Team News: Chiefs Ring the Changes to Host Northampton

Exeter Chiefs have made a number of changes to their starting line-up in preparation to host Northampton Saints at Sandy Park this Sunday.

For Round 16 of the Gallagher Premiership, Chiefs come up against last year’s champions on the back of Saints’ historic win over Leinster last weekend which saw them clinch a spot in the Investec Champions Cup final.

The big news of the Chiefs team announcement is the inclusion of England U20 back Nick Lilley. The youngster will make his club debut as he starts in front of a home crowd.

In the front row, Scott Sio starts at loosehead with Jack Yeandle at hooker and Marcus Street at tighthead. Rusi Tuima and captain Dafydd Jenkins also retain their starting positions in the second row.

The back row is a new one for Chiefs this season – Jacques Vermeulen moves to the blindside flank to accommodate Richard Capstick at openside as Ethan Roots slots in at number eight.

Stu Townsend returns to the matchday side at scrum half with Harvey Skinner at fly half. Will Rigg earns a starting shirt alongside Henry Slade in the centres.

Debutant Nick Lilley mans the right wing with Paul Brown-Bampoe on the left as Josh Hodge rounds out the side at full-back.

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter was clear in the lead-up to the game about what his side needs to achieve against Northampton.

“The only thing that is success is a win. That’s where we’ve got to reset our expectations. I think, without realising it, our expectations have dropped to a relatively low level.

“We’ve got three games left in the season, limited training sessions, so we won’t be suddenly making radical changes. The one thing we’re not going to do is try to uplift and change everything. If anything, we’re narrowing our focus.”

Dan Frost returns on the bench with Kwenzo Blose and Josh Iosefa-Scott helping him form the replacement front row. Christ Tshiunza and Martin Moloney cover the scrum’s back five.

Tom Cairns is the replacement scrum half with Will Haydon-Wood and Tamati Tua ready to substitute the rest of the backline.

Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints is on Sunday 11th May with kick off at 3pm. Tickets to the fixture are available here.

Exeter Chiefs:

15 Josh Hodge

14 Nick Lilley

13 Henry Slade

12 Will Rigg

11 Paul Brown-Bampoe

10 Harvey Skinner

9 Stu Townsend

1 Scott Sio

2 Jack Yeandle

3 Marcus Street

4 Rusi Tuima

5 Dafydd Jenkins (c)

6 Jacques Vermeulen

7 Richard Capstick

8 Ethan Roots

Replacements:

16 Dan Frost

17 Kwenzo Blose

18 Josh Iosefa-Scott

19 Christ Tshiunza

20 Martin Moloney

21 Tom Cairns

22 Will Haydon-Wood

23 Tamati Tua