Premiership Round Seven Preview

In the aftermath of an exhilarating round of derbies, where Bath narrowly triumphed over Bristol, Leicester Tigers revived their season by outplaying Northampton Saints, Saracens affirmed their status as London’s top side at the Stoop, and Exeter staged a sensational comeback against Gloucester, the Gallagher Premiership now moves into the middle part of the season.

With a third of the season completed and winter fast arriving, Round 7 sees Northampton Saints host Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens and Sale Sharks clash with Bath at the AJ Bell Stadium in two Friday night clashes under the lights.

Saturday afternoon sees Gloucester welcome Leicester at Kingsholm, while reigning champions Saracens brace themselves for the visit of Bristol at StoneX Stadium. Newcastle Falcons are aiming for their first win against Exeter Chiefs at Kingston Park on Sunday.

Matthew Luddington offers insights into the seventh round of the Gallagher Premiership.

Northampton vs Harlequins, Friday 24 November (7:45 pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

Phil Dowson expressed dismay over his team’s discipline after a derby defeat at Welford Road. Seeking a rebound at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton makes four changes, with the return of Ethan Waller, Sam Matevesi, Courtney Lawes, and Ollie Sleightholme who makes his first start since February.

George Furbank shifts to fly-half to accommodate for Fin Smith’s absence with a back injury, and 23-year-old Australian fly half Charlie Savala could make his Saints debut from the bench.

Harlequins welcome last season’s Gallagher Premiership top try scorer Cadan Murley back to the starting lineup, and make six changes in total to the side that were dominated by Saracens last Saturday.

Danny Care and Will Joseph get the nod in the backline, and Fin Baxter, Dillon Lewis, and Irne Herbst pack down as Quins look for a reaction to their first poor performance of the season in the Gallagher Premiership.

Fans could be treated to a cracker here as two of the best attacking sides clash on a fast-track under the lights.

Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 James Ramm, 10 George Furbank, 9 Alex Mitchell, 1 Ethan Waller, 2 Sam Matavesi, 3 Trevor Davison, 4 Chunya Munga, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Lewis Ludlam (c)

Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Tom Litchfield

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Louis Lynagh, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Jack Walker, 3 Dillon Lewis, 4 Irne Herbst, 5 George Hammond, 6 Dino Lamb, 7 Will Evans, 8 Alex Dombrandt (Captain)

Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard

Sale vs Bath, Friday 24 November (7:45 pm kick-off)

First meets second at the AJ Bell as Sale Sharks host Bath. Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson welcomies George Ford back at fly-half, Luke Cowan-Dickie makes his first start for the club at hooker, and Nick Schonert starts at tight-head prop, as Sale look close to full strength.

The Sharks suffered a major setback as Tom Curry may miss the rest of the season following a hip operation, and brother Ben will move to openside flanker and captain the side on Friday in his absence.

Bath Director of Rugby Johann Van Graan, mindful of a busy festive schedule with both domestic and European commitments, has made no fewer than 12 changes to Bath’s line-up.

Only Jaco Coetzee, Finn Russell and Matt Gallagher survive last week’s victory over Bristol, and Russell will need to conjure some magic if he is to inspire a major upset for an understrength Bath here.

GJ van Velze captains the side in the second row, Louis Schreuder starts at scrum-half, and Will Butt and Max Ojomoh partner in the centres.

Sale Sharks:  15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Ben Curry ©, 8. Dan du Preez.

Replacements:  16. Agustin Creevy, 17. Si McIntyre, 18. James Harper, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Ben Bamber, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Sam James, 23. Tom O’Flaherty

Bath Rugby: 1 Thomas du Toit, 2 Niall Annett, 3 Johannes Jonker, 4 Josh McNally, 5 GJ van Velze ©, 6 Ewan Richards, 7 Chris Cloete, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 9 Louis Schreuder, 10 Finn Russell, 11 Matt Gallagher, 12 Will Butt, 13 Max Ojomoh, 14 Ruaridh McConnochie, 15 Tom de Glanville

Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Juan Schoeman (50), 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Fergus Lee-Warner, 20 Nahum Merigan, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Cameron Redpath

Gloucester vs Leicester, Saturday 25 November (2:30 pm kick-off)

Gloucester on the back of five consecutive defeats, host Leicester in the Slater Cup, in support of former Glouceser and Tigers’ captain Ed Slater’s MND campaign. 

Gloucester will be scratching their head at how they blew a nine-point lead at Sandy Park in the final few minutes last Sunday, and George Skivington has made just two changes to his side that performed well for 75 minutes, with academy graduate Freddie Thomas starting in the bac-row and Stephen Varney at scrum-half.

Tigers’ head coach Dan McKellar makes two changes after a dominant East Midlands Derby victory with Julien Montoya starting at hooker and Matt Scott partnering Dan Kelly in the centres.

This is a crucial match for two sides who need to avoid being cut adrift from the pacesetters, and to add to the occasion Kingsholm is hosting a historic double header, with reigning Women’s Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartpury in action at 5.30pm against Leicester Tigers.

Gloucester Rugby: 15. Santi Carreras, 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley, 10. George Barton, 9. Stephen Varney, 1. Mayco Vivas, 2. George McGuigan, 3. Fraser Balmain, 4. Freddie Clarke, 5. Matias Alemanno, 6. Freddie Thomas, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Jack Clement

Replacements: 16. Santi Socino, 17. Harry Elrington, 18. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19. Arthur Clark, 20. Ben Donnell, 21. Micky Young, 22. Mark Atkinson, 23. Louis Hillman-Cooper

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 James Cronin, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Cameron Henderson, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Jasper Wiese

Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Matt Rogerson, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Solomone Kata

Saracens vs Bristol, Saturday 25 November (3:00 pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

Saracens, on a resounding five-game winning streak, sent a message to the Gallagher Premiership with their 38-10 win at The Stoop last week that they remain the side to beat.

The reigning champions have been improving week on week and now look a formidable outfit. Director of Rugby Mark McCall has made four changes to the side, with England stars Tom Willis and Billy Vunipola’s starting in the back-row, Aled Davies gets the nod at scrum-half, and Elliot Daly comes in at outside centre, as Saracens field a close to full strength team. Theo McFarland could make his return to Saracens action following injury from the bench.

Bristol by contrast suffered a fourth consecutive defeat at The Rec last week, and need to arrest their slump in form quickly.

Jake Heenan gets set for his 100th cap for Bristol at blindside flanker, with captain Fritz Harding shifting to Number 8 and Dan Thomas at openside flanker. Max Malins wll be chomping at the bit to face his old club, and he starts at fullback.

Fijian international Kalaveti Ravouvou could make his Bears debut from the bench, and 19-year-old academy star Paddy Pearce could also make his first Gallagher Premiership appearance having impressed in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Tom Parton, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Aled Davies; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Christian Judge, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Tom Willis, 7 Andy Christie, 8 Billy Vunipola

Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Theo McFarland, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Olly Hartley, 23 Sean Maitland

Bristol Bears: 15. Max Malins, 14. Gabriel Ibitoye, 13. Virimi Vakatawa, 12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11. Rich Lane, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Harry Randall, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. Kyle Sinckler), 4. James Dun, 5. Joe Batley, 6. Jake Heenan, 7. Dan Thomas, 8. Fitz Harding (c)

Replacements: 16. Harry Thacker, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. George Kloska, 19. Josh Caulfield, 20. Paddy Pearce, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. James Williams, 23. Kalaveti Ravouvou

Newcastle vs Exeter, Sunday 26 November (3:00 pm kick-off, TNT Sports)

Hoping to find their first win of the Premiership season, Newcastle Falcons Head Coach Alex Codling has named Louis Johnson at fly-half to make his first league start for the club. The 20-year-old has been steadily climbing the ranks at the Falcons since 2021, and has impressed in the England U20 set up.

Codling has made seven changes in all to take on from last week’s defeat at Sale, speedster Adam Radwan returns from injury to start on the wing, as does hooker Jamie Blamire. Tom Penny is back at full-back, and the former Jersey Reds duo of James Elliott and John Hawkins are named to start at scrum half and lock respectively. Argentina internationals Matias Moroni and Eduardo Bello return to start, as the Falcons field a stronger side than last week for the clash at Kingston Park.

Rob Baxter has kept the same side that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat last week against Gloucester, thanks to a Henry Slade penalty with the clock in the red. The Chiefs are yet to win a game away from home in the Gallagher Premiership this year, and Baxter has challenged them to replicate their outstanding home form on the road.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Tommy Wyatt, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ben Hammersley, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Jack Yeandle, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 Rusi Tuima, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Ethan Roots, 8 Aidon Davis

Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Tom Hendrickson

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Tom Penny, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Iwan Stephens, 10 Louie Johnson, 9 James Elliott; 1 Phil Brantingham, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Eduardo Bello, 4 John Hawkins, 5 Kiran McDonald, 6 Pedro Rubiolo, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Callum Chick (captain)

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Philip van der Walt, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Louis Brown

Written by Matthew Luddington

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