Gloucester vs Sale
Kickoff: 3pm Saturday TNT Sports
Gloucester
1.Vivas 2.Singleton 3.Gotovtsev 4.Thomas 5.A.Clark 6.Clement 7.Ludlow(C) 8.Ackerman
9.Williams 10.Anscombe 11.Hathaway 12.Atkinson 13.Harris 14.Llewellyn 15.Carreras
16.Blake 17.Rapava-Ruskin 18.Knight 19.F.Clark 20.Tuisue 21.Englefield 22.Barton 23.Atkinson
Sale
1.Rodd 2.Cowan-Dickie 3.Opoku-Fudjour 4.Van Rhyn 5.Hill 6.T.Curry 7.B.Curry 8.J.L.Du Preez
9.Quirke 10.Curtis 11.O'Flaherty 12.James 13.R.Du Preez 14.Roebuck 15.Carpenter
16.Caine 17.Mcintyre 18.John 19.Beaument 20.D.Du Preez 21.Warr 22.Bedlow 23.Dugdale
Sale are without George Ford at the helm for their trip to Gloucester and Rob Du Preez starts at outside centre instead of filling in at fly-half which is what you would expect to happen. Instead, Alex Sanderson has decided to put his faith in the young Tom Curtis who has shown promise in limited appearances up to this point. Gloucester are missing Fasogbon who got injured two weeks ago. Quirke and Curtis are a young half back combination so Williams and Anscombe willl look to take advantage of their own greater experience both individually and playing together in big games.
Prediction
Gloucester 32 vs 23 Sale
Leicester vs Exeter
Kickoff: 3:05pm Saturday TNT Sports
Leicester
1.Smith 2.Montoya(C) 3.Heyes 4.Henderson 5.Wells 6.Liebenberg 7.Reffell 8.Cracknell
9.Van Poortvliet 10.Pollard 11.Hassell-Collins 12.Kata 13.Kelly 14.Bassett 15.Steward
16.Clare 17.Whitcombe 18.Cole 19.Holloway 20.Rogerson 21.Youngs 22.Shillcock 23.Woodward
Exeter
1.Sio 2.Frost 3.Street 4.Jenkins(C) 5.Molina 6.Roots 7.Vermeulen 8.Fisilau
9.Townsend 10.Slade 11.Wyatt 12.Tua 13.Wimbush 14.Hammersley 15.Hodge
16.Innard 17.Goodrick-Clarke 18.Iosefa-Scott 19.Tuima 20.Capstick 21.Cairns 22.Haydon-Wood 23.Rigg
Exeter are on a high having beaten Gloucester at home last weekend in front of a packed Sandy Park crowd who created a great atmosphere. They will now be looking to consolidate their first victory with another result. This time they face a Leicester team who scored a late try with the clock in the red to beat the Chiefs at Sandy Park earlier this season.
Prediction
Leicester 24 vs Exeter 26
Saracens vs Bristol
Kickoff: 5:30pm Saturday
Saracens
1.Carre 2.George 3.Riccioni 4.Itoje(C) 5.Wilson 6.Gonzalez 7.Earl 8.Willis
9.Van Zyl 10.Burke 11.Cinti 12.Tompkins 13.Lozowski 14.Segun 15.Daly
16.Pifeletti 17.Brantingham 18.Clarey 19.Sodeke 20.Michelow 21.Simpson 22.Hartley 23.Hall
Bristol
1.Genge 2.Oghre 3.Kloska 4.Dun 5.Hodgson 6.Luatua 7.Harding(C) 8.Mata
9.Randall 10.Worsley 11.Heward 12.Williams 13.Van Rensburg 14.Bates 15.Lane
16.Thacker 17.Thomas 18.Halliwell 19.Barker 20.Heenan 21.Marmion 22.Byrne 23.Ravouvou
This is a huge match between these two teams. Both sides are reeling from comprehensive defeats against Bath and Sale. Bristol were probably the most affected with injuries to key players such as MacGinty and Ibitoye. Harry Byrne has been signed on loan to help fill the void at 10 alongside Worsley who gets a start once again despite last week's showing. Elsewhere, England fans should look out for 19-year-old Sodeke on the Saracens bench. The youngster, who has had success with England at age grade level, stands at 6ft 9 inches and is an exciting prospect going forward.
Prediction
Saracens 36 vs 18 Bristol
Northampton vs Bath
Kickoff: 3pm Saturday TNT Sports
Northampton
1.West 2.C.Langdon 3.Davison 4.Mayanavanu 5.Coles 6.Kemeny 7.Pearson 8.Augustus
9.Mitchell 10.F.Smith 11.Ramm 12.Hutchinson 13.Dingwall(C) 14.Freeman 15.Hendy
16.Walker 17.Haffar 18.Green 19.Lockett 20.Pollock 21.Scott-Young 22.Mcparland 23.Sleightholme
Bath
1.Obano 2.Dun 3.Stuart 4.Roux 5.Molony 6.Pepper 7.Reid 8.Barbeary
9.Spencer(C) 10.Russell 11.Muir 12.Ojomoh 13.Lawrence 14.Cokanasiga 15.Bailey
16.Tuiulotu 17.Van Wyck 18.Du Toit 19.Ewels 20.Underhill 21.Schreuder 22.Bayliss 23.Coetzee
Northampton took out a season's worth of frustration out on Newcastle last time out. On Sunday they will be looking for a statement win to truly turn their season around. The most notable thing in the team news is Bath selecting seven forwards on the bench. South African director of rugby Johan Van Graan is clearly taking some inspiration from the Springboks. It is a risky strategy but one that highlights where Bath believe that Northampton are weak. Bath will look to gain dominance in the pack and use Fin Russell's ability on front-foot ball to exploit the weaknesses that have been present in Northampton's defence this season.
Prediction:
Bath 37 vs 20 Northampton
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