir while Milasinovich deputises for the injured Nick Schonert (dead leg).
Barry comes in for Pierce Phillips (dislocated thumb) and 19-year-old Ted Hill is handed his first Premiership Rugby start after his two tries off the bench helped defeat Leicester Tigers last weekend. Sam Lewis misses out with a hip injury.
Form: Exeter Chiefs have not lost a regular season Premiership Rugby match since Round 15 last year on a visit to Wasps. The Chiefs have won their last eight home games at Sandy Park in all tournaments since Worcester beat them there 6-5 on 10 February. Worcester Warriors ended a four-game losing streak in Premiership Rugby with their second successive victory at Leicester’s Welford Road ground at the weekend. The Warriors have not won back-to-back away games in the competition since beating Newcastle and Harlequins in March 2016. The Warriors have won their last two matches against the Chiefs, 31-21 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Sixways in January (the only defeat Chiefs suffered last year in that competition) and the Premiership win at Sandy Park two weeks later.
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Sam Hill
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Marco Mama, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Ollie Lawrence
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Matthew O’Grady, Robert Warburton
Television match official: Claire Hodnett
Gloucester v Harlequins
Gloucester make five changes to their starting line-up, three in the backs and two in the forwards, as they name their side for Saturday’s Premiership fixture at home to Harlequins.
In the backline, Tom Hudson, Mark Atkinson and Ben Vellacott will all make their first starts of the season with Jason Woodward, Billy Twelvetrees and Callum Braley named amongst the replacements.
In the pack, James Hanson comes in for Franco Marais at hooker while Ben Morgan is named at number eight with Ruan Ackermann having failed to recover from the knock he picked up at Saracens last Sunday.
For Quins, co-captain James Horwill and Mike Brown are back as they take on Gloucester at Kingsholm.
Second-row Horwill, who shares the captaincy with Chris Robshaw, makes his first start for the team since April while Brown, who played on the wing in the first match of the season, is at full-back having recovered from a wrist injury.
Elsewhere, Tim Visser makes his first start of the season on the left wing and Renaldo Bothma starts at flanker.
Form: Gloucester suffered a first reversal of the new Premiership campaign on Sunday at Saracens. Gloucester’s only defeat in their last five matches at Kingsholm in all tournaments was to Bath in round 21 of Premiership Rugby last season. Harlequins have won just once in Premiership Rugby since Round 17 last season, 51-23 at home to Sale in Round One. The Londoners have lost their last eleven away games in the tournament since beating Wasps at the Ricoh Arena twelve months ago, representing their worst run on their travels since 2000. Each side won its respective home game when they met in Premiership Rugby last season whilst ‘Quins have won on two of their last four visits to Kingsholm in the tournament.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 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 (c), 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 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Jason Woodward
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Tim Visser, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw (cc), 6 Renaldo Bothma, 5 James Horwill (cc), 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 Marcus Smith, 23 Aaron Morris
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Steve Lee, Simon McConnell
Television match official: Keith Lewis
Saracens v Bath
Billy Vunipola and Jackson Wray return to the back-row for Saracens’ Premiership clash against Bath at Allianz Park.
Vunipola missed Sarries’ win over Gloucester last time out due to a pre-arranged medical procedure while Wray has been absent since leaving the field with a head knock in round two.
USA international Titi Lamositele earns his first start of the season with Vincent Koch on Springboks duty and Nick Isiekwe comes back into the pack at blindside flanker meaning Maro Itoje switches to lock to partner George Kruis.
In the backs, Alex Goode takes the 15 jersey, with Liam Williams moving to the wing, and Alex Lozowski is reinstated at outside centre.
Cornish Pirates loanee Christian Judge will make his debut from the bench.
Meanwhile, Francois Louw returns to the Bath starting line-up to face Saracens at Allianz Park.
The South African makes his first start of the Premiership season after guiding his country to a 36-34 victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship two weeks ago.
Louw will wear the number seven jersey, with Josh Bayliss and Paul Grant completing the back-row. Charlie Ewels captains the side and will feature in the second-row alongside Elliott Stooke, who made an impact off the bench in last weekend’s victory over Northampton Saints.
In the front-row, Jacques van Rooyen will make his first start in the blue, black and white at loosehead, with Jack Walker and Anthony Perenise at hooker and tighthead respectively.
Chris Cook and Rhys Priestland form the half-back pairing, whilst Max Clark returns to action to partner Max Wright in the midfield.
Tom Homer and Semesa Rokoduguni occupy the wing positions, with Darren Atkins continuing at full-back.
Form: Saracens became the first ever club to secure maximum league points from their first four matches of a new Premiership Rugby campaign in beating Gloucester on Sunday. Saracens have lost just twice at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby since March 2016 – to Exeter in November 2017 and Leicester in February 2018. Bath have lost just one of their last six Premiership Rugby fixtures: 10-17 at Bristol on the opening weekend. Bath have won two of their last three away games, at Gloucester and Harlequins. The last five encounters between the two clubs have been won by the home side on the day whilst Bath have not won on Saracens turf since a trip to Vicarage Road in February 2010.
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Alex Lewington
Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Max Clark, 12 Max Wright, 11 Tom Homer, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Paul Grant, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Charlie Ewels (c), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Victor Delmas, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Max Green, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jackson Willison
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Anthony Woodthorpe
Television match official: Geoffrey Warren
Sunday
Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
Kyle Eastmond and Adam Thompstone return to the Leicester Tigers backline for Sunday’s home game against Sale Sharks.
Eastmond came off the bench to play a major part in the Tigers’ second-half fightback against Worcester Warriors last weekend and starts at centre in the absence of Manu Tuilagi who has a leg injury, while Thompstone has recovered from injury to take his place on the wing, with Jonah Holmes reverting to the bench.
England U20s cap Ben White starts his first Premiership game at scrum-half, with Ben Youngs among the replacements after a knock in last Sunday’s defeat by Worcester prevented his participation at the England training camp this week.
Tigers interim head coach Geordan Murphy retains the same forward pack that started last week, including back-rowers David Denton and Guy Thompson, who both claimed their first tries for the club in that game at Welford Road.
Ross McMillan is included among the replacements and could make his debut as cover for skipper Tom Youngs at hooker.
For Sale, Andrei Ostrikov returns from injury for his first game of the season, while Rob Webber returns at hooker and Josh Strauss is included at number eight.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg returns to the match-day squad having last played for the club against Lyon in January before returning to the Lions.
Form: Leicester Tigers’ only victory so far this season was 49-33 at home to Newcastle three weeks ago. The Tigers have lost three of their last four matches at Welford Road. Sale Sharks’ solitary victory in Premiership Rugby since Round 19 last season was at home to Worcester on 9 September. Sale have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since a visit to Northampton on 3 March. The Tigers have won their last three matches against the Sharks whilst Sale’s only victory at Welford Road since February 2008 was 10-3 in February 2016.
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben White, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 David Feao, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Jonah Holmes
Sale: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 James Phillips, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Gus Warr, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Date: Sunday, September 30
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Paul Dix
Television match official: Stuart Terheege