TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men Vs Bristol Bears (PREM R2)
Max Malins is anticipating a fierce clash against his former side as Saracens return to North London against Bristol Bears on Saturday.
Malins will play his first PREM game for Saracens in NW4 in over two years as he lines up at full-back for the fourth successive game following his return from injury.
The former Bristolian is one of 20 players who have retained their places in the match day squad after round one as Director of Rugby Mark McCall looks to continue the momentum from a successful trip to Newcastle last Friday.
The front-row remains unchanged with Rhys Carre and Marco Riccioni propping down alongside Theo Dan in an all-international front row. There is a shift in the engine room as Harry Wilson joins Hugh Tizard in the second row which moves Nick Isiekwe out to blindside flanker.
The rest of the pack remains untouched with Andy Onyeama-Christie fresh from scoring against the Red Bulls on the openside and Tom Willis hoping to recreate his magical moments against the Bears at number eight.
Ivan Van Zyl continues to skipper the side from scrum half, partnered with Fergus Burke who starts in the 10 shirt. The impressive midfield combination of Owen Farrell and Nick Tompkins is repeated in North London, giving Farrell the chance to run out in front of the StoneX Stadium faithful once more.
There is a change in the back-three as Rotimi Segun is joined by 19 year old Jack Bracken who makes his first Gallagher PREM start on the right wing. Max Malins will look to continue his hot form in North London having scored a brace the last time Saracens played at home against Northampton.
The bench provides a chance for 20 year old Charlie West to make his Gallagher PREM debut after impressing across pre-season. Noah Caluori also retains his spot in the side after catching headlines with his audacious debut score seven days ago.
Malins is prepared for a huge clash come Saturday.
“I can’t wait to play at StoneX again in the PREM and hear it in full noise. It’s also going to be great lining up against some familiar faces.
We want to build on the Newcastle win and keep pushing forward at the start of the season.”
Saracens Men team to play Bristol Bears:
1 Rhys Carre
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Harry Wilson
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Andy Onyeama-Christie
8 Tom Willis
9 Ivan Van Zyl (c)
10 Fergus Burke
11 Rotimi Segun
12 Owen Farrell
13 Nick Tompkins
14 Jack Bracken
15 Max Malins
Replacements:
16 Eoghan Clarke
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Olamide Sodeke
20 Charlie West
21 Charlie Bracken
22 Cameron Hutchison
23 Noah Caluori
Unavailable: Lucio Cinti, Ben Earl, Jamie George, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Maro Itoje, Tietie Tuimauga.
Injured: Phil Brantingham, Elliot Daly, Max Eke, Tobias Elliott, Angus Hall, Olly Hartley, Toby Knight, Alex Lozowski, Theo McFarland, Vilikesa Nairau, Sam Spink, Brandon Jackson, Harvey Beaton.
