Sale Sharks vs Newcastle Red Bulls

Kickoff: 7:45pm, Friday 10th October

Venue: CorpAcq Community Stadium

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Derby weekend kicks off on a Friday night in Salford with a game between 2 teams that aren't really rivals. This fixture and Bristol vs Exeter are games between teams without an obvious rival that is not playing another neighbour. Despite that, this battle of the north is often a tense affair between 2 teams that like to play similar brands of rugby. Sale have been much more successful in recent times, but Newcastle are showing some promise so this game could be more interesting than it appears to be on paper.

The hosts have a much more talented XV, but things get hairy when the bench comes into play. The front row has been bolstered by the return of Luke Cowan-DIckie but is now without the suspended Willgriff John. The front row looks very strong, but things get tricky after that. All 4 of Sale's locks are in this 23-man squad with Ernst van Rhyn playing at 6 and Tom Burrow on the bench. The back row is the worst-affected area with the Curry brothers and Jaqcques Vermeulen all missing entirely. This means that Tristan Woodman starts at openside flanker with no obvious back-rower on the bench. The assigned numbers suggest that Ethan Caine, who usually plays at hooker, will deputise. The back line looks a lot stronger with Ma'asi-White being the only major loss going into this game. In his absence, Marius Louw will make his first start at inside centre next to Rob du Preez. The big news for Sale fans is the return of Raffi Quirke, who will start on the bench behind Gus Warr.

There are a few changes to the Newcastle team that lost to Exeter. The props have been switched and Fergus Lee-Warner replaces Cameron Neild in the back row. There are a few changes in the back line. Boeta Chamberlain impressed at fullback against Saracens and has now been given a chance at fly-half. Liam Williams is being rested and Ethan Grayson moves to fullback in his place. Grayson has played at both fly half and fullback so will provide some control in the back 3 for the Red Bulls. 

Team news

Sale Sharks

Starting XV
1.Bevan Rodd 2.Luke Cowan-DIckie 3.Asher Opoku-Fordjour 4.Ben Bamber 5.Hyron Andrews

6.Ernst van Rhyn 7.Tristan Woodman 8.Sam Dugdale 9.Gus Warr 10.George Ford

11.Arron Reed 12.Marius Louw 13.Rob du Preez 14.Tom Roebuck 15.Joe Carpenter

Bench

16.Nathan Jibulu 17.Simon McIntyre 18.James Harper 19.Tom Burrow

20.Ethan Caine 21.Raffi Quirke 22.Tom O'Flaherty 23.Sam Bedlow

Newcastle Red Bulls

Starting XV

1.Adam Brocklebank 2.George McGuigan(C) 3.Richard Palframan 4.Jamie Hodgson 5.Freddie Clarke

6.Fergus Lee-Warner 7.Tom Gordon 8.Amanaki Mafi 9.James Elliot 10.Boeta Chamberlain

11.Alex Hearle 12.Max Clark 13.Connor Doherty 14.Elliot Obatoyinbo 15.Ethan Grayson

Bench

16.Ollie Fletcher 17.Micky Rewcastle 18.Murray McCallum 19.Oscar Usher

20.Cameron Neild 21.Simon Benitez-Cruz 22.Brett Connon 23.Oli Spencer

Predicted winners: Sale Sharks

Bristol Bears vs Exeter Chiefs

Kickoff: 3pm, Saturday 11th October

Venue: Ashton Gate

Watch on: TNT Sports/ Discovery Plus

These teams have similar records so far this season but will be feeling very differently about how their previous games went. Exeter have managed a win and a draw whilst flashing some serious attacking firepower. They will also soon get back some Southern Hemisphere internationals such as Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper. Bristol, on the other hand, have one win and a heavy loss last weekend. Pat Lam's side have also lost some big stars like Louis Rees-Zammit, Harry Randall and AJ MacGinty. The Bears still have some serious quality, but Exeter will view this as a big opportunity.

Some positive news for Bristol is the return of Ellis Genge to a strong-looking front row. The other news in the pack is the return of Fitz Harding, who will also captain the team. He, along with Grondona and Mata, will form a physical unit that will have to match up against a big Exeter back row, Kieran Marmion and Tom Jordan are the new half-back duo and will still have the edge of Exeter's first-choice pairing. As a result of Rees-Zammit's injury, Josh Carrington moves to the wing and Benjamin Elizalde comes in at fullback. 

Meanwhile, Rob Baxter has gone with the approach of, " it it ain't broke, don't fix it" and made no changes after his side walked over Newcastle at home last weekend. This is probably the first-choice team for the moment, until Ikitau, Hooper and Hodge become available.

Team news

Bristol Bears

Starting XV

1.Ellis Genge 2.Gabriel Oghre 3.George Kloska 4.Pedro Rubiolo 5.Joe Batley 

6.Sebastian Grondona 7.Fitz Harding(C) 8.Viliame  Mata 9.Kieran Marmion 10.Tom Jordan

11.Kalaveti Ravouvou 12.Bernhard Janse van Rensburg 13.Jack Bates 14.Josh Carrington 15.Benjamin Elizalde

Bench

16.Harry Thacker 17.Jake Woolmore 18.Lovejoy Chawatama 19.James Dun

20.Joe Owen 21.Oscar Lennon 22.Sam Worsley 23.Max Pepper

Exeter Chiefs

Starting XV

1.Will Goodrick-Clarke 2.Jack Yeandle 3.Josh Iosefa-Scott 4.Dafydd Jenkins(C) 5.Andrea Zambonin

6.Ethan Roots 7.Greg Fisilau 8.Ross Vintcent 9.Stephen Varney 10.Harvey Skinner

11.Paul Brown-Bampoe 12.Ben Hammersley 13.Henry Slade 14.Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 15.Dan John

Bench

16.Julian Heaven 17.Ethan Burger 18.Bachuki Tchumbadze 19.Rusi Tuima 

20.Lewis Pearson 21.Kane James 22.Charlie Chapman 23.Nick Lilley

Predicted winner: Exeter Chiefs

Northampton Saints vs Leicester Tigers

Kickoff: 3:05pm, Saturday 11th October

Venue: Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

The first, real derby of the weekend will kick off on Saturday afternoon. This fixture has had everything, from punches to late winners and everything in between. There is a lot of intrigue surrounding this game so there is potential for another iconic moment. Add to that the way Northampton's games have unfolded this season, and this is certain to be an epic.

Phil Dowson has changed almost half of the team that scraped past Gloucester. The returns of several Lions stars significantly improve this line-up just in time for derby day. On top of the return of those Lions, Trevor Davison is back at tighthead prop which will help a front row that is still missing Curtis Langdon. Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith both come straight back in to run the team together and Tommy Freeman is back on the wing. Fraser DIngwall, another international, also returns to the starting XV next to Rory Hutchinson after his epic performance against Gloucester.

Like Dowson, Parling has made a few changes to the team that beat Harlequins. Jamie Blamire replaces Charlie Clare at hooker and Harry Wells replaces Henderson in the second row. In the back row, Emeka Ilione moves to no.8 whilst Reffell comes in at openside flanker with Hanro Liebenberg also coming into the team. In the back line, Billy Searle's impressive cameo last week has earned him a start at fly-half instead of Orlando Bailey. Solomone Kata moves to 12 with Wand replacing Woodward in the starting line-up. The back 3, unsurprisingly, remains unchanged. On the bench, James Connor will be waiting to make his debut in the second half. Interestingly, Orlando Bailey is also on the bench. He will be an excellent utility back and can cover fullback, centre and fly half.

Team news

Northampton Saints

Starting XV
1.Emmanuel Iyogun 2.Robbie Smith 3.Trevor Davison 4.Tom Lockett 5.JJ van der Mescht

6.Alex Coles 7.Tom Pearson 8.Callum Chick 9.Alex Mitchell 10.Fin Smith

11.Edoardo Todaro 12.Fraser Dingwall 13.Rory Hutchinson 14.Tommy Freeman 15.George Hendy

Bench

16.Craig Wright 17.Danilo Fischetti 18.Luke Green 19.Josh Kemeny 

20.Henry Pollock 21.Archie McParland 22.Anthony Belleau 23.Tom Litchfield

Leicester Tigers

Starting XV

1.Nicky Smith 2.Jamie Blamire 3.Joe Heyes 4.Harry Wells 5.Ollie Chessum

6.Hanro Liebenberg 7.Tommy Reffell 8.Emeka Ilione 9.Jack van Poortvliet 10.Billy Searle

11.Ollie Hassell-Collins 12.Solomone Kata 13.Will Wand 14.Adam Radwan 15.Freddie Steward

Bench

16.Charlie Clare 17.Tarek Haffar 18.Will Hurd 19.Joaquin Moro 

20.Olly Cracknell 21.Tom Whiteley 22.James O'Connor 23.Orlando Bailey

Predicted winners: Northampton Saints

Bath vs Gloucester

Kickoff: 5:30pm, Saturday 11th October

Venue: The Recreation Ground

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

This game looks ominously like a terrible occasion for Gloucester. Bath already look imposing, and have just had an influx of stars for this game, whilst Gloucester are yet to win a game and aren't getting significant reinforcements. Van Graan's men are red-hot favourites for this game but anything can happen on derby day.

Johan van Graan has made 8 changes to the team that beat the Sale Sharks. In the front row, Will Stuart and Thomas du Toit both come back in with the Englishman starting and the Springbok taking a spot on the bench. Both second rows are out so Ross Molony and Ewan Richards step in. Ted Hill is also unavailable so there is no one else in the squad that is comfortable slotting into the second row. In the back row, Guy Pepper's performances mean that he has earned a starting spot with Sam Underhill instead of deputising for him like he did for much of last season. They are joined by Josh Bayliss with Miles Reid and Alfie Barbeary on the bench. The unfortunate news in this game is the absence of last week's star man, Ben Spencer. In his place, Tom Carr-Smith starts next to the returning Fin Russell. The other change to the back line is Max Ojomoh moving to the centres in place of Cameron Redpath, Ojomoh was never going to stay at 10 when FInn Russell returned, but his performances have earned him a spot in the starting XV. Former Gloucester men Santi Carreras and Chris Harris are on the bench and will look to make their mark when they come on. 

George Skivington has significantly fewer options than his Bath counterpart and has thus only made a couple of changes to his losing side. The biggest new name is Nepo Laulala, who comes in for Fasogbon. The veteran All Black will bring some serious pedigree to a Gloucester team that has lacked it in recent years. The back line is remaining consistent but will need to improve if Gloucester are to turn things around.

Team news

Bath

Starting XV
1.Beno Obano 2.Tom Dunn 3.Will Stuart 4.Ewan Richards 5.Ross Molony 

6.Guy Pepper 7.Sam Underhill 8.Josh Bayliss 9.Tom Carr-Smith 10.Finn Russell(C)

11.Henry Arundell 12.Max Ojomoh 13.Ollie Lawrence 14.Joe Cokansiga 15.Tom de Glanville

Bench

16.Kepueli Tuipulotu 17.Francois van Wyk 18.Thomas du Toit 19.Miles Reid 

20.Alfie Barbeary 21.Neil le Roux 22.Santi Carreras 23.Chris Harris

Gloucester

Starting XV

1.Ciaran Knight 2.Seb Blake 3.Nepo Laulala 4.Cam Jordan 5.Matias Alemanno

6.Freddie Thomas 7.James Venter 8.Josh Basham 9.Tomos Williams(C) 10.Ross Byrne

11.Ollie Thorley 12.Seb Atkinson 13.Will Joseph 14.Ben Loader 15.Charlie Atkinson

Bench

16.Jack Innard 17.Archie McArthur 18.Afo Fasogbon 19.Hugh Bokenam

20.Jack Mann 21.Harry Taylor 22.Caolan Englefield 22.Josiah Edwards 23.Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Predicted winner: Bath

Harlequins vs Saracens

Kickoff: 3pm, Sunday 12th October

Venue: The Twickenham Stoop

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

This London derby has become a fierce rivalry in recent years. It is wonderfully obvious that these teams don't like each other and it makes for some great rugby. However, these 2 teams appear to be on diverging paths. Harlequins are dealing with the sudden departure of a head coach and have had 2 disappointing games to open the season. Saracens, meanwhile, are rejuvenated after the returns of Owen Farrell and Max Malins and now get Juan Martin Gonzalez and George back as well.

Harlequins have had a tricky start but will be hoping that the return of Marcus Smith can reinvigorate this team. Baxter, Walker and Williams have contributed to an improved front row and Guido Petti comes in to add some international experience to the side. As a result, Cunningham-South shifts to the back row and thus moves Alex Dombrandt to the bench. The back line remains consistent with Jamie Benson keeping his spot as a second play-maker at inside centre.

In the back row, Andy Onyeama-Christie replaces Nick Isiekwe who moves back into the second row with Wilson dropping out of the starting XV. The back line remains consistent after a couple of impressive outings. Saracens are in a good place but lost this fixture last time when the sides met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They'll be looking to make another statement this weekend.

Team news

Harlequins

Starting XV
1.Fin Baxter 2.Jack Walker 3.Harry Williams 4.Guido Petti 5.Kieran Treadwell

6.Jack Kenningham 7.Will Evans 8.Chandler Cunningham-South 9.Will Porter 10.Marcus Smith

11.Cadan Murley 12.Jamie Benson 13.Oscar Beard 14.Rodrigo Isgro 15.Tyrone Green

Bench

16.George Turner 17.Boris Wenger 18.Pedro Delgado 19.Johnny Green 

20.Zach Carr 21.Alex Dombrandt 22.Stu Townsend 23.Sean Kerr

Saracens

Starting XV
1.Rhys Carre 2.Theo Dan 3.Marco Riccioni 4.Nick Isiekwe 5.Hugh Tizard

6.Andy Onyeama-Christie 7.Ben Earl 8.Tom Willis 9.Ivan van Zyl 10.Fergus Burke

11.Lucio Cinti 12.Owen Farrell 13.Nick Tompkins 14.Jack Bracken 15.Max Malins

Bench

16.Jamie George 17.Eroni Mawi 18.Alec Clarey 19.Harry Wilson

20.Olamide Sodeke 21.Juan Martin Gonzalez 22.Charlie Bracken 23.Brandon Jackson

Predicted winner: Saracens