Gallagher Premiership Round 13, 14, 15 & 16

Friday 8th March


19:45 Bath v Saracens BT Sport
19:45 Sale v Leicester


Saturday 9th March


14:00 Wasps v Newcastle
14:45 Northampton v Bristol
15:00 Worcester v Exeter


Sunday 10th March


13:00 Harlequins v Gloucester BT Sport

BUY TICKETS
SARACENS
VS
LEICESTER TIGERS
16 February 2019 15:00 at Allianz Park

Team news: Tigers at Saracens this Saturday
15 February 2019 12:00 By Gary Sherrard




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Tom Youngs returns from injury to lead Leicester Tigers at Saracens in Round 13 of the Gallagher Premiership season on Saturday.

Club captain Youngs has recovered from a knee injury suffered against the same opponents at Welford Road in November and he is joined in the front row by Greg Bateman and Dan Cole, who is in line for his 150th Premiership Rugby appearance after being released from England’s Six Nations squad this week.

Tom Varndell makes his first league appearance for the club in nearly a decade as he joins Wales international Jonah Holmes on the wings.

Jake Kerr, who made his test debut for Scotland in the opening week of the Six Nations after just 18 first-team appearances for Tigers, is included among the replacements.

Tigers will run out at the home of the defending league champions as the first club to reach 500 games in Premiership Rugby.

Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy said: “We’re getting some bodies back on the pitch and it’s good to have Tom Youngs there. You know what you get from him in terms of physicality and energy.

“Playing against Saracens is always challenging physically, we have to be on our game, and fresh and sharp.”

Leicester Tigers (v Saracens, away, Saturday 3.00pm)

15 George Worth

14 Jonah Holmes

13 Gareth Owen

12 Kyle Eastmond

11 Tom Varndell

10 Matt Toomua

9 Ben White

1 Greg Bateman

2 Tom Youngs (c)

3 Dan Cole

4 Mike Fitzgerald

5 Graham Kitchener

6 Mike Williams

7 Brendon O’Connor

8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements

16 Jake Kerr

17 Facundo Gigena

18 Joe Heyes

19 Will Evans

20 Harry Wells

21 Sam Harrison

22 Tom Hardwick

23 Sam Aspland-Robinson

formerly known as Sam wrote:
19 Will Evans
20 Harry Wells

I wonder if they will be wearing those shirts?

I saw that as well LT. Looks like an admin error. Lozowski Vs Owen in the 13 channel fills me with dread as does that Sarries bench. There's some real speed in this backs and Skelton and Rhodes are fantastic players to come on in the second half.

I'm unsure why Gigena is on the bench again, where's Fe'ao?

I make it 10 academy products in the 23 as well. Good to see.

Interesting to see Sopoaga on the bench for Wasps, with Searle preferred.

Thomas Young back from Wales is a boost, as is Robson from England (no Hughes or Daly, though) and Campagnaro from Italy. With Zhvania not required by Georgia this week, it's a strong team.

Good to see Si McIntyre back from injury too.

Saints v Sale:


15 George Furbank
14 Ahsee Tuala
13 Rory Hutchinson
12 Piers Francis
11 Taqele Naiyaravoro
10 Dan Biggar
9 Cobus Reinach

1 Francois Van Wyk
2 James Fish
3 Ehren Painter
4 Api Ratuniyarawa
5 Alex Moon
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Lewis Ludlam
8 Tom Wood (c)

Replacements:

16 Reece Marshall
17 Alex Waller
18 Paul Hill
19 Alex Coles
20 Heinrich Brüssow
21 Alex Mitchell
22 Luther Burrell
23 Tom Collins

Not available for selection:

Andy Symons (knee), Harry Mallinder (knee), Tom Emery (shoulder), Mikey Haywood (knee), Dylan Hartley (knee), David Ribbans (illness) and Teimana Harrison (hamstring).




15.Sam James; 14.Denny Solomona, 13.James O’Connor, 12.Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11.Byron McGuigan; 10.AJ MacGinty, 9.Faf de Klerk; 1.Ross Harrison, 2.Rob Webber, 3.WillGriff John, 4. Bryn Evans, 5.James Phillips, 6.Jono Ross (capt.), 7.Ben Curry, 8.Josh Beaumont.

Replacements: 16.Cameron Neild, 17.Tom Bristow, 18.Joe Jones, 19.Andrei Ostrikov, 20.Josh Strauss, 21.Will Cliff,22.Luke James, 23.Arron Reed

Quins v Worcester:

15 Mike Brown (310)
14 Nathan Earle (16)
13 Joe Marchant (73)
12 Ben Tapuai (12)
11 Gabriel Ibitoye (15)
10 Marcus Smith (47)
9 Danny Care (256)

1 Joe Marler (184)
2 Max Crumpton (14)
3 Will Collier (144)
4 Matt Symons (16)
5 James Horwill (Co-captain, 58)
6 Jack Clifford (86)
7 Chris Robshaw (Co-captain, 263)
8 Alex Dombrandt (13)

Game Changers

16 Dave Ward (160)
17 Lewis Boyce (29)
18 Josh Ibuanokpe (6)
19 Ben Glynn (34)
20 James Chisholm (70)
21 Dave Lewis (24)
22 James Lang (39)
23 Alofa Alofa (63)

Not considered for selection

Nick Auterac
Rob Buchanan
Renaldo Bothma
Henry Cheeseman
Mark Lambert
Paul Lasike
Josh McNulty
Aaron Morris
Charlie Mulchrone
Cadan Murley
Niall Saunders
Kyle Sinckler
Stan South
Tim Visser


Worcester Warriors

15 Chris Pennell
14 Bryce Heem
13 Francois Venter
12 Ryan Mills
11 Josh Adams
10 Duncan Weir
9 Francois Hougaard

1 Callum Black
2 Jack Singleton
3 Nick Schonert
4 Anton Bresler
5 Michael Fatialofa
6 Marco Mama
7 Sam Lewis
8 GJ van Velze (C)

Replacements

16 Isaac Miller
17 Ethan Waller
18 Gareth Milasinovich
19 Darren Barry
20 Ted Hill
21 Michael Heaney
22 Ollie Lawrence
23 Tom Howe

Bath v Falcons

15. Tom Homer
14. Semesa Rokoduguni
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Jamie Roberts
11. Joe Cokanasiga
10. Rhys Priestland
9. Will Chudley (co-capt)

1. Nathan Catt
2. Tom Dunn
3. Henry Thomas
4. Dave Attwood
5. Luke Charteris (co-capt)
6. Elliott Stooke
7. Francois Louw
8. Zach Mercer

Replacements

16. Jack Walker
17. Jacques van Rooyen
18. Max Lahiff
19. Charlie Ewels
20. Paul Grant
21. Max Green
22. Freddie Burns
23. Ruaridh McConnochie



15 Simon Hammersley
14 Zach Kibirige
13 Chris Harris
12 Pedro Bettencourt
11 Sinoti Sinoti
10 Toby Flood
9 Michael Young

1 Sam Lockwood
2 Kyle Cooper
3 Logovi’i Mulipola
4 Calum Green
5 Andrew Davidson
6 Will Welch (captain)
7 Gary Graham
8 Nemani Nagusa

Replacements

16 Santiago Socino
17 Adam Brocklebank
18 David Wilson
19 Will Witty
20 John Hardie
21 Sonatane Takulua
22 Brett Connon
23 Ben Stevenson

That's a strong Bath starting XV for this time in the season.

Good to see Horwill and Robshaw back for Quins.

What knock is Auterac out with this time around?

Poor old Exeter, death by a million forward passes. From using the TMO too much, referees nowadays don't use it enough! Not that Exeter deserved a result, mind.

Which passes were forward? Can only remember Chiefs in the Glos 22 on 2 occasions.

EnglishReign wrote:Which passes were forward? Can only remember Chiefs in the Glos 22 on 2 occasions.

Thorley to Woodward for the first Glaws try really should have been reviewed.

It should’ve been reviewed in the sense that it was a marginal call, can’t disagree there, but I think Woodward’s fumble makes it look forward! The flat (ish!) pass from Thorley made it more difficult to catch if anything.

First it looked forward but the couple of replays made it look more marginal. Needed a slow Mo replay in his hands to ascertain whether it was forward or back.

I was a bit surprised they didn't review the block for the final try as well. Play on in my opinion but that should have been looked at. Sometimes I think the officials are worried about reviewing too much.

There looked to be forward passes for Gloucester’s first and third tries, and several others that didn’t lead to tries. There was also a block, a pretty clear one, on an Exeter defender towards the end, as well as numerous Gloucester players offside and laying over the ball during Exeter’s final attack, but the referee didn’t have the nerve to give anything. All that said, it was still the right result.

When it’s so marginal that you could argue either way, who should get the benefit of the doubt? Does that just depend on the ref’s question? Like you say, it was so marginal in slow mo that you’d need an infinite number of camera angles to say for certain. Raises an interesting point, though.

That’s true on the block, we probably got away with at least one. Owen Williams did his best to give the game away (standard) but thankfully Thorley was on hand to make something out of nothing!

Well Boyd has turned things around a bit...

What the hell is happening at The Gardens, a seriously weakened Saints team has just put 67 points past Sale and that after they lost Biggar at around the 20 minute mark.

If I hadn't been watching Sarries, I would have thought that they were playing us and giving us our annual thrashing.

Nothing like throwing away a game. Tigers speciality this season. When you hand a team like Sarries 23 points you get exactly what you deserve, nothing.

Only real plus point was young George Worth who was a rock at the back and created a try from nothing.

I have a problem with Northampton Saints, my better half offered to buY me a replica shirt as they have a sale on. Now whilst I am deeply grateful for the offer, do I want to go around advertising myself to the ill informed as a "TOOLSTATION"?

Did the Saints management think about the abuse their fans were going to suffer when they accepted that sponsorship?

Good win for Quins again, quietly building at the moment and i'm pretty hopeful of a top 6 finish. If we don't manage it though I won't be too concerned.

Damn it's quiet here isn't it?

Yup.

Really pleased with Gloucester’s home win vs Exeter on Friday night. Some really strong individual performances with Morgan, Mostert and Thorley in particular standing out. Starting props again impressive despite the flogging they’ve had due to injuries this season.

Frustrated with the missed chances - Woodward’s drop with a clear 20m run-in during the first half, and possibly a little impatience on a couple of other occasion seeing the ball fumbled over or very close to the line.

After this I felt there was an air of inevitability about Exeter snatching something late, but we held on really well and got the deserved win. TBP went begging, but if that is the biggest gripe following a win against the league leaders then we’re in a good place.

Couple of tough games next up - home vs. Saracens this Friday night then away at Bristol the following Friday. Thankfully our terrible luck with injuries seems to be easing and we’re getting some key guys back. Ackermann and Marshall both returned strongly against Exeter and hopefully the likes of Kriel, Polledri and Sharples will be back soon too.

The 10 point cushion we built up before our terrible run has now been eroded and we’re in a real scrap for the 2 remaining play-off places, but if we can continue playing as we did on Friday and start taking more chances I’m confident we’ll get in.

Quins, Wasps, Bath and Leicester the obvious threats but Sale were looking dangerous before Northampton put them to the sword, and possibly put themselves back in the conversation too. A few more performances like that and they’re a serious contender!

Gloucester Rugby:

15. Jason Woodward; 14. Tom Marshall, 13. Billy Twelvetrees, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Willi Heinz (capt); 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. Franco Marais, 3. Fraser Balmain; 4. Ed Slater, 5. Franco Mostert; 6. Ruan Ackermann, 7. Jaco Kriel, 8. Ben Morgan

Replacements:

16. James Hanson, 17. Paddy McAllister, 18. Ciaran Knight, 19. Freddie Clarke, 20. Jake Polledri, 21. Callum Braley, 22. Owen Williams, 23. Matt Banahan

Unavailable for selection:

Ruan Dreyer, Lloyd Evans, Todd Gleave, Tom Hudson, Val Rapava Ruskin, Charlie Sharples

Saracens team to face Gloucester on Friday 22nd February at Kingsholm (KO 19H45):

15 Matt Gallagher
14 David Strettle
13 Alex Lozowski
12 Brad Barritt
11 Alex Lewington
10 Alex Goode
9 Richard Wigglesworth

1 Richard Barrington
2 Christopher Tolofua
3 Vincent Koch
4 Dom Day
5 Nick Isiekwe
6 Mike Rhodes
7 Schalk Burger
8 Jackson Wray

Replacements

16 Tom Woolstencroft
17 Titi Lamositele
18 Christian Judge
19 Will Skelton
20 Calum Clark
21 Ben Spencer
22 Max Malins
23 Nick Tompkins

Leicester Tigers (v Worcester Warriors, away, Sunday 1.00pm)

15 George Worth
14 Jonah Holmes
13 Gareth Owen
12 Kyle Eastmond
11 Jordan Olowofela
10 Matt Toomua
9 Ben White
1 Facundo Gigena
2 Tom Youngs (c)
3 Dan Cole
4 Harry Wells
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Mike Fitzgerald
7 Mike Williams
8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau
17 Campese Ma’afu
18 Joe Heyes
19 Will Spencer
20 Guy Thompson
21 Harry Simmons
22 Tom Hardwick
23 Sam Aspland-Robinson

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills (c), 11 Tom Howe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard; 1 Ethan Waller, 2 Jack Singleton, 3 Nick Schonert, 4 Anton Bresler, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Sam Lewis, 8 Marco Mama

Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Callum Black, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Do not get me started on that back row.

That backrow and that backline. Where the is Evans? Why are we persisting with a midfield that looks unlikely to lunch through a paper bag?

Is Fe'ao injured if not we are we persisting with looseheads that are average at best?

Geordie better have some more of his clever tactics up his sleeve this weekend and the players better stick to them otherwise we're going to get stuffed.

Not sure how much option there is in midfield. With Ford and Manu unavailable, Thompstone, Smith and Tait old and injured, Thacker and Ford Sr not good enough.

About only thing we could do differently would be:

10 Hardwick
12 Toomua
13 Olowefela

LondonTiger wrote:Leicester Tigers (v Worcester Warriors, away, Sunday 1.00pm)

15 George Worth
14 Jonah Holmes
13 Gareth Owen
12 Kyle Eastmond
11 Jordan Olowofela
10 Matt Toomua
9 Ben White
1 Facundo Gigena
2 Tom Youngs (c)
3 Dan Cole
4 Harry Wells
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Mike Fitzgerald
7 Mike Williams
8 Sione Kalamafoni

Replacements
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau
17 Campese Ma’afu
18 Joe Heyes
19 Will Spencer
20 Guy Thompson
21 Harry Simmons
22 Tom Hardwick
23 Sam Aspland-Robinson

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills (c), 11 Tom Howe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard; 1 Ethan Waller, 2 Jack Singleton, 3 Nick Schonert, 4 Anton Bresler, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Sam Lewis, 8 Marco Mama

Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Callum Black, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Suddenly feeling very anxious.

I'm wracking my brain but I think that's the slowest back row named in the Prem for a few seasons. If the lineout goes to pot with that lack of pace and breakdown ability then Tigers will be in big trouble against Hougaard.

Gigena vs Schonert at scrum time should at least give us a good idea of how Gigena has developed since joining Tigers.

Smurf has 5 second rows in that side and the only one I'd pick ahead of Bresley and Fatialofa is on the bench - sums up the issues in Tigers squad fairly well. Hopefully Spencer and Thompson find form quickly now they've back fit.

Literally had no idea that Fatialofa was playing for Wuss, he was great a few seasons ago for the Canes when they won Super Rugby. How has he been doing?

Fatialofa has been looking good to my very untrained eye BamBam. Scored his first try last weekend I think. Has already been injured though...

On Hougaard (king carlos) he’s been a bit out of form of late.

LondonTiger wrote:Not sure how much option there is in midfield. With Ford and Manu unavailable, Thompstone, Smith and Tait old and injured, Thacker and Ford Sr not good enough.

About only thing we could do differently would be:

10 Hardwick
12 Toomua
13 Olowefela

Aspland-Robinson has been playing 13 in the A league and prem cup. Think he came on in the midfield last weekend as well.

Toomua/Hardwick/SAR. Though I expected to see Sarto on the wing, he must not be match fit yet.

Toomua can play 13 if Smurf doesn't want to push Eastmond out there. It wouldn't be ideal but I'd rather see Toomua there than Owen.

Anyone see that huge hit on Waller by Cole? Not often you see that from the Polar Bear but a big hit and rip.

Toomua off at half time replaced by 19 year old Hardwick. That's a surprise.

Vital 4 points for Wuss but not a great game apart from that. Fatialofa showing flashes of what he can do and Singleton and Mama really turning up.

And yes Sam, that Cole hit was a thing of beauty!

To be fair neither team showed any real attacking continuity until the 80th minute. Why Wuss didn't put the ball into the hands of their wingers more I have no idea. They looked dangerous when given the opportunity.

Agree Sam, not sure why Wuss didn’t move the ball out wide more - perhaps the Tigers frustrated their attempts...

I think Maxwell-Keys frustrated both sides by letting the tackler lie all over the ball and reduce the pace of the game down to a pedestrian level as both teams struggled to police the breakdown in the absence of any consistent officiating.

Yeah, the commentator was speaking about adapting quickly to his “style!”

Just a quick note to say how good it was to see Jack Willis back on the field for Wasps. Great for us, and great for England to have him pushing hard.

So Quins have been quietly on a very good winning run. First time since '14 that we've won 4 in a row, and we've picked up try bp's on the way.

Too early to count chickens but I have hopes of a top 6 finish now, Guss has worked some magic at the club to be sure.

And I am not sure what the Quins style is anymore!
Start of Guss's tenure and it was all about the D. Now that seems to have gone out the window and its about scoring trys - whilst being very leaky in defence.

A win is a win, but the number of trys against is still very high.

Leicester Tigers (v Wasps, Welford Road, Saturday 3.00pm)

15 George Worth
14 Jonah Holmes       
13 Gareth Owen
12 Kyle Eastmond     
11 Sam Aspland-Robinson
10 Joe Ford
9 Ben White
1 Facundo Gigena     
2 Tom Youngs (c)      
3 Dan Cole     
4 Will Spencer
5 Graham Kitchener
6 Mike Williams
7 Guy Thompson
8 Sione Kalamafoni   

Replacements
16 Jake Kerr  
17 Campese Ma’afu  
18 Joe Heyes
19 Harry Wells
20 Mike Fitzgerald
21 Will Evans
22 Sam Harrison
23 Leonardo Sarto

Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Rob Miller, 9 Joe Simpson; 1 Ben Harris, 2 Tommy Taylor, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Will Rowlands, 5 James Gaskell, 6 Ashley Johnson (c), 7 Thomas Young, 8 Nizaam Carr
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Ross Neal