There’s three Premiership games on Saturday before two take place on Sunday, with Saracens versus Gloucester the round’s standout match.
Bath v Northampton Saints
Dave Attwood, Taulupe Faletau, Aled Brew and Darren Atkins come into the starting line-up for Saturday’s Premiership clash against Northampton Saints at the Rec.
A reshuffle in the backline sees Jackson Willison moving to inside centre with Brew partnering the Kiwi in the midfield. Max Green and Freddie Burns continue in the half-back pairing, as Bath look to build on last weekend’s bonus-point victory over Harlequins.
Fresh from scoring twice at The Stoop, Joe Cokanasiga continues on the left wing, with the talismanic Semesa Rokoduguni on the opposite flank. Atkins completes the back three, with the 21-year-old coming into the side at full-back.
Nathan Catt, Tom Dunn and Henry Thomas complete an unchanged front-row trio, whilst Attwood returns to the side to feature alongside captain Luke Charteris in the second-row.
Tom Ellis and Sam Underhill remain at blindside and openside flanker respectively, with Faletau coming in at number eight to complete the pack.
Meanwhile, Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd has made four changes to his starting XV to take on Bath in the Premiership.
Dylan Hartley and Alex Waller once again jointly lead the side from Saints’ front-row, with Ben Franks – who came off the bench last week to score against Sarries – recalled at tighthead prop alongside them.
The second-row is unchanged as David Ribbans and Courtney Lawes start for the fourth straight game this season, but flankers Jamie Gibson and Lewis Ludlam both come into the base of the scrum to join Teimana Harrison.
Andrew Symons makes his first competitive start for Saints at outside centre as he is selected in the midfield alongside Piers Francis, who has two tries to his name in three matches this term.
The back three remains unchanged with Ahsee Tuala, Tom Collins and Taqele Naiyaravoro keeping their spots in the side, while Dan Biggar and Cobus Reinach continue in the half-back positions.
On the bench, Andrew Kellaway is named in a Saints squad for the first time amongst the replacements, with the versatile Australian import fit to make his Premiership debut.
Form: Bath’s only defeat in their last five Premiership Rugby matches was 10-17 at Bristol on the opening day of the new season. Bath have won only once at home in the tournament since February – 63-19 against London Irish in Round 22 last season. Northampton Saints have lost three of their last five Premiership Rugby encounters, whilst their only win away from home in the tournament since September 2017 was at Leicester in April. Bath have lost only one of their last four fixtures with the Saints – 6-24 at Franklin’s Gardens in round 3 last year whilst the Saints most recent victory at the Recreation Ground was December 2015.
The teams:
Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Aled Brew, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Luke Charteris (c), 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 Zach Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Max Wright
Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Andrew Symons, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Andrew Kellaway, 23 Harry Mallinder
Date: Saturday, September 22
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Simon McConnell
Television match official: David Grashoff
Bristol v Harlequins
Bristol boss Pat Lam makes six changes from the side that suffered defeat to Gloucester as Alapati Leiua recovers from a back injury to start in the backline.
Will Hurrell also earns a start in the midfield, while Bristol-born Academy product Andy Uren comes in at scrum-half.
In the pack, Harry Thacker starts in the front-row, while Ed Holmes and Jordan Crane are also listed.
Nick Fenton-Wells is named among the replacements and could make his first competitive outing of the 2018/19 campaign on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kyle Sinckler returns to action for Harlequins on Saturday.
Sinckler joins Joe Marler and Max Crumpton in a new-look front-row from the one that started against Bath last week.
James Lang at fly-half and Ross Chisholm on the wing are the only changes in the backs as Quins look to get back to winning ways at Ashton Gate.
Having enjoyed an excellent start to the season at The Stoop with a 51-23 victory over Sale, Paul Gustard’s side have suffered narrow defeats in their last two matches at Northampton and against Bath at home.
Form: Bristol Bears have lost their last two Premiership Rugby matches, but both games were played away from home. The Bears have won their last three matches in all competitions at Ashton Gate since Jersey Reds beat them there in the Championship in March. Harlequins only victory in their last eight Premiership Rugby encounters was 51-23 at home to Sale on the opening week of the new campaign. The Londoners have not won away from home in any tournament since visiting Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup last November. Bristol have not beaten Harlequins in Premiership Rugby since a contest at Memorial Stadium in October 2006, however they did win both encounters in the European Champions Cup in season 2007/08. Harlequins only previous visit to Ashton Gate ended with a 42-8 victory in February 2017.
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 Jordan Crane, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 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 Jack Lam, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Zane Kirchner
Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Stan South, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Paul Lasike
Date: Saturday, September 22
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: David Rose
Sale Sharks v Wasps
Steve Diamond has made one to one change to his Sale side for the Premiership Round 4 match against Wasps at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The only alteration which succumbed to Exeter Chiefs sees Ben Curry coming in for Josh Beaumont, with Jono Ross moving to number eight.
Arron Reed, who has been in prolific try scoring form for National One side Sale FC, is named on the bench. 19-year-old Reed started against Worcester and Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup last November but has yet to play in the Premiership.
For Wasps, director of rugby Dai Young hands a first start of the season to Willie le Roux.
There are six changes to the starting XV from Sunday’s win against Leicester Tigers.
Le Roux returns from international duty with South Africa to take his place at full-back, moving captain Elliot Daly to outside centre. Daly joins Wasps debutant from last week Michael Le Bourgeois in the midfield.
Club captain Joe Launchbury, who has a short-term knee injury, is replaced by Will Rowlands. Rowlands starts in the second-row alongside James Gaskell.
Zurabi Zhvania gets a first start for Wasps, moving from the bench to starting at loosehead prop in the absence of the injured Ben Harris. Zhvania is alongside Tommy Taylor and Will Stuart in the front-row, as Stuart swaps places with Kieran Brookes.
Marcus Watson makes his first start of the season, replacing the rested Christian Wade, to join Josh Bassett and Le Roux in the back three.
Ashley Johnson, Nizaam Carr and Nathan Hughes form an unchanged back-row.
Tom West and Kearnan Myall could make their first appearances of the season from the replacements and are joined on an impactful bench by Tom Cruse, Brookes, Ben Morris, Joe Simpson, Billy Searle and Rob Miller.
Form: Sale Sharks’ only victory in the last six rounds of Premiership Rugby was 21-15 at home to Worcester on 9 September. The Sharks have lost just once at AJ Bell Stadium since February – 13-35 to Leicester in Round 22 last season. Wasps’ only regular season defeat since Round 19 of Premiership Rugby last season was 31-42 at home to Exeter on 8 September. Wasps record away from home in Premiership Rugby in 2018 is an even won three, drawn one, lost three. The last eight meetings between the two clubs in Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the only time that Wasps have won on Sale’s soil since 2005 was by a single point at Edgeley Park in October 2010.
The teams:
Sale: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Jono Ross (c), 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Cameron Neild, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Luke James, 23 Arron Reed
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Elliot Daly (c), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Rob Miller
Date: Saturday, September 22
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Philip Watters, Steve Lee
Television match official: Rowan Kitt
Sunday
Leicester Tigers v Worcester Warriors
Graham Kitchener returns from injury to make his first appearance of the season for Leicester Tigers in Sunday’s home game against Worcester Warriors.
The 28-year-old lock has recovered from a hip injury to join the line-up, replacing the suspended Will Spencer in the only change to the pack from last week’s match against Wasps.
There are two changes in the backline where Jordan Olowofela and Jonah Holmes come in for Telusa Veainu and Adam Thompstone.
Kyle Eastmond is named among the replacements after missing the Round 3 trip to Wasps, and prop Gaston Cortes returns from international duty with Argentina to join the matchday squad as Tigers return to home turf.
Meanwhile, Worcester’s director of rugby Alan Solomons has made three changes to Warriors’ starting line-up.
Jack Singleton, Nick Schonert and Anton Bresler all start as Warriors look to replicate last season’s performance at Tigers in which they came away with a bonus-point, 31-27 win.
Singleton will get his first start of the season while Schonert recovers from concussion to line up alongside Callum Black in the front-row.
Bresler partners Pierce Phillips in the second-row to make his first start of the season. GJ van Velze leads the side from the back-row next to Sam Lewis and Marco Mama.
The Warriors backline remains unchanged from the last outing against Newcastle Falcons while in the replacements, 19-year-old Academy forward Ted Hill could make his Premiership debut from the bench.
Form: All three of Leicester Tigers’ matches this season have been won by the home side on the day. Tigers have scored a try bonus point in their last two matches and have not achieved that in three successive Premiership Rugby games since April 2012. Worcester were one of five clubs to beat Leicester at Welford Road in Premiership Rugby last season. Worcester Warriors have lost their last four Premiership Rugby matches since beating Harlequins at Sixways in April, whilst their two away victories in any competition last season were both in Premiership Rugby, at Leicester and at Exeter. The last three matches between the two clubs have all been won by the away side on the day.
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 David Feao, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Ben White, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Kyle Eastmond
Worcester: 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 (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ashley Beck
Date: Sunday, September 23
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Wayne Falla
Television match official: John Byett
Saracens v Gloucester
Jamie George and Richard Wigglesworth will achieve their landmark moments from the start against Gloucester at Allianz Park on Sunday.
England hooker George makes his 200th Saracens appearance, aged just 27, while scrum-half Wigglesworth overtakes his former captain Steve Borthwick as the all-time Premiership appearance holder with outing 266 in the competition.
The latter is one of five changes to the side that began the win over Northampton Saints last weekend.
Owen Farrell returns from a minor strain while Sean Maitland is back on the wing after coming back from a dislocated finger at Franklin’s Gardens.
George Kruis makes his first start of the season with Maro Itoje switching to blindside flanker. Ben Earl is selected at number eight.
Meanwhile, Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann keeps faith with the same starting line-up that defeated Bristol Bears last weekend.
There is just the one change to the squad that took on Bristol at Kingsholm last Friday, prop Val Rapava Ruskin returning to be named amongst the replacements.
It’s a meeting between two of the three unbeaten sides to date in the Premiership, so something has to give and Ackermann is looking for his side to go better at Allianz Park than they did last season.
Form: Saracens have won their last ten Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches, scoring four or more tries in each of the last nine, since Exeter beat them at Sandy Park in March. Saracens most recent defeat at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby was at home to Leicester Tigers in February. Gloucester are unbeaten after the first three rounds of Gallagher Premiership Rugby, their best start to a campaign since 2007/08. Gloucester’s only victory on the road since November in Premiership Rugby was 33-29 at London Irish in March. The last five encounters between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Gloucester’s most recent victory on Saracens turf was at Vicarage Road in November 2008.
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 David Strettle, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Will Skelton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Nick Isiewke, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alex Goode
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Tom Hudson
Date: Sunday, September 23
Venue: Allianz Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Christopher Ridley
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Rob Warburton
Television match official: Trevor Fisher