Team news: Chiefs prepare for penultimate game of PREM season

Exeter Chiefs have named their line-up for their penultimate game of the Gallagher PREM season against Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

In the absence of an injured Ross Vintcent, back-rower Ethan Roots returns to the starting line-up while Zack Wimbush prepares for his first league appearance of the campaign.

Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “I think this weekend is going to be a very tough game of rugby. Leicester haven’t lost at Welford Road in the league this season, so we’ve got to overturn a record that they’ve set for themselves. That in itself is challenging, but so too is the consideration of league positions.

“When you look at their home performances and how competitive they’ve been there, the quality they’ve put on the pitch sometimes under tough circumstances or even in instances when they’ve dominated from the start, they’ve become a very good team that is very aligned on how they want to play and how hard they want to work across the 80 minutes.”

A fortnight on from scoring a try at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, hooker Max Norey once more starts in the front row alongside props Scott Sio and Josh Iosefa-Scott.

With an impressive 322 tackles made in the Prem this season between them, match captain Dafydd Jenkins and Andrea Zambonin are selected to start in the second row. The returning Roots links up with Tom Hooper and Greg Fisilau, who returns from a short knee injury, to form the back-row.

Scrum-half Stephen Varney and fly-half Harvey Skinner take their places in the half-back pairing while Henry Slade and Len Ikitau pair up in the midfield.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso reclaims a starting spot on the wing with Chiefs’ leading try-scorer this season Campbell Ridl and Olly Woodburn rounding out the back three.

Baxter added: “It’s just one of those really tough games where you pick a team and ask the lads to go out there and roll their sleeves up. They know they’re going to have to work extremely hard for 80 minutes to give themselves a chance of winning the game. We’re not running away from that, it’s something that should bring out the best in us.”

Chiefs opt for the traditional 5-3 split on the bench. Joseph Dweba, Ethan Burger and Bachuki Tchumbadze form the replacement front row while Rusi Tuima and Christ Tshiunza provide cover for the back five of the scrum.

For the backs, alongside the returning Wimbush, Chiefs select Tom Cairns and Paul Brown-Bampoe.

The game kicks off at 15:30 in Leicester, broadcast live on TNT Sports or you can follow the action in our live match centre here.

Exeter Chiefs:

15 Olly Woodburn

14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

13 Henry Slade

12 Len Ikitau

11 Campbell Ridl

10 Harvey Skinner

9 Stephen Varney

1 Scott Sio

2 Max Norey

3 Josh Iosefa-Scott

4 Dafydd Jenkins (c)

5 Andrea Zambonin

6 Tom Hooper

7 Ethan Roots

8 Greg Fisilau

Replacements:

16 Joseph Dweba

17 Ethan Burger

18 Bachuki Tchumbadze

19 Rusi Tuima

20 Christ Tshiunza

21 Tom Cairns

22 Zack Wimbush

23 Paul Brown-Bampoe