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Owen Farrell left out as Saracens name team to take on Northampton
Owen Farrell has been given this weekend off by Saracens just days after the England skipper revealed he was taking a sabbatical from international rugby and would be unavailable for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
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Farrell’s absence from this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership game at home to Northampton, however, has nothing to do with his recent Test rugby announcement that he wants to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being.
Instead, it has to do with a knee injury that he picked up in last weekend’s StoneX Arena win over Bristol. Saracens are set to travel to South Africa for next weekend’s Investec Champions Cup opener at the Bulls and Farrell is being held back against the Saints to be ready for that trip.
Farrell’s omission is one of eight changes to the Saracens XV, with director of rugby Mark McCall also revealing that Italy’s Marco Riccioni and Fiji’s Eroni Mawi are set for lengthy stints on the sidelines.
“Marco Riccioni is going to be out for some time with a neck injury. Eroni Mawi picked up a calf injury at the weekend, which looks like it will be a lengthy injury as well. Tom Willis won’t be available this weekend with a knee injury. Actually, Owen himself got a bang on the knee last weekend,” he explained at a media briefing.
Saracens’ match against the Saints will be scouted by England assistant Richard Wigglesworth, who is also attending Friday’s Harlequins versus Sale game with head coach Steve Borthwick and Richard Hill. Scrum coach Tom Harrison has been pencilled in to watch Bath versus Exeter.
One international who is available for Saracens this weekend is their new Argentine back-rower Juan Martin Gonzalez, who is set for his home debut after impressing away to Newcastle and Harlequins.
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A statement read: “Director of rugby Mark McCall has made eight changes from the side that beat Bristol Bears last Saturday, as Sarries go in search of their sixth consecutive win in the league. Tom West, Theo Dan and Alec Clarey start in the front row, with captain Maro Itoje joining Theo McFarland in an exciting second row.
“Juan Martin Gonzalez returns at blindside flanker and he has player of the month nominee Andy Christie and Billy Vunipola for company at the base of the scrum. Ivan van Zyl is back at scrum-half, and Manu Vunipola starts in the number 10 shirt, replacing Owen Farrell who picked up a minor knock in the win over Bristol.
“Nick Tompkins has Lucio Cinti alongside him in the midfield who is also making his home debut, and the back three of Tom Parton, Sean Maitland and Alex Goode will as ever be looking to give the side a clinical edge in front of the home faithful.
“On the bench, there is a wealth of experience with the likes of Jamie George and Mako Vunipola ready to add their impact, and Alex Lewington will look to continue his form after scoring a brace against the Bears.”
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Saracens (vs Northampton, Saturday): 15. Alex Goode; 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Lucio Cinti, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Tom Parton; 10. Manu Vunipola, 9. Ivan van Zyl; 1. Tom West, 2. Theo Dan, 3. Alec Clarey, 4. Maro Itoje (capt), 5. Theo McFarland, 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7. Andy Christie, 8. Billy Vunipola. Reps: 16. Jamie George, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Christian Judge, 19. Hugh Tizard, 20. Toby Knight, 21. Aled Davies, 22. Olly Hartley, 23. Alex Lewington.
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
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