TEAM NEWS | Edinburgh Rugby v Saracens Men
Saracens Men have named a 29-man squad to travel to Edinburgh on Friday night for a mid-season match at The Hive Stadium.
The Men in Black head to the Scottish capital looking to gain some valuable gametime before the resumption of the Gallagher Premiership and are boosted by a number of players returning from injury, most notably Andy Onyeama-Christie who has made a remarkable recovery from a significant ankle injury in October.
Eroni Mawi and Fraser Balmain both start on each side of the scrum in-between hooker James Hadfield. In the engine room, Harry Wilson is alongside Hugh Tizard who recently signed a new contract keeping him in North London.
Theo McFarland returns to the matchday squad to start at blindside, alongside Max Eke and Nathan Michelow in the back row who both had successful Premiership Rugby Cup campaigns.
In the backline, the team will be captained by Ivan Van Zyl, who also signed a new deal with Sarries during the international break. The former Springbok is reunited with Fergus Burke who has spent time in Scotland during the Six Nations campaign.
In the midfield, Olly Hartley will start at inside centre, with Alex Lozowski resuming his role at 13. Out wide, Lucio Cinti and Rotimi Segun both return from injury and are named on each wing, with Tobias Elliott starting at full-back.
On the bench, Rhys Carre returns from a back injury alongside Onyeama-Christie who will make his first appearance in Saracens colours in five months.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall sees this clash against Edinburgh as a crucial element of the the preparation ahead of an exciting end of season run in.
“The group is very much looking forward to the game on Friday night. We have had a unique opportunity over the last three weeks to effectively have a mini pre-season and the attitude and the effort of the players has been outstanding.
Friday night allows us to get some crucial game time against quality opposition before our Premiership campaign recommences next week.
We are delighted to welcome back some players from injury and in particular Andy Onyeama-Christie who has worked incredibly hard over the last five months, with the expert support of our performance team to recover from a very difficult injury.”
This is the last time Sarries will run out before they take on Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 22nd March. Tickets are still available, CLICK HERE to book!
Saracens Men team to play Edinburgh Rugby:
1 Eroni Mawi
2 James Hadfield
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Hugh Tizard
5 Harry Wilson
6 Theo McFarland
7 Max Eke
8 Nathan Michelow
9 Ivan van Zyl (c)
10 Fergus Burke
11 Lucio Cinti
12 Olly Hartley
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Rotimi Segun
15 Tobias Elliott
Replacements:
James Isaacs
Rhys Carre
Alec Clarey
Kaden Pearce-Paul
Juan Martin Gonzalez
Gareth Simpson
Louie Johnson
Brandon Jackson
Phil Brantingham
Kennedy Sylvester
Andy Onyeama-Christie
Reggie Hammick
Josh Hallett
Charlie Bracken
