1
Saracens make nine changes for latest Championship outing, benching Jamie George
By Sam Smith
Promotion favourites Saracens have made nine changes to their XV to take on Nottingham this Saturday, including the benching of Jamie George six days after their crucial win over the table-topping Ealing Trailfinders. The Championship's previously unbeaten leaders were comfortable beaten 48-20 at StoneX Stadium and Sarries will now look to carry on that momentum in the East Midlands with a trip to Lady Bay.
There are five changes in the forwards. Tom Woolstencroft and Alec Clarey start alongside Mako Vunipola in the Saracens front row with George and Vincent Koch moving to the bench. Joel Kpoku will start alongside Maro Itoje in the second row, while Janco Venter and Andy Christie line up in the back row with Billy Vunipola,
Tom Whiteley will be at scrum-half, partnering skipper Owen Farrell at half-back. There is a new midfield pairing with both Duncan Taylor and Dom Morris returning, while Rotimi Segun is back on the left wing and Alex Lewington faces his former side on the right. Elliot Daly completes the XV at full-back.
No9 Whiteley told the Saracens website: “I’m buzzing to get a start and just itching to get out there. I know everyone is going to give it their best and we want to take more steps forward. The last few weeks have been tough games but the mentality has been great.
"We are all excited about where we can take this. We want to get on the front foot by playing aggressive rugby and we’re going to try our hardest to come back with the five points.”
SARACENS (vs Nottingham, Saturday)
15. Elliot Daly
14. Alex Lewington
13. Dom Morris
12. Duncan Taylor
11. Rotimi Segun
10. Owen Farrell (capt)
9. Tom Whiteley
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Tom Woolstencroft
3. Alec Clarey
4. Maro Itoje
5. Joel Kpoku
6. Janco Venter
7. Andy Christie
8. Billy Vunipola
Reps:
16. Jamie George
17. Eroni Mawi
18. Vincent Koch
19. Callum Hunter-Hill
20. Jackson Wray
21. Alex Day
22. Will Hooley
23. Harry Sloan
Trending on RugbyPass
2
'Chaos': Lawes sheds light on the social that ended 2 England careers
3
Ex-Ireland wing brands Six Nations champs 'not that good'
4
Hacjivah Dayimani exits SA following Springbok snub
5
Latest Comments
Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
Go to comments