Every starting line-up for the Gallagher Premiership Christmas derbies
All of the starting line-ups for the Gallagher Premiership Round Four action this Boxing Day and Christmas weekend. Newcastle Falcons’ home match against Leicester on Boxing Day has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus at the Tigers, while London Irish and Bath’s game has also been cancelled for similar reasons.
SALE SHARKS TEAM VS WASPS – KICK OFF 3PM
England international Tom Curry returns to the `Sale Sharks starting line-up as Paul Deacon names his side to face Wasps at the AJ Bell.
15. Sam James
14. Luke James
13. Roahn Janse van Rensburg
12. Sam Hill
11. Marland Yarde
10. AJ MacGinty
9 Faf de Klerk (c)
1. Valerey Morozov
2. Akker van der Merwe
3. Coenie Oosthuizen
4. Matt Postlethwaite
5. JP du Preez
6. Cobus Wiese
7. Tom Curry
8. Daniel du Preez.
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Curtis Langdon
17. Ross Harrison
18. Will-Griff John
19. James Phillips
20. Sam Dugdale
21. Will Cliff
22. Robert du Preez
23. Tom Roebuck
WASPS TEAM VS SALE SHARKS – KICK OFF 3PM
Head coach Lee Blackett has named his Wasps side to travel to Sale Sharks and there are three changes to the starting 15 that beat Montpellier last time out.
15 Lima Sopoaga
14 Zach Kibirige
13 Paolo Odogwu
12 Michael Le Bourgeois
11 Josh Bassett
10 Charlie Atkinson
9 Will Porter
1 Tom West
2 Tom Cruse
3 Kieran Brookes
4 Will Rowlands
5 James Gaskell
6 Ben Morris
7 Thomas Young (c)
8 Alfie Barbeary
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Tommy Taylor
17 Simon McIntyre
18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen
19 Levi Douglas
20 Tom Willis
21 Dan Robson
22 Jimmy Gopperth
23 Juan de Jongh
GLOUCESTER TEAM VS EXETER CHIEFS, KICK 3PM
Jonny May and Fraser Balmain come in and are the only two changes to the starting 15 with Tom Seabrook also joining the 23 on the bench.
15. Kyle Moyle
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
13. Chris Harris
12. Mark Atkinson
11. Jonny May
10. Lloyd Evans
9. Charlie Chapman
1. Val Rapava-Ruskin
2. Jack Singleton
3. Fraser Balmain
4. Ed Slater
5. Matias Alemanno
6. Jordy Reid
7. Lewis Ludlow (c)
8. Ruan Ackermann
16. Henry Walker
17. Jamal Ford-Robinson
18. Ciaran Knight
19. Alex Craig
20. Seb Nagle-Taylor
21. Toby Venner
22. George Barton
23. Tom Seabrook
EXETER CHIEFS TEAM VS GLOUCESTER, KICK 3PM
Despite a Covid outbreak, Exeter Chiers have named a strong side to welcome rivals Gloucester to Sandy Parky.
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Olly Woodburn
13 Ian Whitten
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Joe Simmonds (capt)
9 Jack Maunder
1 Ben Moon
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Harry Williams
4 Jonny Gray
5 Sam Skinner
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jannes Kirsten
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jack Yeandle
17 Alec Hepburn
18 Marcus Street
19 Don Armand
20 Richard Capstick
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Tom Hendrickson
BRISTOL BEARS TEAM VS HARLEQUINS, KICK OFF 2PM:
Bristol Bears make five changes from the line-up that beat Connacht last weekend. Radradra is the only change to the backline, while Yann Thomas, John Afoa and Will Capon come into the front row.
15. Max Malins
14. Siva Naulago
13. Semi Radradra
12. Piers O’Conor
11. Ioan Lloyd
10. Callum Sheedy
9. Harry Randall
1. Yann Thomas
2. Will Capon
3. John Afoa
4. Dave Attwood
5. Ed Holmes
6. Steven Luatua (c)
7. Dan Thomas
8. Nathan Hughes.
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Bryan Byrne
17. Jake Woolmore
18. Max Lahiff
19. Joe Joyce
20. Jake Heenan
21. Andy Uren
22. Alapati Leiua
23. Niyi Adeolokun
HARLEQUINS TEAM VS BRISTOL BEARS, KICK OFF 2PM :
Gustard has made six changes to the side that faced Racing 92 last weekend. Loosehead prop Jordan Els comes in for his first start of the season in place of England prop Joe Marler, who is rested this week.
1. Jordan Els
2. Scott Baldwin
3. Wilco Louw
4. Dino Lamb
5. Glen Young
6. James Chisholm
7. Will Evans
8. Alex Dombrandt – Captain
9. Danny Care
10. Marcus Smith
11. Ross Chisholm
12. Ben Tapuai
13. James Lang
14. Louis Lynagh
15. Mike Brown
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Elia Elia
17. Santiago Garcia Botta
18. Simon Kerrod
19. Hugh Tizard
20. Tom Lawday
21. Martin Landajo
22. Lennox Anyanwu
23.Tyrone Green
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS TEAM v WORCESTER WARRIORS, KICK OFF 4.30PM
Co-captain Lewis Ludlam and Wales international Dan Biggar return to Northampton Saints’ starting XV as the men in Black, Green and Gold take on Worcester Warriors at Franklin’s Gardens.
15 George Furbank
14 Matt Proctor
13 Fraser Dingwall
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 Ahsee Tuala
10 Dan Biggar
9 Alex Mitchell
1 Alex Waller (co-capt)
2 Sam Matavesi
3 Paul Hill
4 David Ribbans
5 Nick Isiekwe
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Lewis Ludlam (co-capt)
8 Teimana Harrison
REPLACEMENTS
16 Mikey Haywood
17 Francois van Wyk
18 Owen Franks
19 Alex Moon
20 Shaun Adendorff
21 Tom James
22 Tom Collins
23 Taqele Naiyaravoro
WORCESTER TEAM VS NORTHAMPTON SAINTS, KICK OFF 4.30PM
15 Melani Nanai
14 Perry Humphreys
13 Ollie Lawrence
12 Ashley Beck
11 Nick David
10 Billy Searle
9 Francois Hougaard
1 Ethan Waller
2 Niall Annett
3 Nick Schonert
4 Justin Clegg
5 Andrew Kitchener
6 Ted Hill (C)
7 Matt Kvesic
8 Marco Mama
REPLACEMENTS
16 Beck Cutting
17 Marc Thomas
18 Richard Palframan
19 Joe Batley
20 Cornell du Preez
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Duncan Weir
23 Oli Morris
Comments on RugbyPass
I do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
4 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
27 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
27 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
20 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
27 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
27 Go to comments