Northampton Saints vs Exeter Chiefs

Kickoff: 1pm Sunday 28th September

Venue: Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens

Watch on: TNT Sports

Northampton and Exeter will kickoff their seasons on Sunday afternoon at the Cinch Stadium. Both sides had disappointing seasons last year and will be looking to get off to a quick start this time. Both sides are already missing several key players but there are plenty of stars on show.

Northampton are missing Curtis Langdon in the front row, but have a full array of props available - including a debut for Italian international Danilo Fischetti. Alex Coles has cemented his place in the England squad over the summer and he starts in the second row alongside Ed Prowse. JJ van der Mescht will make his debut from the bench whilst Tom Lockett is out of the side. The back row is missing Josh Kemeny and Henry Pollock but Tom Pearson starts and Callum Chick will make his first appearance for the club. The back line has been massively affected by absences. Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman are being eased back in after the Lions Tour so depth is already being tested. To make matters worse for Phil Dowson, George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme are also out of the side. These absences mean that 20-year-old Archie McParland starts alongside Anthony Belleau, who is making his debut for the club. Fraser Dingwall and Tom Litchfield are a good duo in midfield and will have to hold together a a very heavily mixed unit. There is also a debut for Edoardo Todaro on the wing.

Rob Baxter has opted for a very big pack in this game. Christ Tshiunza is a lock/back row and starts at 6 whilst Ethan Roots is a classic enforcer on the blindside and has moved to openside flanker. The bench is also very strong. Welsh international, Dafydd Jenkins, waits in the wings with Greg Fisilau and Kane James perfectly placed to make an impact in the 2nd half. At scrum half, Stephen Varney makes his debut next to Harvey Skinner. Len Ikitau is still away with Australia which helps to open the door for Ben Hammersley to start on the inside of Henry Slade. The real threat of this team comes in the back 3. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso spent much of last season injured which meant that fans missed out on a full season of Feyi-Waboso, Brown-Bampoe and Hodge playing together. These 3 are up there with the best attacking trios in Europe and will be Exeter's X-factor this season. They could be particularly dominant given that Northampton's 1st-choice back 3. Sleightholme, Furbank and Freeman, are all unavailable.

Team news

Northampton Saints

Starting XV
1.Emmanuel Iyogun 2.Craig Wright 3.Trevor Davison 4.Alex Coles 5.Ed Prowse

6.Angus Scott-Young 7.Tom Pearson 8.Callum Chick 9.Archie McParland 10.Anthony Belleau

11.James Ramm 12.Fraser Dingwall(C) 13.Tom Litchfield 14.Edoardo Todaro 15.George Hendy

Bench

16.Henry Walker 17.Danilo Fischetti 18.Elliot Millar-Mills 19.JJ van der Mescht 

20.Sam Graham 21.Jonny Weimann 22.Rory Hutchinson 23.Toby Thame

Exeter Chiefs

Starting XV
1.Will Goodrick-Clarke 2.Joseph Dweba 3.Josh Iosefa-Scott 4.Rusi Tuima 5.Lewis Pearson

6.Christ Tshiunza 7.Ethan Roots(C) 8.Ross Vintcent 9.Stephen Varney 10.Harvey Skinner

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

Bench

16.Jack Yeandle 17.Kwenzo Blose 18.Bachuki Tchumbadze 19.Dafydd Jenkins

20.Greg Fisilau 21.Kane James 22.Charlie Chapman 23.Nick Lilley

Bristol Bears vs Leicester Tigers

Kickoff: 3:30pm Sunday 28th September

Venue: Ashton Gate

Watch on: TNT Sports

Bristol are missing Ellis Genge and Max Lahiff in the front row but, other than that, this is a strong pack. Oghre and Thacker are a superb duo of hookers and are similar styles of hooker which helps with continuity of play for the team. Dun and Batley have formed a formidable partnership in recent times and are both pushing for places in the England squad. Bristol lack depth behind them, so their fitness is crucial to the season. Steven Luatua and Fitz Harding are probably the most experienced flanker partnerships in the league and will start together on Sunday with Benjamin Grondona at no.8. This means that the seismic figure of Bill Mata will come on in the 2nd half for a concentrated period of chaos against a tiring defence. Harry Randall and AJ MacGinty have been a great duo for a while now, and are the basis of Bristol's "total rugby" style of play. They'll be helped by the signing of Tom Jordan, who will act as a second fly half as well as a traditional fullback. Louis Rees-Zammit and Gabriel Ibitoye join Jordan in the back 3 to create the most box-office unit in the league this season. Bernhard Janse van Rensburg has also moved back inside to the 12 position which should create space for Ravouvou to slide in to 13 when he returns to fitness.

Leicester will start this game with a front row that looks vastly superior on paper. Nicky Smith and Joe Heyes are both internationals, whilst debutant Jamie Blamire has been on the periphery of the England squad for a few years. At fly half, Orlando Bailey starts after signing from Bath. James O'Connor will come into the picture after he finishes his Rugby Championship campaign with the Wallabies. Joseph Woodward and Will Wand are a creative duo in midfield whilst Radwan, Hassell-Collins and Steward will provide excellent opposition for Bristol's big-name back 3.

Team news

Bristol Bears

Starting XV
1.Jake Woolmore 2.Gabriel Oghre 3.George Kloska 4.James Dun 5.Joe Batley

6.Steven Luatua 7.Fitz Harding(C) 8.Benjamin Grondona 9.Harry Randall 10.AJ MacGinty

11.Gabriel Ibitoye 12.Bernhard Janse van Rensburg 13.Joe Jenkins 14.Louis Rees-Zammit 15.Will Jordan

Bench

16.Harry Thacker 17.Sam Grahamslaw 18.Lovejoy Chawatama 19.Joe Owen 

20.Bill Mata 21.Will Marmion 22.Kalaveti Ravouvou 23.Josh Carrington

Leicester Tigers

Starting XV

1.Nicky Smith 2.Jamie Blamire 3.Joe Heyes 4.Cameron Henderson 5.James Thompson

6.Hanro Liebenberg(C) 7.Emeka Ilione 8.Olly Cracknell 9.Jack van Poortvliet 10.Orlando Bailey

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

Bench

16.Charlie Clare 17.Tarek Haffar 18.Will Hurd 19.Joshua Manz

20.Joaquin Moro 21.Tom Whiteley 22.Billy Searle 23.Solomone Kata