Aviva Rd 3 preview

Bath v Northampton (evens Fav)

Bath have made two changes to their starting XV for Friday's Premiership clash with Northampton Saints at the Recreation Ground.

Paul James comes in at loosehead, with Nathan Catt switching to the bench. James joins Lee Mears and David Wilson in the front-row, with Stuart Hooper and Dominic Day continuing their partnership in the engine room. Simon Taylor, Carl Fearns and Ben Skirving complete the pack.
The other change comes in the centres, with Ben Williams coming in for the injured Matt Banahan. Williams starts at inside centre, with Dan Hipkiss outside him, as Olly Barkley and Michael Claassens are once again selected in the half-back positions. Tom Biggs and Kyle Eastmond, who both crossed the try line last weekend in the victory over Wasps, are named on the wings, with Nick Abendanon completing the line-up at full-back.
With both teams unbeaten so far, Head Coach Gary Gold knows that Friday will be a stern test for Bath.
"Northampton are a very strong side, who have made a good start to the competition. We all know about their strength in the forwards, but they also back that up with some hugely skilful backs who can attack from anywhere on the field," said Gold.
"We were pleased with the performance against Wasps, but know there is still more we can do to improve and we have been working hard on this. It's these big games that you want to be involved in - as a player and as a coach - and whilst it will be a big challenge for us tomorrow night, we are looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, England lock Courtney Lawes returns on the Northampton bench while Stephen Myler is chosen at fly-half.
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that Bath will provide a "big challenge" for his players.
"They have started the season very well. In Round 1 they came from a long way behind and held their nerve to win at Sixways, while against Wasps last weekend they put together some dangerous attacking moves," said Mallinder.
"The Rec is always a tough place to play. It is a place where the fans are right on top of you and where it can be intimidating for visiting teams. So it is up to us as to how we respond, and we believe that we can do that in the right way.
"At times in our first two games we have played well and scored good tries. But we have also been guilty of not finishing games off and this is something we will be looking to improve. Despite having only had a five-day turnaround between matches out training has been very positive and all of the players are determined to keep our good start to the season going this Friday."
Form: Bath have won their opening two games of the 2012/13 Aviva Premiership Rugby season, overcoming Worcester and Wasps. Bath's most recent two victories at The Rec have now both been against London Wasps. Northampton Saints have also begun with back to back victories over Gloucester and Exeter - the first time the Saints have begun a season with a pair of wins since 2004/05. Northampton have won their last three away games in the regular season. Northampton achieved the Premiership double over Bath last season, including a first victory at The Rec since 2005.


The teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Kyle Eastmond, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Ben Williams, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Simon Taylor, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (c), 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Josh Ovens, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Jack Cuthbert.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Dom Waldouck, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Rhys Oakley, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Tom May.
Date: Friday, September 14

Petes prediction.
Bath have done well thus far. But saints have beaten Gloucester and Exeter and that trumps Worcester and Wasps. Plus, I haven't been a fan of Bath as they have played some of the most dire and boring rugby in the past.
Saints by 5
Not a classic but saints managed to hold on and win 18-14, so my +5 not too shabby for government work

Worcester v Gloucester (Sat)

LINE-UPS

Worcester: Pennell; Walker, Grove, Carlisle, Lemi; Goode, Perry; Mullan, Lutui, Andress, Percival, Schofield, Jones, Betty, Kvesic.
Replacements: Hayes, Jones, Currie, Gillies, Taulava, Arr, Matavesi, Drauniniu.
Gloucester: May; Monahan, Trinder, Tindall, Simpson-Daniel; Twelvetrees, Robson; Wood, Edmonds, Harden; James, Hamilton; Savage, Hazell, Morgan.
Replacements: Dawidiuk, Murphy, Knight, Kalamafoni, Qera, Lewis, Burns, Cook.

I think this will be a very close game in the end.
i like Worcester backs as much as Gloucester. Gloucester have Twelvetrees at 10 and Tindall aat 12 which should be interesting. I always think tindall is past it. Oh well.
Gloucester forwards can be monsters if they show up.
For that reason I reckon they will as they are on a roll and Worcester have yet to win, although they came close to bath and leicester, and can score tries when they need to.
Gloucester by 1 

Preview: Harlequins v Sale

Back at nine: Danny Care

Harlequins boss Conor O'Shea has made three changes to his starting line-up to face Sale Sharks in Round Three of the Aviva Premiership.

With just one change to the backline, Danny Care returns to the starting XV with Karl Dickson named among the replacements.
There are two changes to the pack that beat London Welsh last week as Charlie Matthews joins George Robson in the second row. Nick Easter returns to start at number eight as Tom Guest moves to the blindside flanker position.
Among the replacements, Peter Browne and Rory Clegg will look to make their first appearance of the season, with Maurie Fa'asavalu covering the back-row.
Meanwhile, the Sharks show three changes from last Saturday's loss to Saracens.
Tom Brady comes in for his first game of the season - replacing the injured Will Addison - whilst Mark Easter and Mark Jennings are named on the bench. Jennings has yet to make his senior debut.
"No-one underestimates Harlequins after their first game this season against London Wasps, when you look at the belief they had to be so many points down and come back to win," said Sharks Director of Rugby, Bryan Redpath.
"After winning the Aviva Premiership last season, they merit every credit.
"It's a tough challenge for us on Saturday. After our performance against Saracens, we must build again, showing confidence in our attacking play as much as we have in our defence. We look forward to the game."
Form: Harlequins once more find themselves atop of the Aviva Premiership Rugby table - in fact already at round two the top four are in exactly the same positions as where they finished up last season. Quins have achieved a pair of bonus point wins against Wasps and London Welsh. Sale Sharks have lost their last three matches, whilst their only away win in the competition since last December came at Gloucester on 21 April. The Sharks only win over Quins in any competition since New Year's Day 2010 was 21-17 at Edgeley Park on 8 May 2010, whilst Sale have not been victorious at the Twickenham Stoop in the Premiership since May 2008.
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Peter Browne, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Matt Hopper.
Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 David Seymour (c), 6 James Gaskell,5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings.
Date: Saturday, September 15
Venue: The Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Pete predicts Quinns by 15.
A team that has excellent all round players and play well together.

 London Wasps v London Irish
(Adams Park, Kick-off: 15.00; 14.00 GMT)

London Irish No.8 Jon Fisher knows he and his back-row teammates have a real fight on their hands this weekend when they travel to Adams Park to take on London Wasps.

Both of the capital clubs are yet to win a game this season, the Exiles suffering defeats against Saracens and Gloucester so far this campaign.

Wasps meanwhile have fallen to narrow defeats to defending champions Harlequins and then again last weekend against Bath at the Rec.

And with the likes of James Haskell and Billy Vunipola to take on this weekend Fisher insists he and his back-row teammates will have their work cut out for them on Saturday at a ground they have not won at since 2006.

Teams:

London Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell (captain), 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Joe Launchbury, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Fabio Staibano, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Zak Taulafo, 19 James Haskell, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Nick Robinson, 23 Tommy Bell.

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Jon Fisher, 7 Ofisa Treviranus, 6 Declan Danaher (captain), 5 Bryn Evans, 4 George Skivington, 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Halani Aulika, 18 John Ryan, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Anthony Watson, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Jack Moates.


This is my game of the week.
As a back I think both teams have superb backs.
I give the nod to Wasps because of their forwards.
Wasps by 5



Saracens v Leicester Tigers
(Wembley Stadium, Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 GMT)

Will Fraser admits Wembley Stadium has become a home from home for Saracens - claiming it could prove the difference when his side host Leicester Tigers on Saturday.

Saracens will make the journey to Wembley for the sixth time to take on Leicester Tigers on Saturday with an enviable record of four wins and one loss in the Premiership at the iconic venue.

Both sides will be putting their 100 percent starts to the season on the line after Sarries chalked up a 40-3 win over London Irish before downing Sale Sharks 23-16 while Leicester swept aside London Welsh 38-13 and eased past Worcester Warriors 34-26 last time out.

The last time these sides met Leicester emerged victorious in their semifinal clash at the end of last season - Saracens' only reverse in their last six Premiership games having begun this season with a bang.

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 James Short, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy (captain), 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Rob Andrew, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Patrick Phibbs, 22 George Ford, 23 Matt Smith.
 
Pete predicts Leicester by 5
Sarries play good team rugby and always have a game plan even if it is rather pedantic. Ashton has given them more expansion, but I must go with tigers. All round this is a class team with individuals who can turn on the genius.

 London Welsh v Exeter Chiefs
(Kassam Stadium, 15.00; 14.00 GMT)

New boys London Welsh have begun with two defeats to last season's Premiership finalists - Leicester and Harlequins.

Exeter Chiefs were narrowly defeated at Northampton on Sunday following their round one home victory over Sale.

The Chiefs have won just one of their last four away games in all competitions: 31-26 at Worcester in the Premiership on 14 April.

This is the two clubs first ever clash in the Premiership, but they have been regular adversaries in the lower leagues over the years. The four most recent encounters (all in season 2009/10) were all won by the home side on the day.

Teams:

London Welsh: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Phil Mackenzie, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Hudson Tonga'uiha, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Gordon Ross, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Mike Denbee, 6 Daniel Browne, 5 Matt Corker, 4 Jonathan Mills (captain), 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Frank Montanella.
Replacements: 16 Dan George, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Arthur Joly, 19 Kirill Kulemin, 20 Alfie To'oala, 21 Jonah Holmes, 22 James Lewis, 23 Seb Jewell.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Phil Dollman, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (captain), 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Simon Alcott, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Carl Rimmer, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 James Phillips, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Jack Nowell.

Referee: David Pearson
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Robin Goodliffe

Pete says Chiefs by 21
Welsh just don't have or rather could not afford the class of players needed to be competitive.
Chiefs have actually started to expand their game and has resulted in their backs showing they really can shine.