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London Wasps v Northampton Saints
- Thread starter Teh Mite
- Start date
Wasps Director of Rugby Tony Hanks has made five changes to his line-up for their Aviva Premiership hosting of Northampton Saints on Sunday.
Mark Van Gisbergen, Dominic Waldouck, Tim Payne, Joe Worsley and Captain Tom Rees all return to the XV. Van Gisbergen is in at full-back for Richard Haughton, ruled out with a chest injury, while Waldouck trades places on the bench with Ben Jacobs in an otherwise unchanged back-line.
Payne returns to the front-row, forcing Charlie Beech to the bench after his first start of the season last weekend. Dan Ward-Smith moves from the back-row to partner Simon Shaw in the second-row. He replaces Richard Birkett who sustained a broken nose in last week's European clash. Worsley, named on the bench last Sunday, comes in for Ward-Smith and partners skipper Rees, back in the fray after recovery from an ankle strain.
With Rees' return, Serge Betsen joins the replacements which this week also include former Saint James Cannon and centre Steve Kefu.
"We are looking forward to a second consecutive week of rugby on home turf, having spent much of the season on the road," said Hanks.
"The Adams Park crowd really got behind the team last weekend and we will be hoping for much of the same this Sunday as we return to the Aviva Premiership.
"Wasps Northampton clashes are always highly competitive and hard fought and the encounters were extremely close last season. This game is massive for us in terms of driving our place in the league and our focus is securing the result we need."
Meanwhile, Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder insists that Northampton will have to be on top form for their Aviva Premiership trip to Adams Park.
Northampton return to domestic action having achieved back-to-back Heineken Cup wins to be sitting top of Pool 1. But with Wasps having not lost at their home ground since early January, Mallinder says that the Saints face a stiff challenge when they travel down the M40 to High Wycombe.
"We had a good attitude going into the Edinburgh match and we need the same again on Sunday," he said.
"We showed then that we can adapt during a game and impose ourselves to get a positive result. We had not reached the standards we expect of ourselves in the few games before the trip to Murrayfield. But we played well in Scotland, and now we have to keep playing well.
"Wasps are a tough proposition at Adams Park. They have a lot of experience and plenty of talent, and they have had some good results in Wycombe this season. They also came very close to beating Toulouse in France, so we know they are in good form too.
"The Premiership is proving to be a tight and competitive league this season and we know that we have to keep picking up points. So we will have to play with control and impose our game plan if we are to come home with a positive result."
There is just one change to the starting line-up which beat Edinburgh. Ben Foden returns after sitting out the trip north for EPS requirements and comes in for Greig Tonks. Meanwhile Tom Mercey comes onto the bench for Euan Murray.
Form: The last six encounters between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Saints have never won in nine previous visits to Adams Park. London Wasps have won two of their five games so far in Aviva Premiership Rugby, at home to Leicester in round 3 and at Sale in round 5. Wasps have not lost at Adams Park in the Premiership since Newcastle were the visitors on 3 January. Northampton Saints have suffered just one defeat in all competitions so far this season: 17-24 at Saracens in the Premiership on 26 September. The Saints have tallied at least one league point from their last 20 Premiership matches.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Tom Rees (capt), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Dan Ward-Smith, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Zak Taulafo, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Ben Broster, 19 James Cannon, 20 Serge Betsen, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Ben Jacobs.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.
Date: Sunday, October 24
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Venue: Adams Park
Referee: Greg Garner
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_6460894,00.html
Mark Van Gisbergen, Dominic Waldouck, Tim Payne, Joe Worsley and Captain Tom Rees all return to the XV. Van Gisbergen is in at full-back for Richard Haughton, ruled out with a chest injury, while Waldouck trades places on the bench with Ben Jacobs in an otherwise unchanged back-line.
Payne returns to the front-row, forcing Charlie Beech to the bench after his first start of the season last weekend. Dan Ward-Smith moves from the back-row to partner Simon Shaw in the second-row. He replaces Richard Birkett who sustained a broken nose in last week's European clash. Worsley, named on the bench last Sunday, comes in for Ward-Smith and partners skipper Rees, back in the fray after recovery from an ankle strain.
With Rees' return, Serge Betsen joins the replacements which this week also include former Saint James Cannon and centre Steve Kefu.
"We are looking forward to a second consecutive week of rugby on home turf, having spent much of the season on the road," said Hanks.
"The Adams Park crowd really got behind the team last weekend and we will be hoping for much of the same this Sunday as we return to the Aviva Premiership.
"Wasps Northampton clashes are always highly competitive and hard fought and the encounters were extremely close last season. This game is massive for us in terms of driving our place in the league and our focus is securing the result we need."
Meanwhile, Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder insists that Northampton will have to be on top form for their Aviva Premiership trip to Adams Park.
Northampton return to domestic action having achieved back-to-back Heineken Cup wins to be sitting top of Pool 1. But with Wasps having not lost at their home ground since early January, Mallinder says that the Saints face a stiff challenge when they travel down the M40 to High Wycombe.
"We had a good attitude going into the Edinburgh match and we need the same again on Sunday," he said.
"We showed then that we can adapt during a game and impose ourselves to get a positive result. We had not reached the standards we expect of ourselves in the few games before the trip to Murrayfield. But we played well in Scotland, and now we have to keep playing well.
"Wasps are a tough proposition at Adams Park. They have a lot of experience and plenty of talent, and they have had some good results in Wycombe this season. They also came very close to beating Toulouse in France, so we know they are in good form too.
"The Premiership is proving to be a tight and competitive league this season and we know that we have to keep picking up points. So we will have to play with control and impose our game plan if we are to come home with a positive result."
There is just one change to the starting line-up which beat Edinburgh. Ben Foden returns after sitting out the trip north for EPS requirements and comes in for Greig Tonks. Meanwhile Tom Mercey comes onto the bench for Euan Murray.
Form: The last six encounters between the two clubs have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Saints have never won in nine previous visits to Adams Park. London Wasps have won two of their five games so far in Aviva Premiership Rugby, at home to Leicester in round 3 and at Sale in round 5. Wasps have not lost at Adams Park in the Premiership since Newcastle were the visitors on 3 January. Northampton Saints have suffered just one defeat in all competitions so far this season: 17-24 at Saracens in the Premiership on 26 September. The Saints have tallied at least one league point from their last 20 Premiership matches.
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Tom Rees (capt), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Dan Ward-Smith, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Zak Taulafo, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Ben Broster, 19 James Cannon, 20 Serge Betsen, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Ben Jacobs.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.
Date: Sunday, October 24
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Venue: Adams Park
Referee: Greg Garner
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_6460894,00.html
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