Premiership Rugby weekly previews: Round Two

While England’s upcoming World Cup semi-final showdown with the Springboks holds a prominent place in the minds of English rugby fans, the second week of the Premiership is also underway.

It kicks off with the Newcastle Falcons hosting Gloucester at Kingston Park on Friday at 6pm.

On Saturday afternoon, Northampton Saints will welcome Bristol to Franklin’s Gardens, Saracens will host Bath at the StoneX Stadium, and Leicester Tigers will host Sale at Welford Road. All three hosts are eager to rebound from their opening day defeats in front of their fans for the first time this season.

Harlequins lost against Gloucester after conceding a last-second try at Kingsholm, and now have an opportunity to make amends at the Stoop on Sunday as they face Exeter, who produced the standout result of the first round with a resounding 65-10 victory over Saracens.

Matthew Luddington looks ahead to the second round of the Gallagher Premiership.

Newcastle Falcons vs Gloucester, Friday 20 Oct (6:00pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

The Falcons displayed signs of promise in their first Premiership fixture under Head Coach Alex Codling,  despite suffering a 34-26 defeat against Bath at the Rec.

The sole change in the starting line-up from the previous week is the inclusion of former London Irish inside-centre Rory Jennings.

Notably, there will be as many as 10 current or former academy players in the starting lineup, as Codling aims to infuse a local touch into his rebuilding efforts.

The Falcons did the double over Gloucester last year, but face a significant challenge against the physicality of their opponents, particularly with Storm Babet rendering conditions difficult for running rugby.

Gloucester enjoyed a remarkable start to the season against Harlequins at Kingsholm, on the occasion of their captain Lewis Ludlow’s 200th appearance for the club.

Ludlow himself contributed with a score, and Jamal Ford-Robinson’s late try secured a thrilling 29-28 victory, granting the Cherry and Whites a perfect five-point start to the season.

Ford-Robinson is rewarded for his performance with a spot in the starting line-up, and the only other changes are the inclusion of scrum-half Stephen Varney and centre Chris Harris.

Director of Rugby George Skivington is aware of the weather forecast and has stressed the significance of work rate to his team overcoming the conditions and their opponents.

Newcastle Falcons: Redshaw, Radwan, Penny, Jennings, Stevenson, Connon, O’Sullivan; Brocklebank, Blamire, McCallum, van der Walt, de Chaves, Lockwood, Pepper, Chick (c)

Replacements: van Vuuren, Brantingham, Tampin, McDonald, Cross, Stuart, Orlando, Obatoyinbo

Gloucester Rugby: Evans, Morris, Harris, Atkinson, Thorley, Barton, Varney; Ford-Robinson, McGuigan, Balmain, Clarke, Clark, Donnell, Ludlow (c), Mercer

Replacements: Blake, Rapava-Ruskin, Knight, Thomas, Clement, Chapman, Llewellyn, Hearle

Northampton Saints vs Bristol Saturday 21 Oct (3:00pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

Northampton Saints put up a valiant effort at the AJ Bell Stadium but ultimately fell short, losing 20-15 to Sale in their opening encounter.

Returning to Franklin’s Gardens, they are brimming with confidence, and are aiming to secure their first victory of the season after an impressive streak of eight consecutive home wins. The Saints are poised to ignite Franklin’s Gardens once again this season with their electrifying attacking rugby.

The only change sees Tommy Seabrook steps in on the wing, while Tommy Freeman shifts to the centres. Notably, Fin Smith retains his position as the starting fly-half and has been a standout performer this season.

Meanwhile, Virimi Vakatawa is set to make his first start for Bristol Bears. The French international will start at outside centre, partnering with Bernhard Janse Van Rensburg. Callum Sheedy takes the reins at fly-half, and the only alteration in the pack is Max Lahiff’s inclusion, following their opening-round victory against Leicester Tigers.

Director of Rugby Pat Lam anticipates an entertaining match, as both teams play fearless attacking rugby, promising an exciting spectacle for fans.

Northampton Saints: Hendy, Seabrook, Freeman, Hutchinson, Ramm, Smith, James; Waller, Langdon, Davison, Moon, Coles, Scott-Young, Pearson, Graham (c)

Replacements: Smith, Waller, Millar Mills, Lockett, Munga, McParland, Grayson, Litchfield

Bristol Bears: Lane, Heward, Vakatawa, Janse van Rensburg, Ibitoye, Sheedy, Randall; Woolmore, 2Thacker, Lahiff, Dun, Batley, Harding (c), Thomas, Bradbury

Replacements: Capon, Grahamslaw, Kloska, Caulfield, Heenan, Marmion, Williams, O’Conor

Saracens vs Bath, Saturday 21 Oct (3:00pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

Mako Vunipola is determined to help Saracens recover after their humiliation at Sandy Park, and says the squad have had some frank conversations during the week.

The loosehead prop, returning from injury, is one of six changes to the lineup.

Nick Tompkins is back from international duties to take the inside-center position, James Hadfield gets his first start for the club at hooker, and Andy Christie comes in at openside flanker. Manu Vunipola starts at fly half, Sean Maitland gets the nod on the wing, and Alex Goode shifts to full-back.  

Finn Russell made a significant impact as a substitute in Bath’s season opener against Northampton at the Rec, and is set to make his first start for the club.

The other changes are Ruadrith McConnochie who starts on the wing, the entire front row, with Niall Annett, Juan Schoeman, and Johannes Jonker earning starting roles, and Miles Reid steps in for the injured Ted Hill at blindside flanker. 

The Russell-Ben Spencer half-back pairing will be crucial for Bath this season in unleashing their talented outside backs.

With Saracens struggling for form and missing key players, you sense this might be an opportunity for Bath to produce a statement of intent performance for their season.

Saracens: Goode, Maitland, Lozowski, Tompkins, Segun, Vunipola, Davies; Vunipola (c), Hadfield, Riccioni, Hunter-Hill, Isiekwe, McFarland, Christie, Willis 

Replacements: Adejimi, West, Clarey, Stonham, Knight, Simpson, Hartley, Lewington

Bath Rugby: de Glanville, Cokanasiga, Redpath, Butt, McConnochie, Russell, Spencer (c); Schoeman, Annett, Jonker, Roux, Ewels, Reid, Cloete, Barbeary

Replacements: Dunn, du Toit, Griffin, McNally, Coetzee, Schreuder, Bailey, Ojomoh

Leicester Tigers vs Sale Sharks, 21 Oct (3:05pm kick-off TNT Sports)

Leicester Tigers’ Head Coach, Dan McKellar, expressed disappointment with his team’s performance in their opening round loss to the Bristol Bears.

However, he commended the impact of his bench players and, as a result, has granted several of them the opportunity to start in their first home game of the season against Sale.

Mike Williams starts in the second-row, while Kyle Hatherell earns his first start for the club at Number 8. A new halfback pairing emerges as Tom Whiteley and Jamie Shillcock are rewarded with starting roles.  

McKellar says his side have learnt the lessons from last week and prepared well, and are looking to back that up with a strong performance in front of their home fans, where the Tigers are usually strong.  

Sale Sharks Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson makes just two alterations to the side that triumphed over the Northampton Saints in their Premiership opener. Cobus Wiese, making his first start in seven months, secures a spot at lock, and Gus Warr starts at scrum-half.

The Sharks boast 16 of their matchday 23 players as academy products.  

Sanderson anticipates a fierce set piece contest, as both teams pride themselves on their physicality. He believes that the outcome of the match will be determined by which side can dominate more collisions throughout the 80 minutes.

Leicester Tigers: Brown, Bassett, Porter, Kelly, Hassell-Collins, Shillcock, Whiteley; van Wyk, Clare, Heyes,  Henderson, Williams, Liebenberg (c), Cracknell, Hatherell

Replacements: Dolly, Whitcombe, Hurd, Williams, Rogerson, Powell, Atkinson, Cokanasiga

Sale Sharks: Carpenter, Roebuck, James, Bedlow, O’Flaherty, du Preez (c), Warr; McIntyre, Taylor, Schonert, Wiese, Hill, van Rhyn, Dugdale, du Preez.

Replacements: Caine, Harrison, Harper, Beaumont, Birch, Quirke, Curtis, Reed

Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs, 22 Oct (3:00pm kick-off TNT Sports)

Harlequins make just one change from their opening round narrow defeat to Gloucester at Kingsholm. Jarrod Evans will make his first start for the club as the fly-half.

The team is led by Alex Dombrandt at Number eight, and Joe Launchbury, a new signing, is gearing up for his first Premiership run out at the Stoop.

The exciting Back Three for Quins consists of Louis Lynagh, Nick David, and Tyrone Green.

On the other side, Exeter, following their 65-10 dismantling of Saracens, make only one change. Ben Hammersley starts on the wing, while the outstanding Josh Hodge, retains his place at full-back, and Tommy Wyatt completes the back three.

Captain Jack Yeandle packs down at hooker alongside props Scott Sio and Ehren Painter.

Exeter’s youthful squad has kicked off the season in style, adopting a fearless style of rugby and scoring stunning tries.

With both teams’ commitment to attacking rugby, this promises to be an entertaining encounter.

Harlequins: David, Green, Joseph, Northmore, Lynagh, Evans, Porter; Baxter, Riley, Collier, Launchbury, Hammond, Kenningham, Evans, Dombrandt

Replacements: Jibulu, Garcia Botta, Kerrod, Lamb, Chisholm, Green, Edwards, Beard

Exeter Chiefs: Hodge, Hammersley, Slade, Hendrickson, Wyatt, Skinner, Cairns; Sio, Yeandle (c), Painter, Tuima, Pearson, Roots, Vermeulen, Fisilau

Replacements: Frost, Keast, Iosefa-Scott, Davis, Vintcent, Armstrong, Haydon-Wood, Feyi-Waboso

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