LV Cup Round 1: preview and predictions

London Irish v Sale
With both team in serious need to build on momentum, Brian Smith and Steve Diamond have named a strong side in a rematch of last week’s Premiership clash in Salford.
Sale claimed their first domestic win of the season last Friday so the Exiles will be looking to get one back at the Madejski on Sunday.
England International Alex Corbisiero will make his first start of the season after recovering from a knee injury he suffered with England in South Africa and so will Shane Geraghty after five appearances from the bench since his return in the summer.
He will line up at inside centre though with the in-form Ian Humphreys keeping the No.10 shirt.
Last season’s Premiership top-try scorer Rob Miller returns at full-back for Sale with Charlie Amesbury, Will Addison, Mark Jennings, Cameron Shepherd forming a new-look back line outside Danny Cipriany who is coming back to form after a difficult start of the season.
Dwayne Pell will lead the side from scrum-half in the absence of David Seymour who is replaced by Mark Easter in a reshuffled back row.
London Irish: Watson; Ojo, Gaston, Geraghty, Tagicakibau; Humphreys, Allinson; Corbisiero, Blaney, Halavatau; Skivington, Evans (capt.); Garvey, Gibson, Hala’ufia.
Replacements: Ellis, Yanuyanutawa, Griffiths, Low, Gray, Peters, Shingler, Murphy.
Sale: Miller;  Amesbury, Addison, Jennings, Shepherd; Cipriani, Peel (capt.); Lewis-Roberts, Taylor, Cobilas;  McKenzie, Gaskell, Powell, Vernon, Easter.
Replacements: Cruse, Harrison, Buckley, Myall, Bordill, Cliff, Davies, Uys.
Prediction: These two are playing for pride. Like last week it might not be pretty but they desperately need the win and it will be about a big battle up front. Irish might just edge it with their striking power at the back though.
London Welsh v Exeter
Keen to build on the momentum of their dramatic late victory over Bath on Sunday, London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones makes just six changes for the visit of Exeter on Sunday.
In the backs, Sonny Parker returns at outside centre in place of Hudson Tonga’uiha, Nick Runciman comes in for Tyson Keats at scrum half and Gordon Ross starts at fly half in place of Gavin Henson.
In the forwards, Greg Bateman starts at tighthead in place of Paulica Ion and Daniel Browne is named at blindside flanker, with captain Jonathan Mills moving from blindside to the second row in place of Kirill Kulemin, who is on international duty with Russia.
London Welsh will be hoping for a repeat of Exeter’s visit to the Kassam Stadium in September Seb Jewell’s late conversion gave the Exiles their first-ever Premiership victory.
Meanwhile, Exeter have rested their head coach Rob Baxter as Ricky Pellow and Rob Gibson will be coaching the side during the competition.
England U20 starlets Jack Arnott, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sam Hill, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade have all been recalled from their Championship clubs where they are dual-registered, whilst the Exeter coaching team will also be keen to run the rule over the likes of Jack Yeandle, Will Carrick-Smith, Joel Conlon and Justin Blanchet, all of whom are included in a senior squad for the first time.
Crowd favourite Chris Budgen, who scored an emotional try last week against Worcester, will start at tighthead with Junior Poluleuligaga captaining the side from scrum-half.
London Welsh: Arscott; Voyce, Parker, Jewell, Scott; Ross, Runciman; Montanella, Briggs, Bateman; Mills (capt.), Purdy; Browne, Denbee, Beach.
Replacements: George, Bristow, Tideswell, Brown, Balding, Davies, Lewis, Ajuwa.
Exeter: Nowell; Arnott, Sestaret, Dorrian, Foster; Slade, Poluleuligaga (capt.); Moon, Clark, Budgen; Welch, Carrick-Smith; Conlon, Blanchet, Ewers.
Replacements: Yeandle, Cowan-Dickie, Tui, Gray, Simmonds, Coote, Hill, Pope.
Prediction: Regardless of the competition, London Welsh are going to give it a crack and doing the double over the Chiefs should push them a little bit more. The Chiefs have picked a young side and I think we’ll see another win for the Exiles, their fifth in eleven competitive games.
Cardiff Blues v Wasps
This is set to be a family affair as Wasps’ head coach Dai Young comes back to his old club, a side where his son Thomas has been named on the bench.
Josh Navidi will captain the Blues in the absence of Andries Pretorius from openside in a side that made four changes from the one which lost to Munster last week.
Owen Williams comes in for Dafydd Hewitt in the midfield, while Gareth Davies replaces Jason Tovey at fly-half.
In the forwards, Luke Hamilton comes in at flanker for Pretorius, with Robin Copeland swapping to No.8 and Sam Hobbs replacing Campese Ma’afu at prop.
Wasps, meanwhile, give first starts of the season to Jonah Holmes, Sam Jones, Tinus Du Plessis and Phil Swainston.
They will start at scrum-half, openside, blindside and tighthead respectively as Matt Everard, Will Taylor and Nathan Morris have been named in the match-day squad for the first time this season.
Cardiff Blues: Fish; T. Williams, O. Williams, Evans, James; Davies, Jones; Hobbs, R. Williams, Filise; Reed, Down; Hamilton, Navidi (capt.), Copeland.
Replacements: Breeze, Trevett, Harford, Cook, Young, Lewis, Sweeney, Hewitt.
London Wasps: Daly; Wade, C. Bell, L. Thomas, Wallace; T. Bell, Holmes; McIntyre, TR. Thomas, Swainston; Cannon, Wentzel (capt.); Du Plessis, Jones, Vunipola.
Replacements: Morris, Payne, Taylor, Hughes, Everard, Davies, Varndell, Southwell.
Prediction: As Dai Young said they can’t pick and chose which competition to give 100% in and the Blues are not doing well right now. This will be a great opportunity for Wasps to built on momentum.
Ospreys v Gloucester
Ospreys and Gloucester have both called on youngsters ahead of their clash tonight.
Tighthead Marc Thomas and wing Will Price will make their first Ospreys starts while Scott Otten, Nicky Smith, Nicky Thomas, Rhodri Hughes, Arthur Ellis, Sam Davies and Nathan Edwards will all make their debuts for the Welsh province if they appear off the bench.
Gloucester handed debut to Drew Locke who will partner Tim Molenaar in the midfield with flyer Ian Clark named on the wing.
In the pack the experience of Tommaso d’Apice, Dario Chistolini, Matt Cox and skipper Peter Buxton is backed up by a number of promising young forwards, including current England U20 squad members Elliott Stooke and Ross Moriarty.
Ospreys: Jones; Grabham, John, Spratt, Price; Morgan, Webb; M. Thomas, Dwyer, Rees; Peers, King; Stowers, Lewis (capt), Allen.
Replacements: Otten, Smith, N. Thomas, Hughes, Ellis, Habberfield, Davies, Edwards
Gloucester: M. Thomas; Monahan, Locke, Molenaar, Clark; Taylor, Robson; Y. Thomas, D’Apice, Chistolini; Stooke, Graulich; Moriarty, Cox, Buxton (capt).
Replacements: Britton, Murphy, Heard, King, Sparks, Lewis, Burns, Reynolds.
Prediction: The LV Cup is the last of Ospreys’ worries and Gloucester have named a young but strong squad. This should get them the 2011 winners the start of the competition they want.
Saracens v Leicester
Saracens have named a side that has a mixture of youth and experience with academy members such as Sam Stanley, Ben Ransom, James Short, Ben Spencer and Nick Auterac starting alongside the likes of Joe Maddock, Nils Mordt, Petrus du Plessis and Alistair Hargreaves.
No.8 Jono Ross will make his Saracens debut while Lorenzo Romano, Max Crumpton and Nick Tompkins could follow suit if they come off the bench.
Mat Tait his set to make his comeback for Leicester after 13 months out injured tonight at Bedford’s Goldington Road.
The former England international is named on the bench in a young Tigers squad which sees Matt Cornwell, in his first senior appearance since returning from Mogliano in the summer, lead the side.
French flanker Lucas Guillaume makes his senior debut for Tigers alongside fellow debutant Michael Noone and Richard Thorpe – signed from London Irish in the summer – in the back row.
Saracens: Ransom; Maddock, Taylor, Stanley, Short; Mordt, Spencer; Auterac, George, Du Plessis; Kruis, Hargreaves; Fenton-Wells, Saull, Ross.
Replacements: Crumpton, Smit, Romano, Sheriff, Hankin, Baldwin, Tompkins, Earle.
Leicester: Morris; Purdy, Forsyth, Symons; Lewington; Cornwell (capt.), Young; Harris, Stevens, Brookes; Andrew, Cain; Guillaume, Thorpe, Noone.
Replacements: Thacker, Balmain, Bower, Oliver, Price, Harrison, Ford, Tait.
Prediction: This will be far from the scene set at Wembley a few weeks back but there will be some exciting talents on display. It will come down to experience though and Saracens are dominant in that department, especially up front.
Northampton v Harlequins
For his second game since his 32-week ban, Callum Clark will captain a youthful Northampton side as they take on the Premiership champions at Franklin’s Gardens tomorrow.
He will line up at blindside alongside Ben Nutley and GJ van Velze in the back row while Ryan Lamb carries on at fly-half.
Senior academy centre Tom Stephenson will make his debut, while Ethan Waller, Danny Herriott, Alex Day, Anders Mogensen and Tom Collins are all named as replacements.
Second row Christian Day is also named on the bench after recovering from an ankle ligament injury.
With a dozen of players either in international duties or injured, Conor O’Shea has named a team mixed between youth and experience for their trip to the Gardens.
Former England Sevens flyer Ollie Lindsay-Hague satrts at full back while Ben Botica and Karl Dickson partner at half backs and Harry Sloan gets a call in the midfield, following an injury to Tom Casson last week.
Up front, Pete Browne and Joe Trayfoot make their first start of the season, while Luke Wallace captains the side for the first time from openside.
Among the replacements, Jack Clifford, Jordan Burns, Louis Grimoldby and Miles Mantella will look to make their first senior appearances for the club.
Harlequins: Lindsay-Hague; Stegmann, Hopper, Sloan, Smith; Botica, Dickson; Lambert, Ward, Collier; Browne, Matthews; Trayfoot, Wallace (capt.), Guest.
Replacements: Buchanan, Marfo, Sinckler, Twomey, Clifford, Burns, Grimoldby, Mantella.
Northampton: May; Armstrong, Stephenson, Burrell, Elliott; Lamb, Roberts; A. Waller, Haywood, Doran-Jones, Sorenson, Oakley, Clark (capt.), Nutley, van Velze
Replacements: McMillan, E. Waller, Herriott, C. Day, Harrison, A. Day, Mogensen, Collins.
Prediction: This will be a good test for two teams full of talented youngsters and it could be a very entraining game. The Saints at home will be tough for the young Quins and I think they power up front will seal the deal.
Bath v Dragons
New signing Semesa Rokoduguni makes his first-team debut for Bath against the Newport-Gwent Dragons at the Rec tomorrow.
The British Army soldier starts on the wing as does Olly Woodburn making his first senior appearance of the season.
Mark McMillan will link up with fly-half Tom Heathcote in a new half-back partnership that will look to use the carrying power of Matt Banahan and Dan Hipkiss in the centres.
Ryan Caldwell sit on the bench as he makes his return from injury, with loanees Ken Dowding and Luke Adamson also named as replacements.
Coach Darren Edwards’ side have lost their last five games in all competitions and currently have 14 players side-lined with injury, including Wales’s flanker Dan Lydiate, centre Adam Hughes and lock Rob Sidoli.
Wayne Evans rejoins the team as a replacement following his back injury. Alongside Evans, Tom Brown recovers from knee injury to be included in the match day squad.
Teenagers Hallam Amos, 18, and Ieuan Jones, 19 both get a start as the Dragons look to the youth.
Ross Wardle on loan from Bedwas RFC gets his first competition start on the wing.
Bath: Devoto; Woodburn, Hipkiss, Banahan, Rokoduguni; Heathcote, McMillan; Beech, Sharman, Perenise; Hooper (capt.), Spencer; Ovens, Mercer, Taylor.
Replacements: Tanner, Dowding, Palma-Newport, Caldwell, Skuse, Cook, Adamson, Lane.
Dragons: Amos; Harries, Leach, Dixon, Wardle; S. Jones, Davies; O. Evans, Gustafson, Buck; A. Jones, Nimmo; Groves (capt.), Cudd, I. Jones.
Replacements: Parry, Williams, Ryan, Tyler, Brown, W. Evans, Smith, D. Evans.
Prediction: the Dragons don’t want to be the only one missing out on the Heineken Cup next year and they’ll have to finish above the Blues to do so. As a result, the LV Cup will be a breading program for them and against a strong Bath side they will struggle. A good win for the West Country boys in perspective.
Worcester v Scarlets
Nikki Walker will make his comeback from injury for Worcester as they host Pro12 side the Scarlets at Sixways tomorrow.
Former Ospreys Walker starts on the wing while Jon Clarke also returns in the centre alongside Alex Grove. Jonny Arr and Joe Carlisle will again combine at half back.
Dean Schofield captains the team from the second row where he is paired with Chris Jones while George Porter and James Currie are named in the front row.
New recruit Richard de Carpentier is named in the back row for his senior debut for the club after announcing he signed a contract with Warriors earlier this week.
With 15 players now on duty during the autumn series, a number of new faces join the Scarlets starting lineup.
South African tighthead Jacobie Adriaanse and Welsh-qualified lock Jake Ball will make their first start for the occasion and it’s also a first start of the season for Adam Warren who partners Gareth Maule in the midfield.
Young scrum-half Aled Davies gets his first start after making an impressive impact off the bench against Zebre last weekend while Lee Williams returns to the wing for his first apperance of the season.
Worcester: Pennell; Walker, Grove, Clarke, Short; Carlisle, Arr; Porter, Shervington, Currie; Schofield (capt.), Ch. Jones; De Carpentier, Abbott, Cowan.
Replacements: Hayes, Ce. Jones, O’Donnell, Percival, Best, Frost, Goode, Howard.
Scarlets: Fenby; Phillips, Maule (capt.), Warren, L. Williams; A. Thomas, Davies; Hopkins, Myhill, Adriaanse; Ball, Snyman; Price, D. Thomas, Murphy.
Replacements: Wilkes, Thomas, Edwards, Earle, Edwards, R. Williams, O. Williams, Reynolds.
Prediction: The LV Cup comes third in the Scarlets season goals’ list after the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup while the Warriors need to win. They have more experience up front and this will prove crucial for them to win.