Bath vs Sale Sharks

Kickoff: 7:45pm, Friday 3rd October

Venue: The Recreation Ground

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

These 2 contenders both registered convincing victories in the first round of this new season and will now be looking to score a big win over a rival. Bath are still missing several key players, so this is a good time for Sale to be visiting the rec. Having said that, Bath's players stood up well last week in the absence of some stars, so this looks like an enticing clash on Friday night.

Johan van Graan is still missing: Finn Russell, Santi Carreras, Ciaran Donoghue, Will Stuart, and Thomas du Toit amongst some other injuries. However, last week, Sela and Griffin both stepped up at tighthead prop with 3 tries between them. And, Max Ojomoh was excellent at a less familiar position in place of Finn Russell. Those performances have given van Graan the confidence to keep a similar team to the one that came from behind to beat Harlequins. The only change to the starting XV comes in the back row where Ted Hills is promoted from the bench to the starting team in place of Josh Bayliss who drops out entirely. On the bench, Dan Frost is fit enough to make his Prem debut for Bath in place of Kepu Tuipulotu. Sam Underhill remains on the bench and is joined by Alfie Barbeary as back-row replacements. The final change is Will Butt replacing Chris Harris as a midfield replacement. This is still a strong team but the pack will be much more heavily tested than it was in West London last weekend. Sela will have a big job on his hands up against Bevan Rodd in a battle that will be decisive in this game.

Alex Sanderson, like van Graan, has selected a similar team to the one that earned all 5 points against Gloucester. The one change to the team. In the back line, Sam Bedlow replaces Rekeiti-Ma'asi-White at inside centre which will give the side a more creative edge compared to Ma'asi-White's hard-running approach. The change in the pack is one that we saw during the Gloucester game when Jacques Vermeulen injured his hamstring and Ernst van Rhyn moved to blindside flanker whilst Hyron Andrews starts next to Ben Bamber in the second row. Marius Louw will also make his prem debut when he comes off the bench to step into the midfield. The South African is one to watch out for this season.

Team news

Bath

Starting XV

1.Beno Obano 2.Tom Dunn 3.Vilikesa Sela 4.Quinn Roux 5.Charlie Ewels

6.Ted Hill 7.Guy Pepper 8.Miles Reid 9.Ben Spencer 10.Max Ojomoh

11.Henry Arundell 12.Cameron Redpath 13.Ollie Lawrence 14.Joe Cokanasiga 15.Tom de Glanville

Bench

16.Dan Frost 17.Francois van Wyk 18.Archie Griffin 19.Ross Molony

20.Sam Underhill 21.Tom Carr-Smith 22.Will Butt 23.Alfie Barbeary

Sale Sharks

Starting XV

1.Bevan Rodd 2,Nathan Jibulu 3.Asher Opoku-Fordjour 4.Ben Bamber 5.Hyron Andrews

6.Ernst van Rhyn(6) 7.Ben Curry 8.Sam Dugdale 9.Gus Warr 10.George Ford

11.Tom O'Flaherty 12.Sam Bedlow 13.Rob du Preez 14.Tom Roebuck 15.Joe Carpenter

Bench

16.Ethan Caine 17.Simon McIntyre 18.Willgriff John 19.Tom Burrow

20.Tristan Woodman 21.Dom Hanson 22.Arron Reed 23.Marius Louw

Predicted winner: Sale Sharks

Exeter Chiefs vs Newcastle Red Bulls

Kickoff: 3pm, Saturday 4th October

Venue: Sandy Park

Watch on: TNT Sports

These 2 teams have been the worst sides in the league over the last 2 years and will be hoping to earn an early win to change their fortunes. Exeter are coming off a weird game against Northampton in which they came back from being 33-7 down at the half to draw 33-33. Speaking of weird, Newcastle just fired Steve Diamond after 1 game. It was a surprising decision and one that feels slightly unfair on him, but Newcastle will have to move forward regardless.

Rob Baxter has made 4 changes to the XV that drew with the Saints. The second row has been completely changed with a couple of internationals coming in to add some quality up front. Dafydd Jenkins will captain the team next to Andrea Zambonin who is making his first prem start for the Chiefs. Rusi Tuima is on the bench with Greg Fisilau starting in the back row alongside Ethan Roots and Ross Vintcent. In the back line, Josh Hodge's red card means that Dan John starts at fullback in a back 3 with Brown-Bampoe and Feyi-Waboso. The latter's fitness was a serious doubt after he appeared to suffer a non-contact injury whilst sprinting in a second-half try. However, he is fit and seemingly completely healthy.

Newcastle's starting XV has 4 changes compared to the team that lost to Saracens. Freddie Clarke is the only new face in the pack after starting on the bench last week. Oscar Usher drops to the bench as a result. The midfield has been completely changed; Sammy Arnold and Max Clark have been replaced by Ethan Grayson and Connor Doherty. Grayson will be the team's second creator having also played at fly half and fullback in his young career. The final change is one that was expected with Liam Williams replacing Boeta Chamberlain at fullback. Newcastle will have to make this game messy if they are to stand a chance. Away games have been a barren landscape in terms of results in recent times and I don't see that changing much this season either.

Team news

Exeter Chiefs

Starting XV

1.Will Goodrick-Clarke 2.Joseph Dweba 3.Joseph 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.Jack Yeandle 17.Kwenzo Blose 18.Bachuki Tchumbadze 19.Rusi Tuima

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

Newcastle Red Bulls

Starting XV

1.Murray McCallum 2.George McGuigan(C) 3.Luan de Bruin 4.Jamie Hodgson 5.Freddie Clarke

6.Cameron Neild 7.Tom Gordon 8.Amanaki Mafi 9.James Elliot 10.Brett Connon

11.Alex Hearle 12.Ethan Grayson 13.Connor Doherty 14.Oli Spencer 15.Liam Williams

Bench

16.Ollie Fletcher 17.Adam Brocklebank 18.Richard Palframan 19.Oscar Usher 

20.Fergus Lee-Warner 21.Jack Dickens 22.Boeta Chamberlain 23.Elliot Obatoyinbo

Predicted winner: Exeter Chiefs

Leicester Tigers vs Harlequins

Kickoff: 3:05pm, Saturday 4th October

Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Leicester and Harlequins both had very disappoint first round losses and will be looking to bounce back quickly. Leicester are still gelling under a new head coach and are, understandably, going to experience some bumps along the way. They won't get any sympathy from Harlequins given that the Londoners don't actually have a head coach at all after theirs departed just a week before the league started.

Geoff Parling has made 4 changes to the team that was swept aside by Bristol. Charlie Clare swaps places with Jamie Blamire and will start at hooker whilst the former Falcon will have to settle for a place on the bench. The biggest news for the Tigers is the return of Ollie Chessum earlier than expected after the Lions Tour. He replaces James Thompson in the second row. He will take up his role as captain after the loss of Montoya at the end of last season. In midfield, Will Wand is replaced by Solomone Kata which will give Leicester some more attacking dynamism in their back line. Leicester's back row looks out-matched in this game so they'll have to try to gain an advantage in the contact side of the game rather than at the breakdown.

Harlequins have a number of players still unavailable and have made 2 changes to the team that lost to Bath. On the left wing, Murley is out and replaced by Cassius Cleaves. Cleaves, a former England U-20 star, is an explosive athlete that just needs a run of health to make his mark on this league, Hopefully he'll get a run now to show what he can do. At inside centre, Kerr drops to the bench and is replaced by Jamie Benson. Benson played fly half a times during last season and will bring some more control to the midfield. His kicking game is also a huge strength that Harlequins will no-doubt look to utilise.

Team news

Leicester Tigers

Starting XV
1.Nicky Smith 2.Charlie Clare 3.Joe Heyes 4.Cameron Henderson 5.Ollie Chessum(C)

6.Joaquin Moro 7.Emeka Ilione 8.Olly Cracknell 9.Jack van Poortvliet 10.Orlando Bailey

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

Bench

16.Jamie Blamire 17.Archie van der Flier 18.Will Hurd 19.James Thompson

20.Tommy Reffell 21.Tom Whiteley 22.Billy Searle 23.Will Wand

Harlequins

Starting XV
1.Fin Baxter 2.Jack Walker 3.Harry Williams 4.Chandler Cunningham-South 5.Kieran Treadwell

6.Jack Kenningham 7.Will Evans 8.Alex Dombrandt(C) 9.Will Porter 10.Jarrod Evans

11.Cassius Cleaves 12.Jamie Benson 13.Oscar Beard 14.Nick David 15.Tyrone Green

Bench

16.Sam Riley 17.Simon Kerrod 18.Titi Lamositele 19.Jonny Green 

20.Zach Carr 21.Max Green 22.Sean Kerr 23.Cameron Anderson

Predicted winners: Leicester Tigers

Saracens vs Bristol Bears

Kickoff: 5:30pm, Saturday 4th October

Venue: StoneX Stadium

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Saracens and Bristol both had big wins in round one, but they left those games feeling very differently. Saracens celebrated the return of Owen Farrell and have been gloating on social media after their victory. Meanwhile, Bristol have suffered injuries to Ibitoye, Randall and MacGinty. The American international has ruptured an achilles so will likely miss the rest of the season. Ibitoye and Randall are both out until next year. Their depth does mean that they are better-placed to deal with it than last season, but this game could be a step too far.

Mark McCall has made 2 changes to last week's team. One is forced after a red card for Nathan Michelow. Nick Isiekwe moves to blindside flanker whilst Harry Wilson steps into the second row to partner with Hugh Tizzard. The other change comes on the right wing with Jack Bracken replacing Brandon Jackson. Noah Caluori remains on the bench after his epic introduction to top-flight rugby up north last week. This is also a big game for Max Malins against his former team.

As I mentioned before, Pat Lam is without 3 big stars on top of already not having Ellis Genge. This is partially responsible for the 7 changes that have been made. In the front row, Zimbabwean prop Lovejoy Chawatama starts in place of George Kloska. The entire back row has been changed with Joe Owen, Luka Ivanashvili and Viliame Mata replacing Fitz Harding, Steven Luatua and Benjamin Grondon. As expected, both half backs are different as Marmion steps up to replace Randall and Jordan moves to fly half where he played for Edinburgh. Ravouvou starts on the left wing in place of Ibitoye whilst Josh Carrington gets his first league start at fullback.

Team news

Saracens

Starting XV
1.Rhys Carre 2.Theo Dan 3.Marco Riccioni 4.Harry Wilson 5.Hugh Tizzard

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

11.Rotimi Segun 12.Owen Farrell 13.Nick Tompkins 14.Jack Bracken 15.Max Malins

Bench

16.Eoghan Clarke 17.Eroni Mawi 18.Alec Clarey 19.Olamide Sodeke

20.Charlie West 21.Charlie Bracken 22.Cam Hutchison 23.Noah Caluori

Bristol Bears

Starting XV

1.Jake Woolmore 2.Gabriel Oghre 3.Lovejoy Chawatama 4.James Dun 5.Joe Batley

6.Joe Owen 7.Luka Ivanashvili 8.Viliame Mata 9.Kieran Marmion 10.Tom Jordan

11.Kalaveti Ravouvou 12.Bernhard Janse van Rensburg 13.Joe Jenkins 14.Louis Rees-Zammit 15.Josh Carrington

Bench

16,Harry Thacker 17.Sam Grahamslaw 18.George Kloska 19.Steven Luatua 

20.Benjamin Grondona 21.Max Pepper 22.Sam Worsley 23.Aidan Boshoff

Predicted winner: Saracens

Gloucester vs Northampton Saints

Kickoff: 3pm, Sunday 5th October

Venue: Kingsholm

Watch on: TNT Sports 1

Gloucester and Northampton both had difficult first rounds and will be looking to bounce back this Sunday. The Saints will be aiming to maintain some more control as Belleau continues to bed in to the 10 shirt as the season goes on. Gloucester have the same problem with Byrne who will have an easier day this weekend than he did when matched up against George Ford.

George Skivington has made half-a-dozen changes to his team from last week and the team will be stronger with some much-needed experience back in. Ciaran Knight steps back in at loosehead prop in place of Bellamy who struggled on his debut. Unfortunately, Freddie Clarke is out so Josh Basham comes in at 6. He is joined in the back row by former Glasgow Warrior, Jack Mann. Alemanno has dropped to the bench so Cam Jordan starts in the second row alongside Freddie Thomas. There is one change in the back line as Will Joseph, who came off the bench last week, starts in place of Max Llewellyn.

Phil Dowson has made 5 changes to the team that crumbled against Exeter. Unfortunately, they have almost another full team's worth of unavailable players so Northampton are having to manage as well as they can in some difficult circumstances. At hooker, Craig Wright is replaced by Walker. Trevor Davison is also out which means that Millar-Mills starts with Kundiona set to debut from the bench.JJ van der Mescht steps into the 2nd row alongside Coles in the only other change in the pack.In the back line, DIngwall and Ramm are both out so James Martin will make his debut with Hutchinson coming into midfield. He will slot in at 13 and thus will move Litchfield inside. Todaro started well last week and will be looking to repeat that success this week.

Team news

Gloucester

Starting XV

1.Ciaran Knight 2.Seb Clarke 3.Afolabi Fasogbon 4.Freddie Thomas 5.Cam Jordan

6.Josh Basham 7.James Venter 8.Jack Mann 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.Kirill Gotovtsev 19.Matias Alemanno

20.Hugh Bokenham 21.Harris Taylor 22.Caolan Englefield 22.Josiah Edwards 23.Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Northampton Saints

Starting XV

1.Emmanuel Iyogun 2.Henry Walker 3.Elliot Millar-Mills 4.Alex Coles 5.JJ van der Mescht

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

11.James Martin 12.Tom Litchfield 13.Rory Hutchinson 14.Edoardo Todaro 15.George Hendy

Bench

16.Robbie Smith 17.Danilo Fischetti 18.Cleopas Kundiona 19.Tom Lockett

20.Fyn Brown 21.Jonny Weimann 22.Toby Thame 23.James Pater

Predicted winner: Gloucester