Planet Rugby

Preview: Harlequins v Leicester

27th January 2012 07:23

Ben Woods Leicester v Aironi 2012 Heineken Cup

Tigers captain: Ben Woods

Harlequins will be looking forward to a welcome return to Twickenham Stoop this Saturday, having been there only once in the past seven weeks.

The Quins side that will run out against Leicester is much changed from that which has taken to the field recently, with as many as ten players away with England and England Saxons.

Ross Chisholm starts at full-back, with Tom Williams and Seb Stegmann joining him at the back. Tom Casson and Benjamin Urdapilleta form the midfield partnership outside Rory Clegg and Richard Bolt as the half back pairing.

Rob Buchanan starts at hooker, alongside Mark Lambert and Tim Fairbrother in the front row, with Pete Browne and Charlie Matthews combining in the second row. Tom Guest continues his return from injury alongside Luke Wallace and Will Skinner, who captains the team from openside.

Daryl Marfo, Nic Mayhew and Will Collier provide cover in the front row, with Tomas Vallejos and Chris York covering the back five of the scrum. Sam Stuart makes a welcome return to the match day squad as cover at scrum half, with Charlie Walker and Ollie Lindsay Hague looking after the remainder of the back line.

Meanwhile, flanker Ben Woods will captain Leicester in this LV= Cup third round fixture.

Niall Morris, Scott Hamilton, Boris Stankovich, Graham Kitchener and Ben Pienaar are also included in the starting XV.

George Ford and Sam Harrison team up at half-back and Andrew Forsyth, who played in the opening two rounds of this season's Heineken Cup before suffering an ankle injury in the home win over Ulster, returns to the backline.

Alex Lewington is included on the wing following his hat-trick of tries in the win over Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Premiership 'A' League competition a week ago.

Jimmy Stevens, who made his senior debut in the European win over Aironi last Saturday, is joined in the front row by Samoan prop Logoviii Mulipola and Stankovich, while Calum Green returns from a back injury to make his first appearance of the season at second row.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Ben Urdapilleta, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Richard Bolt, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Will Skinner (capt), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Pete Browne, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Nic Mayhew, 17 Daryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tom Vallejos, 20 Chris York, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Charlie Walker, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.

Leicester: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Dante Mama, 12 Andy Forsyth, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 George Ford, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Ben Pienaar, 7 Tom Armes, 6 Ben Woods (capt), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logoviii Mulipola, 2 Jimmy Stevens, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Jonny Harris, 18 Ryan Bower, 19 Joe Cain, 20 James Doyle, 21 James Grindal, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Matt Smith.

Date: Saturday, January 28
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)

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