Maro Itoje makes Saracens return in an all international XV

England second row Maro Itoje is making his much-anticipated return to Saracens as the north London club travel to Bath this weekend.

Itoje returns after his Player of the Series impact for the British and Irish Lions in the summer, having been named in a XV that is entirely made up of international players.

Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Marco Riccioni continue in a front-row that featured against the Falcons with Itoje alongside Tim Swinson in the engine room. Nick Tompkins is back at inside centre and Alex Goode makes his first start of the season at full-back.

Rugby sensation Louis Rees Zammit like you have never seen him before | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 5

Louis Rees-Zammit joins Marc, Max and Ryan this week to reveal all about being the youngest player on the Lions Tour to South Africa, taking care of Bill, fines, becoming a social media sensation, Gloucester initiations and lots more. We also cover all the weekly action, including Max’s incredible game against Harlequins, another W for Ryan against South African opposition and the potential fallout from the agents v clubs row in the premiership. Enjoy!

Rugby sensation Louis Rees Zammit like you have never seen him before | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 5

Louis Rees-Zammit joins Marc, Max and Ryan this week to reveal all about being the youngest player on the Lions Tour to South Africa, taking care of Bill, fines, becoming a social media sensation, Gloucester initiations and lots more. We also cover all the weekly action, including Max’s incredible game against Harlequins, another W for Ryan against South African opposition and the potential fallout from the agents v clubs row in the premiership. Enjoy!

Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola remain at the base of the scrum, just in front of Davies and captain Owen Farrell at nine and 10.

Tompkins’ inclusion means Alex Lozowski moves to outside centre, and in the back-three Max Malins moves to the left wing, with Sean Maitland swapping to the right and Goode operating at full-back.

On the bench there is a welcome return for Vincent Koch after his involvement in both the Lions series and Rugby Championship for South Africa, whilst academy graduates Andy Christie, Sean Reffell and Rotimi Segun will all be eyeing up some game time at The Rec.

Aled Davies has warned his team mates that Saracens will have to be at their best to beat Bath at The Rec.

“We’ve had a mixed start but on the whole we’re reasonably happy and know that there is a lot more in us to get better as a team.” Said the Wales International.

He continued: “Bath have quality throughout their squad and are looking for their first win so we know it will be a tough task. We have huge respect for them and will need to perform at our best to get a positive result.”

SARACENS:
1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Marco Riccioni, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Tim Swinson, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 9 Aled Davies, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Max Malins, 12 Nick Tompkins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 14 Sean Maitland, 15 Alex Goode

REPLACEMENTS: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Andy Christie, 20 Sean Reffell, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Dom Morris, 23 Rotimi Según

BATH: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Ollie Fox; 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Josh McNally, 5 Charlie Ewels ©, 6 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Josh Bayliss

REPLACEMENTS: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Max Green, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Ruaridh McConnochie