Saracens make just one change for La Rochelle
Saracens have made just one change to the starting line-up from the side that beat the Ospreys last weekend for their Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final clash with La Rochelle.
Nick Isiekwe replaces Andy Christie in the back-row after the Scotland international broke his arm in the Round of 16 clash with Welsh side. Isiekwe will bring additional size to the pack and he partners with Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola in the back-row.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall has named Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Marco Riccioni in the front-row. Maro Itoje and Hugh Tizard make up the second-row.
Ivan van Zyl will celebrate his 50th appearance for the club as the starting scrum-half, playing alongside captain Owen Farrell.
In the midfield, Nick Tompkins and Alex Lozowski partner up again while a back-three of Sean Maitland, Max Malins, and Alex Goode is named at the back.
On the bench, Callum Hunter-Hill will make his long-awaited return from injury, having suffered a knee injury in the win over Lyon before Christmas. Duncan Taylor will also be looking to continue his strong form after his try-scoring display against the Ospreys.
“I hear it’s an amazing environment. To be taking on the current holders is incredibly exciting and it will be a great occasion, one that we are very much looking forward to," said Maro Itoje. "You can’t take these moments for granted, knockout rugby is a special privilege and we know we’re playing a very good team but we need to make sure the occasion brings the best out of us.”
SARACENS:
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Sean Maitland
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Max Malins
15 Alex Goode
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Tom Woolstencroft
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Christian Judge
19 Callum Hunter-Hill
20 Jackson Wray
21 Aled Davies
22 Duncan Taylor
23 Alex Lewington
Latest Comments
Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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