The teams have been named for this weekend’s Premiership games, including the highly anticipated encounter between table-toppers Saracens and fourth-placed Northampton Saints at the StoneX Stadium on Sunday.
Check out the teams and our predictions for all of the weekend’s games, here.
Friday
Bath v Leicester Tigers
Form: Bath Rugby have won their last two Premiership Rugby matches, at home to Northampton and away at Newcastle, and have not won three in succession in the competition since February 2021. Bath have not won back-to-back home games in Premiership Rugby since January. Leicester Tigers’ most recent fixture in Premiership Rugby was their 27-19 victory at Harlequins on 16 October. The Tigers have not won successive away games in Premiership Rugby since last December. Leicester achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over Bath last year for the first time since 2010/11. The last time that the Tigers won on successive visits to the Recreation Ground in Premiership Rugby was in 2002/2003.
Prediction: Leicester by 6
The teams:
Bath: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Will Butt, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Richard de Carpentier, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Fergus Lee-Warner, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Valeriy Morozov
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Max Green, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Wesley White
Leicester: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Harry Potter, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 6 George Martin, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Tom Cowan-Dickie, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Sam Edwards, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Phil Cokanasiga
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Peter Allan, Wayne Falla
TMO: David Rose
Saturday
Gloucester v Newcastle Falcons
Form: Gloucester Rugby’s four-game winning run in Premiership Rugby ended with their 17-27 defeat at Sale Sharks on Saturday. Gloucester have lost only once at Kingsholm in Premiership Rugby since early January: 21-27 to Wasps on 2 April. Newcastle Falcons have slipped to three straight Premiership Rugby defeats since beating Bristol Bears 30-15 at Kingston Park on 30 September. The Falcons have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since beating Worcester Warriors 45-10 at Sixways in early April. Gloucester’s only loss in their last six fixtures with Newcastle in Premiership Rugby was 10-22 at Kingston Park in January 2021. The Falcons have not beaten Gloucester at Kingsholm since a 21-20 thriller in March 2018.
Prediction: Gloucester by 12
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Kyle Moyle, 14 Tom Seabrook, 13 Jack Reeves, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jake Morris, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Charlie Chapman, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Andrew Davidson, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 George Barton, 23 Alex Hearle
Newcastle: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Tom Penny, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Michael Young (c), 8 Callum Chick, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Freddie Lockwood, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 George Merrick, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Logovi’i Mulipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Josh Peters, 20 Sean Robinson, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Ewan Greenlaw
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Anthony Woodethorpe
Assistant referees: Harry Walbaum, John Meredith
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Exeter Chiefs v London Irish
Form: Exeter Chiefs have slipped to three successive defeats in Premiership Rugby and have not lost four in succession in the tournament since 2015. Exeter’s 20-22 loss to Saracens in Round Seven was their first reversal at Sandy Park in Premiership Rugby since March. London Irish have won only one of their last five Premiership Rugby matches: 47-38 at home to Bath Rugby on 24 September. The Exiles have not won away from home in Premiership Rugby since they visited Newcastle on 22 April. London Irish achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over Exeter last campaign something they had only managed once before in 2010/11. Irish have won on two of their last three visits to Sandy Park.
Prediction: Exeter Chiefs by 5
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Dan John, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Sean O’Brien, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Lewis Pearson, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Rus Tuima, 21 Sam Maunder, 22 Will Becconsall, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 James Stokes, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Joe Powell, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Josh Basham, 6 Jack Cooke, 5 Rob Simmons (c), 4 Chunya Munga, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Tom Pearson, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Will Joseph
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Mike Hudson, Jack Makepeace
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Sunday
Saracens v Northampton Saints
Form: Saracens’ 100% winning record in Premiership Rugby continued with their 25-10 victory at Bristol Bears on Saturday. Saracens have won their last 11 home games in Premiership Rugby since Gloucester beat them 25-24 at StoneX Stadium on 8 January. Northampton Saints have lost just one of their last five Premiership Rugby encounters: 14-27 at Bath in Round Seven. The Saints have triumphed only once on their travels in Premiership Rugby since April: 40-36 over Wasps in Coventry on 9 October. Saracens’ only defeat in their last 10 matches against Northampton in Premiership Rugby was 25-27 at StoneX Stadium in October 2019.
Prediction: Saracens by 4
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Ben Earl (c), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Andrew Kitchener, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Robin Hislop
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 James Flynn, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Ollie Stonham, 20 Hugh Tizard, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Josh Hallett, 23 Tom Howe
Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall (c), 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Sam Graham, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Brandon Nansen, 20 Kayde Sylvester, 21 Tom James, 22 Matt Proctor, 23 James Ramm
Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 12:15 GMT
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Nick Wood, Phil Watters
TMO: Claire Hodnett