TEAM NEWS | Bordeaux-Begles v Saracens Men (ICC - Last 16)
Tom Willis says the Investec Champions Cup Last 16 clash against Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday is an incredible opportunity for the group.
The Men in Black return to the Stade Chaban-Delmas with a place in the Quarter Final at stake, and will be looking to avenge a defeat to the same opponents in the group stages.
The coaches can call upon a whole host of European winners who will be drawing on every ounce of their experience for the trip to the South West of France.
Mako Vunipola, captain Jamie George and Christian Judge will start in the front-row, with Maro Itoje returning to the second-row alongside Hugh Tizard.
Theo McFarland, Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola will operate in the back-row as they look to bring their dynamism and physicality to the base of the scrum.
Ivan van Zyl is joined by Alex Goode as his half-back partner, who replaces Owen Farrell after he suffered a minor hamstring injury against Northampton last weekend which will keep him out for the next few weeks.
Nick Tompkins and Lucio Cinti combine once again in the midfield, and an unchanged in-form back-three of Alex Lewington, Sean Maitland and Elliot Daly will need to take any chances that come their way.
On the bench there is plenty of firepower with the likes of Theo Dan, Marco Riccioni and Juan Martin Gonzalez all ready to enter proceedings.
Willis is excited to return to his former club for a blockbuster European clash on Saturday evening.
“There’s a really good energy around the place as we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity ahead of us. This club has a great history in Europe and the boys are all very excited for such a big game.
After the last game there we had a lot of honest conversations about where we were at and we feel like we’ve kicked on since then. It’s a massive challenge but one that we will put all our energy in to.
Bordeaux is a place that means a lot to me after they gave me an opportunity, so personally it’s really exciting to be taking them on.”
Saracens Men team to play Bordeaux Begles:
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George (c)
3 Christian Judge
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Theo McFarland
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Alex Goode
11 Alex Lewington
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Lucio Cinti
14 Sean Maitland
15 Elliot Daly
Replacements:
16 Theo Dan
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Marco Riccioni
19 Juan Martin Gonzalez
20 Tom Willis
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Manu Vunipola
23 Olly Hartley
