1
All Blacks duo return to Wasps 23
By Online Editors
All Black centre Malakai Fekitoa is back in the Wasps starting line-up for the Club’s first ever Friday night Gallagher Premiership clash at Ricoh Arena against Saracens this weekend.
The centre has recovered from a knee knock to start and is one of four changes to the starting line-up for Friday night.
Brad Shields gets his first start since early November as he gets the nod at number-eight alongside Jack Willis and co-captain Thomas Young in the back-row, with Nizaam Carr named on the bench. Sione Vailanu misses out with a knee problem.
In the second-row, Charlie Matthews is back in the side to step in for Wales call-up Will Rowlands, and partners Academy lock Thibaud Flament.
Continue watching below...
WATCH: Jim Hamilton and Darren Cave give their predictions for what should be a titanic battle at the Principality Stadium this Saturday as Wales take on France.
The front-row sees Ben Harris start for the first time since December after overcoming a shoulder knock to partner Tommy Taylor and Kieran Brookes, as Simon McIntyre misses out with a groin injury.
In the backs, co-captain Dan Robson and Jacob Umaga maintain their spots in the half-back combination while Fekitoa joins fellow New Zealander Jimmy Gopperth in the centres. Marcus Watson, Josh Bassett and Zach Kibirige occupy the back-three once again.
Lima Sopoaga, Tom West, Tim Cardall and Will Porter are back among the replacements as Wasps look to return to winning ways.
Continue reading below...
WATCH: Catch up on all the highlights from Round 5 of the Japanese Top League featuring a host of international stars lighting it up all over the show.
Wasps Interim Head Coach Lee Blackett said: “I feel like we’d been moving in the right direction – obviously in the three games before Leicester we’d scored three try-bonus points but a couple of bounces of the ball and a couple of things that didn’t go our way last weekend meant we didn’t come away with the result.
“This weekend is a different challenge – under the Friday Night Lights – and we’re massively excited for the occasion.
“Sarries were really good last weekend against Sale (Sharks). They managed the game really well so it’ll be a big challenge but hopefully one we will rise to.
“We want to put in a performance we can be proud of and to try and get back to winning ways at The Ricoh.”
Wasps (First-team appearances)
15 Marcus Watson (42)
14 Zach Kibirige (16)
13 Malakai Fekitoa (12)
12 Jimmy Gopperth (93)
11 Josh Bassett (116)
10 Jacob Umaga (18)
9 Dan Robson (cc) (112)
1 Ben Harris (56)
2 Tommy Taylor (63)
3 Kieran Brookes (33)
4 Charlie Matthews (25)
5 Thibaud Flament (13)
6 Jack Willis (51)
7 Thomas Young (cc) (111)
8 Brad Shields (23)
Replacements
16 Gabriel Oghre (17)
17 Tom West (21)
18 Biyi Alo (8)
19 Tim Cardall (13)
20 Nizaam Carr (53)
21 Will Porter (16)
22 Lima Sopoaga (36)
23 Michael Le Bourgeois (30)
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
The England backs can't be that dumb, he has been playing on and off for the last couple of years. If they are too slow to keep up with him that's another matter.
He was the only thing stopping England from getting their arses handed to them in the Aussie game. If you can't fit a player with that skill set into an England team then they are stuffed.
Go to commentsSteve Borthwick appointment was misguided based on two flawed premises.
1. An overblown sense of the quality of the premiership rugby. The gap between the Premiership and Test rugby is enormous
2. England needed an English coach who understood English Rugby and it's traditional strengths.
SB won the premiership and was an England forward and did a great job with the Japanese forwards but neither of those qualify you as a tier 1 test manager.
Maybe Felix Jones and Aled Walter's departures are down to the fact that SB is a details man, which work at club level but at test level you need the manager to manage and let the coaches get on and do what they are employed for.
SB criticism of players is straight out of Eddie Jones playbook but his loyalty to keeping out of form players borne out of his perceived sense of betrayal as a player.
In all it doesn't stack up as the qualities needed to be a modern Test coach /Manager
Go to comments