Premiership preview: James Haskell's return prepares buzzing Wasps for revenge
Haskell's Wasps take on Exeter
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Your support makes all the difference.Wasps v Exeter (today, 3.15pm)
The first of today’s two all-English Champions Cup quarter-finals, and the first of a possible three crucial meetings between these clubs in the next month. Exeter’s rolling maul smashed Wasps in the league at Coventry last December, when Thomas Waldrom plundered three tries, but the home team have been near- unstoppable of late with 10 wins in 11 matches in all competitions. Wasps are reinforced by the return from injury of full-back Charles Piutau and scrum-half Dan Robson, while captain James Haskell is restored to the starting back row alongside George Smith and Nathan Hughes. The only frontline absentee for the Chiefs in their debut appearance at this stage of the competition is full-back Phil Dollman.
Saracens v Northampton (today, 5.45)
The curse of concussion has hit Northampton hard, with England internationals Dylan Hartley, Kieran Brookes and Lee Dickson ruled out of the meeting with the Champions Cup’s No 1 seeds after the pool stage. Saints are also missing Wales wing George North, and frontline forwards Tom Wood, Jamie Gibson, Calum Clark, Sam Dickinson and Jon Fisher, so the task becomes gargantuan, even if they are the only team to have beaten Saracens twice on the artificial Allianz Park pitch. In fact, Northampton have done it three times, albeit the most recent was when many of Saracens’ luminaries were playing in the Six Nations Championship. Playing in their fifth successive European quarter-final, the Premiership leaders have George Kruis available after a thrown-out biting citing, and his England locking colleague Maro Itoje is fit from the knock that forced him off last weekend.
Leicester v Stade Français (tomorrow, 1.45pm)
The clubs’ 11th meeting in Europe, and third this season after a home win each in the pool. Stade have lost all four of their previous away Champions Cup quarter-finals, while Leicester have quietly assumed an air of superiority at Welford Road, winning 15 of their last 16 home matches. Tigers are at full bore in the back row for the first time in a while, with Mike Fitzgerald, Brendon O’Connor and Lachlan McCaffrey starting, and Ed Slater and Tom Croft in reserve. Mat Tait returns at full-back, while Freddie Burns has nudged fellow fly-half Owen Williams to the bench.
Racing 92 v Toulon (tomorrow, 4.15)
Toulon, European champions for the last three seasons, haven’t lost a knockout match in the premier competition since 2011. That didn’t deter the Toulon chairman Mourad Boudjellal from predicting defeat on this trip to Paris, but if the aim was to discombobulate Dan Carter and his Racing 92 friends, Boudjellal has probably picked on the wrong World Player of the Year.
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