Preview: Wasps v Leicester

Wasps welcome back five England internationals for their EDF Cup semi-final showdown against Leicester at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

England backs Paul Sackey and Danny Cipriani replace Mark Van Gisbergen and Dave Walder respectively, while Ireland scrum-half Eoin Reddan reclaims the No.9 jersey from Mark McMillan.

Phil Vickery, Simon Shaw and James Haskell return to the pack - Haskell joining captain Lawrence Dallaglio and John Hart in the back row.

Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan believes that Saturday's encounter will be his side's toughest so far this season.

"There is no doubt that this is the biggest challenge we've faced to date this season," he said.

"When you are in the knock out stages of any competition you expect the opposition to raise the bar, and Leicester will be no exception.

"Of course, that requires us to do the same but I think that the history of big games between our two sides has consistently shown that Wasps and Leicester bring out the best in each other.

"It's good to welcome back those players who have been away on international duty, but it's important from a club perspective that they can successfully don their Wasps hats once again and fulfil the roles we expect them to play for the club."

Tigers team

Leicester head coach Marcelo Loffreda also welcomes back international players - England trio Ben Kay, Tom Croft and George Chuter as well as Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni.

Boris Stankovich starts at loosehead prop with Harry Ellis starting his third successive match at scrum-half following a 10 month absence.

Ben Herring also earns a start at flanker in a game which Tigers' forwards coach Richard Cockrill has described as a "great opportunity" for the club.

"It's a massive game for the club and one which everyone is looking forward to," said Cockerill.

"The attitude of the players has been top class all week and it's been pretty obvious how determined they are to do well on Saturday.

"Playing in a semi-final, on a big stage like the Millennium Stadium and against a good side like Wasps, is a great opportunity.

"Winning the trophy against the Ospreys last season was a massive achievement for the club and we've said all along that we're desperate to try and repeat that success this time around."

Teams:

Wasps: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Doherty, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Eoin Reddan; 1 Tim Payne, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Simon Shaw, 5 Tom Palmer, 6 John Hart, 7 James Haskell, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (capt).

Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Tom French, 18 George Skivington, 19 Dan Leo, 20 Mark McMillan, 21 Dave Walder, 22 Dominic Waldouck.

Leicester: 15 Johne Murphy, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Seru Rabeni, 12 Dan Hipkiss, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Harry Ellis; 1 Boris Stankovich, 2 George Chuter, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 4 Louis Deacon, 5 Ben Kay, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Ben Herring, 8 Martin Corry (capt).

Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Julian White, 19 Jordan Crane, 20 Christophe Laussucq, 21 Matt Cornwell, 22 Sam Vesty.