Friday 10 October 2014 13:44, UK
Saturday’s quadruple billing of Aviva Premiership action offers those teams competing on the continent a final chance to gather momentum ahead of the European break.
Reigning Premiership champions Northampton, last season’s Heineken Cup finalists Saracens and Sale Sharks will all hope to emerge victorious ahead of their debuts in the newly-formed European Champions Cup, while the rest of the sides in action are preparing for a bow in the Challenge Cup.
Aside from European matters, England head coach Stuart Lancaster is moving ever closer to naming his squad for the autumn internationals and there will be several players out to stake their claim for a starting berth.
Defending champions Northampton will look to extend their lead at the Premiership summit when a Sale Sharks side, who have endured an indifferent start to the campaign, visit Franklin’s Gardens.
Victory over London Irish last weekend was enough to see Saints elevated to the top of the ladder, while Sale managed to chalk up only their second win of the season in a fiercely-contested clash with Wasps.
However, the record books do not favour Steve Diamond’s Sharks, who have not won at Franklin’s Gardens since May 2006, nor have their won successive top-flight matches since March this year.
England flanker Tom Wood is back to lead Northampton, but his international colleague Dylan Hartley must settle for a place on the bench with Mike Haywood retaining the No 2 jersey and Wales winger George North is also relegated to the replacements' bench with Jamie Elliott making his return.
Diamond has made just one change to the side which stung Wasps last time out, with Josh Beaumont coming in to partner Michael Paterson at lock, with Jon Mills reduced to the bench.
Last year’s regular season table-toppers Saracens will aim to bounce back from their first defeat of the campaign when David Humphreys’ buoyant Gloucester arrive at Allianz Park.
Mark McCall’s Sarries saw their unbeaten run thwarted by Bath last Friday night, while Gloucester took advantage of a Leicester Tigers side in disarray to claim a morale-boosting win and move up to fifth in the Premiership standings.
However, Saracens were defeated just once on home soil last term, but Gloucester will aim to capitalise on their form – three wins from four - to go some way to rectifying their pair of defeats at the hands of the London club in the previous campaign.
McCall continues to use his strength in depth with a raft of rotations to the side which lost to Bath last weekend; Schalk Brits, Kelly Brown, Richard Wigglesworth, Brad Barritt and Ben Ransom all drafted into the starting line-up.
Gloucester, meanwhile, stick to formula with director of rugby Humphreys and coach Laurie Fisher naming the same run-on side that defeated 10-time Premiership champions Leicester.
Fresh from ending their 20-match losing streak in the English top flight, Newcastle Falcons travel to the Kassam Stadium to face a London Welsh side still searching for their first win of the season.
Dean Richards’ Falcons caused an upset last weekend as they prevailed 29-24 against Exeter Chiefs to end their bleak run, while London Welsh’s woes showed no signs of relenting as they were thrashed 52-0 by Harlequins.
The Exiles have lost all five of their games since their return to the Premiership and have conceded no less than 46 points in any of their fixtures to date.
In a bid to find their first success, Justin Burnell has made five changes to his Welsh side, all of which come in the forwards with Pablo Henn, Nathan Morris, Matt Corker, Dean Schofield and Richard Thorpe all thrust to the fore.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the first ever Premiership meeting between the sides, Richards have named an unchanged side, expressing faith in the side which overthrew the Chiefs last time out.
Exeter coach Rob Baxter will not need reminding of that Falcons result and will seek an immediate response from his Chiefs when they host London Irish at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs became the first side to be beaten by Newcastle in almost a year; a demoralising blemish on an otherwise explosive start to the season.
Exeter look set for a hard-fought battle on Saturday, though, against an Irish side who have claimed the scalps of Leicester and Newcastle as well as picking up a bonus-point in all three of the matches they have lost.
Baxter welcomes England starlets Sam Hill and Jack Nowell back into his line-up, while Carl Rimmer and Mitch Lees also make comebacks in the pack.
Ahead of the trip to Devon, Exiles director of rugby Brian Smith has made four changes, which see Tom Guest, Scott Steele, Eamonn Sheridan and Topsy Ojo return to the side.
