Saracens make one change as they name team for Premiership final

Saracens boss Mark McCall has made one change team for Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final following last weekend’s impressive 34-17 semi-final win over 2021 champions Harlequins, promoting Nick Isiekwe to start from the bench in place of the retiring Tim Swinson who is omitted from the matchday 23. Jackson Wray comes onto the bench to fill the vacancy left by Isiekwe, who has been rewarded for his immense semi-final impact as a replacement.

The only other alterations are positional, with wingers Max Malins and Sean Maitland this week respectively wearing the No14 and N11 jerseys unlike last weekend when it was the other way around. Also, Duncan Taylor and Alex Lozowski swap their jersey numbers on the bench from the Harlequins match, Taylor listed as No22 with Lozowski the No23 on this occasion.

It’s the first Twickenham final appearance for the London club since they lifted the 2019 title with a victory over Exeter. Since then, Saracens have embarked on a remarkable journey prompted by their automatic relegation from the Premiership to the Championship for repeated salary cap breaches.

They won the second-tier title last June and they are now looking to crown their top-flight comeback with a victory over a Leicester side coached by Steve Borthwick, the ex-Sarries club captain.

Mako Vunipola will lead the team out at English rugby HQ for his 200th Saracens appearance, while Andy Christie could reach his half-century of appearances from the bench.

Skipper Owen Farrell said: “We have got an opportunity to do something special and we are really looking forward to it. We are up against a fantastic side that we respect, so we have had to make sure our preparation has been right. The past is the past and we want to make sure that all of the exciting stuff is in front of us.”

SARACENS (vs Leicester, Saturday)

15. Alex Goode; 14. Max Malins, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Sean Maitland; 10. Owen Farrell (capt), 9. Aled Davies; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Jamie George, 3. Vincent Koch, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Nick Isiekwe, 6. Theo McFarland, 7. Ben Earl, 8. Billy Vunipola. Reps: 16. Kapeli Pifeleti, 17. Eroni Mawi, 18. Alec Clarey, 19. Jackson Wray, 20. Andy Christie, 21. Ivan van Zyl, 22. Duncan Taylor, 23. Alex Lozowski.