Wasps v Exeter: Aviva Premiership preview
Last Updated: 26/04/15 1:22pm
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has named a strong side to take on Exeter Chiefs at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.
Young has given starts to the returning Christian Wade, who has recovered from an injury, and Nathan Hughes, who has served the suspension he was given for the red card offence against Northampton last month.
Both will be vital to the cause of Wasps, as they seek a place in the semi-finals with the Premiership drawing to an end.
There are three changes to the forwards, all in the tight five, as hooker Carlo Festuccia is joined in the front row by Lorenzo Cittadini, and Kearnan Myall takes his place in the second row.
Speaking ahead of the game, Young said “Exeter have been a team that we have had trouble beating over the last few seasons, so we know exactly how tough it will be for us on Sunday. They have played some very good rugby this season and their ability to run teams around has seen them move up into the top four with some well-deserved results.
“We are going into the game in decent form and with bags of confidence. We didn’t play as well as we could against London Welsh but we got the result that we needed and we know where we need to improve this weekend.
“It’s been a long time since we played at the Ricoh Arena and playing there really does give the side a boost. The support we get there is phenomenal and we have had some great performances at our new home. We are looking forward to getting back there and hopefully getting a win, which will be big for us and for the supporters.
"You have to win your home games if you want to be in the top six, it doesn’t matter who you’re up against. We face a side who deservedly sit fourth in the table and we know that we will have to be near our best.”
Chiefs meanwhile have made just one change in the starting line-up to the team that lost 30-19 to Gloucester in the Challenge Cup semi-final. Full-back Phil Dollman has been unable to shake the leg injury that he sustained against Gloucester and has been replaced in the No 15 jersey by Byron McGuigan.
On the replacements bench Luke Cowan-Dickie comes in ahead of Elvis Taione and academy lock Sam Skinner has been replaced by Damian Welch.
Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson; 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 James Gaskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 6 Ashley Johnson, 7 James Haskell (c), 8 Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Cannon, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Rob Miller.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Jack Nowell, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley; 1 Ben Moon, 2 Jack Yeandle, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Dean Mumm (c), 5 Mitch Lees, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Kai Horstmann, 8 Thomas Waldrom.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom James.
