Bath v Saracens: Teams
Summer signing Dave Attwood will make his Aviva Premiership debut for Bath when they welcome Saracens to the Rec.
Last Updated: 09/09/11 2:25pm
Summer signing Dave Attwood will make his Aviva Premiership debut for Bath when they welcome Saracens to the Rec on Saturday.
The former Gloucester and England man comes into the second-row to partner Ryan Caldwell with Will Spencer slotting into the reserves.
Having got their Aviva Premiership campaign off to a winning start with victory over Newcastle last week, forwards coach Martin Haag is keen to maintain the momentum.
"We're preparing for Saracens this week in the same way that we prepared for Newcastle last week, but we know it's going to be a sterner test," he stated.
"They are the present champions and have competed brilliantly with Leicester over the last two years. It's a big test for us and one we are looking forward to."
Sarries unchanged
Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall has the luxury of fielding an unchanged starting XV for the trip to the West Country.
The only changes to the Sarries squad come on the replacements bench where prop Mako Vunipola comes in for the injured Petrus du Plessis (shoulder).
Should either Vunipola or winger Joe Maddock get a run out off the bench, they will be making their debut for the club.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Ben Williams, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Sam Vesty, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Kane Palma-Newport, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 David Flatman (capt)
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Paul Roberts, 23 Jack Cuthbert
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 James Short, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Justin Melck, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 George Kruis, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Joe Maddock.
