The teams have been named for this weekend’s Premiership games, including the highly anticipated clash between Exeter Chiefs and Saracens at Sandy Park on Saturday.
Click Here: newcastle knights rugby store
Check out the teams and our predictions for all of the weekend’s games, here.
Friday
London Irish v Gloucester
Form: London Irish have won just one of their last four Premiership Rugby matches: 47-38 at home to Bath on October 1. The Exiles are unbeaten in their last seven fixtures in all competitions at Gtech Community Stadium since Harlequins beat them there in Premiership Rugby on April 3, a run which includes two draws. Gloucester Rugby’s only defeat in any competition this season was 39-41 at Saracens in Round Three of Premiership Rugby. Gloucester won their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby at Bath in Round Five and have not won successive fixtures on the road in the tournament since January. Gloucester are unbeaten in their last three matches against London Irish, although the two clubs did share a 25-25 draw the last time they met at Brentford in Round Five last season.
Prediction: London Irish by 5
The teams:
London Irish: 15 Henry Arundell, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson (c), 9 Ben White, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Will Joseph, 23 Tom Parton
Gloucester: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Jonny May, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Charlie Chapman, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Jack Reeves, 23 Lloyd Evans
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Joe James
TMO: Andrew Jackson
Saturday
Bath v Northampton Saints
Form: Bath Rugby’s most recent victory in Premiership Rugby was 27-24 at home to London Irish in Round 25 last season. Bath have won only one of their last six home games in Premiership Rugby. Northampton Saints have won their last four fixtures in all competitions since Harlequins beat them 35-29 at the Twickenham Stoop in Round Four of Premiership Rugby. The Saints’ 40-36 victory at Wasps in their most recent away game in Premiership Rugby ended a four-game losing streak on the road. Northampton achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over Bath last year for the first time since 2015/16. Northampton beat Bath 36-21 at the Recreation Ground in April, their first victory at the venue since December 2015.
Prediction: Northampton by 10
The teams:
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Butt, 10 George Worboys, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Richard de Carpentier, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Tom Dunn (c), 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Fergus Lee-Warner, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Max Ojomoh
Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 James Grayson, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Alex Coles, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Alfie Petch, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 George Hendy
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Nick Wood, Simon Harding
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
Form: Exeter Chiefs’ only defeat in any competition so far this season was 20-28 at Sale Sharks in Round Four of Premiership Rugby. The Chiefs’ solitary reversal at Sandy Park in any competition since early February was 17-22 to Leicester Tigers in Round 21 last season. Saracens have made the perfect start to the new Premiership Rugby campaign securing five successive maximum point victories, no club has ever recorded thirty league points after six matches. Saracens’ only defeat in their last five Premiership Rugby away trips was 7-54 at Gloucester in Round 26 last season. The last seven meetings between the two clubs in the regular season of Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day whilst Saracens have not tasted victory at Sandy Park since September 2016.
Prediction: Exeter by 2
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Lukę Cowan-Dickie (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Sam Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Rory O’Loughlin
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Max Malins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 James Flynn, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Jackson Wray, 22 Ruben de Haas, 23 Alex Goode
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Rose
Sunday
Sale Sharks v Harlequins
Form: Sale Sharks have won their last nine fixtures in all competitions since their 22-41 reversal at Racing 92 in last season’s European Champions Cup quarter final. The Sharks have been defeated just once at AJ Bell Stadium in Premiership Rugby in the past twelve months: 12-18 by Saracens on April 1. Harlequins’ two victories in Premiership Rugby this season were at Newcastle in Round One and at home to Northampton in Round Four. The victory at the Falcons is their only success on the road in any competition since beating London Irish at Brentford in April. Sale have won their last three fixtures against Harlequins in Premiership Rugby since Harlequins’ 24-12 win at the Stoop in February 2021. The Londoners have not been victorious at AJ Bell Stadium since a 25-23 victory there in April 2015.
Prediction: Sale by 7
The teams:
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Sam James, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Arron Reed
Harlequins: 15 Tommy Allan, 14 Nick David, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Archie White, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Jack Musk, 1 Joe Marler (c)
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 George Hammond, 20 Matas Jurevicius, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Lennox Anyanwu
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Peter Allan, Wayne Falla
TMO: Rowan Kitt