The teams have been named for this weekend’s Premiership games, including the highly anticipated encounter between table-toppers Saracens and second-placed Sale Sharks at StoneX Stadium on Saturday.
Check out the teams and our predictions for all of the weekend’s games, here.
Friday
Gloucester v Exeter Chiefs
Form: Gloucester Rugby’s only defeat in Premiership Rugby this campaign was 39-41 away at Saracens in Round Three. Gloucester have lost only once at Kingsholm in Premiership Rugby since January: 21-27 to Wasps on 2 April. Exeter Chiefs have lost two of their last three fixtures in Premiership Rugby but have won two of their last three away from home in the competition. The Chiefs have lost only one of their last six encounters with Gloucester in Premiership Rugby: 18-34 at Kingsholm in March 2021. The Chiefs have won on two of their last three visits to Kingsholm.
Prediction: Gloucester by 5
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Lloyd Evans, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Santi Carreras, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Charlie Chapman, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Cam Jordan, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Jack Reeves, 23 Tom Seabrook
Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Josh Hodge, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Lewis Pearson, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Sam Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Dan John
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Dan Jones, John Meredith
TMO: Dean Richards
Saturday
Harlequins v London Irish
Form: Harlequins have won two of their last three matches in Premiership Rugby however at the Twickenham Stoop they have won only one of their last three fixtures in Premiership Rugby: 35-29 over Northampton in Round Four. London Irish’s only victory in their last five Premiership Rugby matches was 47-38 at home to Bath in Round Four. The Exiles have not won away from home in the tournament since a visit to Newcastle Falcons on April 22. Harlequins have lost only one of their last five encounters with London Irish in Premiership Rugby: 19-22 in this equivalent fixture at the Twickenham Stoop in November 2021. London Irish are unbeaten in their last three visits to the Stoop in all competitions, since it was temporarily their home ground at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
Prediction: Harlequins by 10
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Lennox Anyanwu, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 George Hammond, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Jack Musk, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 George Head, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Archie White, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Oscar Beard
London Irish: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson (c), 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Ben Donnell, 6 Josh Basham, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Chunya Munga, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 James Stokes
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley, James Clarke
TMO: Claire Hodnett
Northampton Saints v Bristol Bears
Form: Northampton Saints’ two-game winning run in Premiership Rugby ended with their 14-27 defeat at Bath on Saturday. The Saints have been defeated just once at Franklin’s Gardens in any competition since February: 21-41 to Leicester in Round Three of Premiership Rugby. Bristol Bears have slipped to three straight defeats in Premiership Rugby since beating London Irish 40-36 at Ashton Gate in Round Three. The Bears have won only once away from home in Premiership Rugby in almost 12 months: 23-8 at Wasps on September 17. The Saints achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over the Bears in 2021/22 something that they had not managed since 2016/17. Last season’s 39-22 victory over Bristol at Franklin’s Gardens ended a three-game winning run for the Bears in Premiership Rugby at the famous old venue.
Prediction: Northampton by 13
The teams:
Northampton: 15 George Hendy, 14 Matt Proctor, 13 Fraser Dingwall (c), 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Aaron Hinkley, 6 Sam Graham, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Alfie Petch, 19 Brandon Nansen, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 James Grayson, 23 Tom Collins
Bristol: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Joe Joyce (c), 4 Joe Batley, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Jay Tyack, 19 Chris Vui, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Will Porter, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Jack Bates
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Phil Watters
TMO: David Rose
Sunday
📚 Sunday's programme is a commemorative edition to celebrate @Alex_goode0 breaking the appearance record!
🎟 https://t.co/ZE6j1ih0v5#YourSaracens💫 | #Goode339 pic.twitter.com/0bZtlwmkvs
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) October 28, 2022
Saracens v Sale Sharks
Form: Saracens’ 100% winning start to the new Premiership Rugby season continued with their 22- 20 victory at Exeter on Saturday, but the only “blemish” was that they dropped their first league point of the season. Saracens have won their last 10 home games in Premiership Rugby since Gloucester beat them 25-24 at StoneX Stadium on 8 January. Sale Sharks’ nine-game winning run in all competitions ended with their 13-29 reversal at home to Harlequins on Sunday. Sale are unbeaten in their last four away games in Premiership Rugby and have not gone five in succession without defeat on their travels in the tournament since 2014. Saracens achieved a Premiership Rugby season’s double over Sale in 2021/22 something they have not claimed since 2017/18. Sale have visited Saracens on 24 previous occasions in Premiership Rugby and only managed a solitary victory: 40-32 at Vicarage Road in September 2005.
Prediction: Sale Sharks by 5
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Ben Earl (c), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 James Flynn, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Josh Hallett, 23 Sean Maitland
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 James Harper, 19 Jono Ross, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Byron McGuigan
Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Click Here: FIJI rugby jersey