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All 12 Gallagher Premiership team selections for this weekend's 2019/20 restart

14 Aug 2020

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

All the team selections are in for the long-awaited restart of the coronavirus-affected 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership season which gets going this Friday in London, with other matches to follow across the weekend at Worcester, Exeter, Bath, Bristol and Northampton.

With 2019 champions Saracens already automatically relegated to the Championship for the 2020/21 season as punishment for repeated breaches of the top-flight salary cap, the emphasis over the remaining nine rounds of matches will be on the race for the play-offs and whether current leaders Exeter can be reeled in by the chasing pack.

A total of 57 matches – 54 regular-season games and three in the play-offs – will be played between now and October 24. Here are your teams for the first half-dozen fixtures this weekend:

Former Scotland international Alex Grove guests in the latest episode of The Lockdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series

Friday, August 14

Harlequins v Sale Sharks (Twickenham Stoop, 7:45pm)

Your teams for this evening's clash #Harlequins #Sale pic.twitter.com/ICgeY7lrrV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 14, 2020

Referee: Luke Pearce (98th Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson & Paul Dix. TMO: Rowan Kitt. Citing Officer: David Guyan.

Saturday, August 15

Worcester Warriors v Gloucester Rugby (Sixways, 12:30pm)

WORCESTER: 15. Melani Nanai; 14. Tom Howe, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Ashley Beck, 11. Scott van Breda; 10. Billy Searle, 9. Francois Hougaard; 1. Ethan Waller, 2. Niall Annett, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Anton Bresler, 5. Graham Kitchener, 6. Ted Hill (capt), 7. Sam Lewis, 8. Matt Kvesic. Reps: 16. Beck Cutting, 17. Lewis Holsey, 18. Richard Palframan, 19. GJ van Velze, 20. Cornell du Preez, 21. Gareth Simpson, 22. Duncan Weir, 23. Francois Venter.

GLOUCESTER: 15. Jason Woodward; 14. Ollie Thorley, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Billy Twelvetrees, 11. Jonny May; 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Joe Simpson; 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin, 2. Jack Singleton, 3. Fraser Balmain, 4. Ed Slater, 5, Freddie Clarke, 6. Ruan Ackermann, 7. Lewis Ludlow (capt), 8. Jake Polledri. Reps: 16. Henry Walker, 17. Logovi’i Mulipola, 18, Jack Stanley, 19. Matt Garvey, 20. Jack Clement, 21. Stephen Varney, 22. Tom Seabrook, 23. Louis Rees-Zammit.

Referee: Christophe Ridley (23rd Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson & Wayne Falla. TMO: Keith Lewis. Citing Officer: John Byett.

Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers (Sandy Park, 2pm)

EXETER: 15. Stuart Hogg; 14. Tom O’Flaherty, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Devoto, 11. Olly Woodburn; 10. Joe Simmonds (capt), 9. Jack Maunder; 1. Alec Hepburn, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Harry Williams, 4. Jonny Gray, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Dave Ewers, 7. Jannes Kirsten, 8. Sam Simmonds. Reps: 16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Tomas Francis, 19. Sam Skinner, 20. Don Armand, 21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22. Gareth Steenson, 23. Ian Whitten.

LEICESTER: 15. George Worth; 14. David Williams, 13. Jaco Taute, 12. Matt Scott, 11. Jordan Olowofela; 10. George Ford, 9. Ben Youngs; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Tom Youngs (capt), 3. Dan Cole, 4. Tomas Lavanini, 5. Calum Green, 6. Harry Wells, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Jordan Taufua. Reps: 16. Jake Kerr, 17. Nephi Leatigaga, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Hanro Liebenberg, 20. Luke Wallace, 21. Thom Smith, 22. Ben White, 23. Zack Henry.

Referee: Tom Foley (77th Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Greg Macdonald & Jonathan Healy. TMO: Stuart Terheege. Citing Officer: Buster White.

'We have the best training centre in the country and that is not bragging, that is just factual'@BristolBears CEO Mark Tainton on their new training centre, ring-fencing, Lam, Radradra & how a clean-out of players in 2017 was needed, writes @heagneyl https://t.co/fsHrkGupXc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 12, 2020

Bath Rugby v London Irish (Recreation Ground, 3pm)

BATH: 15. Anthony Watson; 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Josh Matavesi, 11. Ruaridh McConnochie; 10. Rhys Priestland, 9. Ben Spencer; 1. Lewis Boyce, 2. Tom Dunn, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Josh McNally, 5. Charlie Ewels (capt), 6. Zach Mercer, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Taulupe Faletau. Rep: 16. Jack Walker, 17. Beno Obano, 18. Christian Judge, 19. Elliott Stooke, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. Will Chudley, 22. Cameron Redpath, 23. Tom de Glanville.

LONDON IRISH: 15. Tom Parton; 14. Ben Loader, 13. Curtis Rona, 12. Terrence Hepetema, 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins; 10. Paddy Jackson, 9. Nick Phipps; 1. Harry Elrington, 2. Motu Matu’u, 3. Sekope Kepu, 4. Ben Donnell, 5. George Nott, 6. Matt Rogerson, 7. Sean O’Brien (capt), 8. Albert Tuisue. Reps: 16. Matt Cornish, 17. Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18. Ollie Hoskins, 19. Sebastian de Chaves, 20. Blair Cowan, 21. Ben Meehan, 22. Theo Brophy Clews, 23. Matt Williams.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (74th Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Robert Warburton & Phil Watters. TMO: David Grashoff. Citing Officer: Brian Campsall.

Bristol Bears v Saracens (Ashton Gate, 4:30pm)

Semi Radradra starts for Bristol ? #BristolBears #Saracens pic.twitter.com/ve2wkohPEa
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 14, 2020

Referee: Matthew Carley (93rd Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Adam Leal & Jack Makepeace. TMO: Claire Hodnett. Citing Officer: Duncan Bell.

Sunday, August 16

Northampton Saints v Wasps (Franklin’s Gardens, 3pm)

NORTHAMPTON: 15. George Furbank; 14. Harry Mallinder, 13. Fraser Dingwall, 12. Piers Francis, 11. Ahsee Tuala; 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Alex Mitchell; 1. Francois van Wyk, 2. Mikey Haywood, 3. Paul Hill, 4. David Ribbans, 5. Api Ratuniyarawa, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Lewis Ludlam, 8. Teimana Harrison (capt). Reps: 16. Sam Matavesi, 17. Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, 18. Owen Franks, 19. Alex Coles, 20. JJ Tonks, 21. Henry Taylor, 22. Matt Proctor, 23. Taqele Naiyaravoro.

WASPS: 15. Matteo Minozzi; 14. Zach Kibirige, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Jimmy Gopperth, 11. Josh Bassett; 10. Jacob Umaga, 9. Dan Robson; 1. Ben Harris, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Kieran Brookes, 4. Joe Launchbury (capt), 5. Will Rowlands, 6. Jack Willis, 7. Thomas Young, 8. Brad Shields. Reps: 16. Gabriel Oghre, 17. Tom West, 18. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19. James Gaskell, 20. Sione Vailanu, 21. Ben Vellacott, 22. Lima Sopoaga, 23. Ryan Mills.

Referee: Karl Dickson (26th Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Hamish Smales. TMO: Graham Hughes. Citing Officer: Danae Zamboulis.

'As a black player, you get pigeon-holed. You’re either an athlete and you’ll get stuck on the wing or he’s big, let’s stick him in the second row' @Harlequins wing @natenate174 talks about gaining coaches' trust, his ACL, BLM & more, with @heagneyl ???https://t.co/qxaJxTQeXM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2020

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Comments on RugbyPass

Zama Zama 21 minutes ago

Andy Farrell is draining Ireland’s resources to benefit the Lions

@dc0000 Ffs Nige, are you typing with your forehead again?

4 Go to comments

JW 26 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Yes but we don’t want to be anything like the US do we!

I think it works especially in america for those types of days. Of course the general idea is that you spend time together and although watch sport is the exact opposite I’d reckon it would probably be a net positive in the end.

Something that has or should have more meaning is another thing entirely though. Or does the day just not have that much meaning anymore either? Like having a ‘rivalry’ with the other nation you’re celebrating as team mates.. well hello? Maybe it’s a good day for the All Blacks v Kangaroos game? Transtasman version of the black clash?

37 Go to comments

JW 35 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

They can and do, Ireland later this year is one.

37 Go to comments

FF 41 minutes ago

The story of Romania's Mariana Lucescu: The Stejarii ‘Madame Rugby’

You’re welcome and sorry for the late reply.

could targeted investment by IRB/World Rugby and other have helped over the decades?

I think so. More money is always good and compared to other T2 Federations, although things aren’t perfect, the Romanian Rugby Federation did a good job managing it’s budget.

I think I saw T2Rugby tweeting that out of T2 nations funding around half goes to the 3 Pacific Islands which might be a bit of a waste considering how much coruption there is inside those Federations.

I had read there was a big exodus to France after professionalism which was a major blow, could investment at this critical juncture have kept more of those players, coaches, officials in place and reduced the damage?

It was a major blow for the local championship and the level of the local competition.

This was fixed in 2011 when the Superliga was created - a professional league with 8 teams. I think it had 10 in it’s peak. Having a pro league for a T2 nation is really good but now the issue is there are only 6 teams which means you don’t have a lot of matches during a season. It would’ve been great if there would be again 8 or 10 teams but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

However, for the national side, this exodus was really good. Even now we get benefits from it, although we don’t have as many players abroad, because kids of those players are playing at a higher intensity level in France - ex. Gontineac, Mitu.

8 Go to comments

Utiku Old Boy 51 minutes ago

Hurricanes hit high gear in bruising win over Waratahs

A major shift in intensity by the Canes. Walker-Leawere, Sullivan, Umaga-Jensen, Kirifi, Lomax, Aumua, Iose, Naholo - all were fired up! Interesting to hear Ruben Love talking about working on playing with more depth to increase their ability to get it wide. Also how hard they wanted to step up the defense in recognition of how much Cory Jane puts into it. Love had subliminal skills on display. For the Tahs, Bell and their scrum was a handful and Suaalii was well contained (especially by Sullivan) but had some great touches. Definitely a star on the rise.

1 Go to comments

JW 54 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

I think the idea would definitely be to have both SRP and the international together.

37 Go to comments

JW 56 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Has it been analysed has it, were can you see the proposal?

37 Go to comments

JW 58 minutes ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

NZR have no problem throwing together a team for money, it’s how they lost their undefeated record against Ireland.

SOO is played during the week and just don’t train, because really what is there to train for in league anyway?

The only issue I can see is the ethical one, what do you say about it?

37 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

It’s like when SR used to be test level.

37 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

How are the ABs setup to fail? Didn’t the author make that remark too?

37 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

That’s all the NH gets before they have to play us when we tour.

37 Go to comments

Wiseguy 2 hours ago

Alex Masibaka: 'I was on a stag do in Barcelona when Gregor Townsend called'

And the “experts” from NSW still bang on about not having enough talent in Australia to maintain a 5th super team. There’s plenty of talent like this guy. Just have a look at the player rosters in France and Japan. Hell, even the French academies are signing up young aussies. They just need to sort their pathways, opportunities and player retention which is often thwarted by the comically poor, shoot themselves in the foot decisions made in Sydney.

2 Go to comments

DC000 2 hours ago

Andy Farrell is draining Ireland’s resources to benefit the Lions

Easterby and Goodmna are utterly useless.

Then being gone can only help Ireland in the lkng run

4 Go to comments

YeowNotEven 3 hours ago

Du'Plessis Kirifi commits to All Blacks dream with new contract

Playing like he’s absolutely had enough of Dalton’s average ass being ahead of him in the pecking order.

1 Go to comments

fl 3 hours ago

Chris Ashton: 'There's a lot of firepower out there but wings are not the highest-paid group. I wouldn’t have stood for it.'

Literally every position in rugby is important. I find this narrative absurd.

3 Go to comments

Stalle li 3 hours ago

Debutant’s powerful start as Australia’s ‘youngins’ usher in new dawn

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0 Go to comments

JW 3 hours ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

I’d have loved to see Bledisloe Cup rugby on Anzac Day.

Yes, but by now you must realize you don’t hold common opinions, let alone can think for New Zealand rugby’s best interests.

The preparation of the All Blacks is timed to the minute and introducing a test match in the middle of the Super Rugby Pacific season has the potential to throw that carefully managed system into chaos.

I don’t think that should come into it, it’s a business decision when it comes down to it. First though, it hasn’t passed the “is it OK to do?” has it.

I get that surrendering the cup isn’t something the current crop of NZR staff and governors eye with any relish, but I’ll continue to argue that it would ultimately be good for our rugby.

That view would be an oxymoron in their (most peoples) eyes.

I’ll be interested to know what fans think of seeing the proposed Anzac Day clash scuppered. Like, genuinely interested.

I hadn’t been expecting anything, but that’s likely because if it was in the spotlight to expect something, I would have expected the status quo to come out on top like every other time.

But RA’s Bledisloe proposal gives us an opportunity to wonder about how sacred the timing of this competition is and whether we couldn’t reimagine how the season is configured.

Isn’t that being determined now in conjunctin with World Rugby/every other union?

Perhaps RA’s desire to start Anazc Bledisloes from 2026 was a bit premature. Maybe 2028 or 2030 would give everyone enough time to decide how the game can be accommodated.

It could be their is reason to change in that time frame, but why on Nations League years? More pointedly, shouldn’t it be every year?

the idea that the Bledisloe Cup could become Anazc Day’s marquee sports event

I could probably easily get out of the idea these sorts of days aren’t for sport/fun to take center stage. It’s a mentality I don’t think holds everywhere already. But I’m happy to follow what those that really do care about the day (never been a dawn service person) think.

37 Go to comments

Stalle li 4 hours ago

Super Rugby Pacific's rebirth can finally restore the missing All Blacks edge

19 Go to comments

Stalle li 5 hours ago

Aaron Smith and ‘three or four other All Blacks’ keen to play for AUNZ XV

5 Go to comments

Stalle li 5 hours ago

The impact Townsend will have on Lions despite missing Farrell's team

0 Go to comments

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