Bristol Bears boosted as England duo return to run-on side while new signing starts for Bath
England front-row Ellis Genge in action for Bristol Bears.
The Premiership continues this weekend as five matches take place, including the clash between fifth-placed Harlequins and Bath, who are in second position, on Saturday.
Bath’s new signing, Jacques du Plessis, is set to make his debut in the second-row in that game while elsewhere, Bristol’s stocks have been bolstered by the return of England duo Ellis Genge (prop) and Max Malins (full-back), who are back in their club’s starting line-up after playing off the bench during last weekend’s win over Northampton Saints.
Check out the teams for the five games, here.
Northampton Saints v Saracens
The teams
Northampton: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Burger Odendaal, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Tom James, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 5 Alex Coles, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ed Prowse, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Sam Graham, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Tom Litchfield
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Andy Christie, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Theo McFarland, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Gareth Simpson, 23 Alex Goode
Venue: cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Joe James, Andrew Jackson
TMO: Ian Tempest
Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers
The teams
Newcastle: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Ben Redshaw, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Sam Cross, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Phil Brantingham
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Murray McCallum, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 John Hawkins, 20 John Kelly, 21 Ben Douglas, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Oliver Spencer
Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Olly Cracknell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Kyle Hatherell, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Dan Richardson, 19 Finn Carnduff, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Phil Cokanasiga
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Saturday
Gloucester v Bristol Bears
England duo ink deals with Top 14 giants as international careers put on hold
The teams
Gloucester: 15 Lloyd Evans, 14 Josh Hathaway, 13 Chris Harris,, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Santi Carreras, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Jack Clement, 6 Ruan Ackermann (c), 5 Cam Jordan, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Jamal Ford-Robinson
Replacements: 16 Will Crane, 17 Val Rapava-Ruskin, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Albert Tuisue, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Seb Atkinson, 23 Jonny May
Bristol: 15 Max Malins, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Fred Davies, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 23 Siva Naulago
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Paul Dix
TMO: David Rose
TEAM NEWS 🗞️
⬇️ Your Starting XV to face Bath tomorrow at The Stoop 🏟️
📦 Delivered by @DHLRugbyUK #COYQ #HARvBAT pic.twitter.com/TO9b4Oejbc
— Harlequins 🃏 (@Harlequins) March 29, 2024
Harlequins v Bath
The teams
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Stephan Lewies (c), 5 George Hammond, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Collier, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Max Green, 22 Lennox Anyanwu, 23 Cameron Anderson
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ruaridh McConnochie, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Alfie Barbeary
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 15:05 GMT
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley, John Meredith
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Sunday
Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Sam Dugdale, 22 Raffi Quirke, 23 Sam James
Exeter: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Will Becconsall, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Ross Vintcent, 5 Christ Tshiunza, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Jack Dunne, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush
Venue: Salford Community Stadium
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Johnathan Healy
TMO: Dean Richards