Saracens v Bath: Teams
The 2,000th match in Premiership Rugby history will take place at Vicarage Road when Saracens entertain Bath on Sunday.
Last Updated: 06/01/12 5:00pm
The 2,000th match in Premiership Rugby history will take place at Vicarage Road when Saracens entertain Bath on Sunday.
Bath were involved in the first Premiership match back on 23rd August 1997 - and they will once again take part in a landmark occasion.
Saracens have made five changes to their side for the encounter - with David Strettle, Charlie Hodgson, Ben Spencer, John Smit and Ernst Joubert coming into the starting XV.
Jamie George, Peter Stringer and James Short drop to the bench while Schalk Brits misses the game with a shoulder injury.
"Bath travel to Watford on the back of an impressive victory over London Irish last weekend," said director of rugby Mark McCall.
"That result proved what we already knew and that is Bath are a club with a very talented squad who can score points from all areas of the pitch. It means that, as always, our effort levels will have to be at their maximum and with players like Stephen Donald and Olly Barkley in the Bath team; we must maintain our impressive levels of discipline."
Buoyed by their New Year's Day thumping of London Irish, Bath have opted to name an unchanged starting line-up.
The only change to the squad comes on the bench, where hooker Pieter Dixon makes his long-awaited return from injury.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Owen Farrell, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Andy Saull, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 John Smit, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Petrus du Plessis, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 George Kruis, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Adam Powell, 23 James Short.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Matt Banahan, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Francois Louw (c), 6 Andy Beattie, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Ross Batty. 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 David Wilson, 19 Ben Skirving, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Kyle Eastmond.