Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs face Harlequins in Saturday's showpiece at Twickenham

British & Irish Lions tourist Stuart Hogg will be among Exeter's replacements for Saturday's Gallagher Premiership final against Harlequins (kick-off 5.30pm).

Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has retained England international Jack Nowell as his full-back, with Alex Cuthbert and Tom O'Flaherty on the wings, meaning Hogg reprises the replacement role he assumed for last weekend's play-off victory over Sale.

Hogg's fellow South Africa-bound Lions - hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, lock Jonny Hill and No 8 Sam Simmonds - all start at Twickenham in an unchanged team.

Quins, in their first Premiership final for nine years, welcome back centre Andre Esterhuizen after suspension as one of three changes following their dramatic play-off win against Bristol six days ago.

Esterhuizen replaces Ben Tapuai in midfield, while there are also starts for wing Cadan Murley and flanker James Chisholm.

Baxter concerned about leaky defence

Exeter spent years as the battling underdogs operating in Saracens' shadow but now find themselves as the big beast hoping to suppress the upstarts of Harlequins in Saturday's final.

Even before Saracens' salary-cap fall from grace, Exeter had established themselves as the country's best team, underlined by their Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup double last season.

This is their sixth successive Premiership final, where they will be seeking their third title, whereas Quins are in the showpiece for the first time since a solitary triumph in 2012.

Trying to predict the outcome of the final looks like a waste of time on the back of last week's semis, particularly Harlequins' extraordinary 43-36 extra-time victory over Bristol where they came from 28-0 down after 30 minutes.

Exeter were also pushed all the way by Sale, before eventually coming home 40-30, leaving director of rugby Rob Baxter well aware of this week's challenge.

"Those Harlequins players had a great second half, it was a fantastic game of rugby," he said.

"My biggest concern is that we conceded 30 points, and that makes you think about what we will have to defend against on Saturday. Hopefully we can keep the ball and nullify their threat."

As Bristol found, that is easier said than done.

Simmonds relishing Smith showdown

Harlequins' turnaround since they parted ways with head coach Paul Gustard in January has been astonishing and, much to their fans' delight, it has been brought about largely due to a commitment to attack at every opportunity.

Before the former England defence coach's departure Quins were going nowhere, having won two of seven games while scoring an average of 21 points per match. Since then the tally is 13 wins from 18, scoring almost 35 points per match.

The flip in fortunes has taken place without a head coach in place as a four-man group of Adam Jones, Nick Evans, Jerry Flannery and Charlie Mulchrone have led by committee.

It is similarly democratic on the pitch, as the likes of Danny Care and Joe Marler bring experience and calm, alongside the on-pitch direction from fly-half Marcus Smith.

The 22-year-old has quickly developed a remarkable all-court game that should put him in line for an England call up for the summer Tests in the absence of Owen Farrell and George Ford.

Exeter, however, are not in the business of sitting back to admire the work of their rivals, and in Joe Simmonds they have their own match-winning fly-half.

Not as flamboyant as Smith, Simmonds has nevertheless become a master controller with ice in his veins who, at 24, already has a stack of big-game experience under his belt

"I love games like this and I love coming up against the likes of Marcus," he said this week.

"I know personally I have to be right up there on my A game because I know Marcus will be. It's an exciting opportunity, I'm looking forward to being out there against him."

Dombrandt hopes for Twickenham return soon

Alex Dombrandt is hopeful Saturday's outing at Twickenham will be the first of many this year but remains focused on providing the perfect ending to a crazy season for Harlequins.

The 24-year-old played a key role in last weekend's astonishing comeback win at Bristol, and along with Smith is expected to be added to Eddie Jones' England squad after Saturday's match for the summer internationals against the USA and Canada at Twickenham next month.

While the No 8 played for his country in a non-cap fixture against Barbarians two years ago, his superb form finally looks set to be rewarded with a full England cap.

"Hopefully there are things to come after this weekend but for me focus is on getting the job done at Quins," Dombrandt said.

"I have had a taste for England over the last couple of seasons being involved in camps and things like that.

"It is something I have been working towards for a long, long time so hopefully it happens this summer and I am hopeful for that, but like I said this weekend is my main priority at the moment."

Like for their triumphant final in 2012, Quins will walk to Twickenham from their home ground half a mile away on the day of the final and their rampaging forward hopes they can produce more fireworks on the biggest stage.

"Harlequins DNA is we want to play an attacking brand of rugby and we want to enjoy it," Dombrandt said.

"You are seeing at the moment we are enjoying it. We are playing with smiles on our faces and that is when we are playing our best rugby so that is what we will try to do on Saturday."

Lynagh looking to emulate father's Twickenham success

Louis Lynagh is hoping to write his own chapter in his family's illustrious rugby history on Saturday, thirty years after his father Michael helped guide Australia to World Cup final success against England at Twickenham.

Lynagh senior also tasted domestic success on the Twickenham turf, being part of Saracens' 1998 Tetley's Bitter Cup final-winning team alongside fellow global superstars like Francois Pienaar and Philippe Sella, and was among the Ashton Gate crowd last Saturday to watch Quins' record-breaking fightback.

"Dad is not a man of many words," Lynagh said.

"We had a moment afterwards. He came down to pitch-side and we talked about how brilliant it was. I didn't really have many words myself - I was quite emotional.

"He will feed the helpful stuff, but he doesn't like to be too hands on with me, he likes to let me find my own path. I like to think I am making my own path.

"I will always have that connection to my dad, and I am always thankful for that, not only for his help in my career, but also the opportunities I have had to meet certain people and gather information about playing rugby.

"This season, I have shown I can pull my own weight and hopefully bring my own name to the forefront. I wouldn't mind being compared to my dad - he was a decent player.

"I have always wanted to make him proud, and hopefully that is what I have been doing since I started playing rugby at Richmond when I was four. It is going to be a a pretty special weekend for my family and I."