TEAM NEWS | Bristol Bears v Saracens Men (GPR - Rd 5)
Nick Isiekwe spoke of his pride as he prepares to make his 150th Saracens appearance on Saturday when the Men in Black head to Ashton Gate to take on the table-topping Bristol Bears.
The second-rower made his debut for the club at the age of just 18 and has been a stalwart at StoneX Stadium ever since, with three Premiership titles, one Champions Cup trophy and 11 England caps to his name.
Sarries will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering defeat in the derby against Harlequins last week, and face an in-form Bears outfit who won in dramatic fashion at Sandy Park in their last outing.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall has made seven changes from the side that came up short at The Stoop ahead of a bumper day at Ashton Gate which also sees Saracens Women in action.
It’s a straight swap in the front row as Theo Dan starts in place of Jamie George alongside Rhys Carre and Marco Riccioni.
Hugh Tizard accompanies captain Maro Itoje in the engine room, whilst Theo McFarland, Toby Knight and Tom Willis complete the back-row. Juan Martin Gonzalez was ruled out after injuring his bicep against Quins, Andy Onyeama-Christie will have surgery on Monday and Ben Earl also failed to recover from a minor knock picked up at The Stoop.
Ivan Van Zyl is alongside Alex Goode at fly-half, with the 36-year-old replacing Fergus Burke who picked up a minor hamstring injury in the week.
Josh Hallett comes in for his second Premiership start alongside recent England call-up Alex Lozowski.
Rotimi Segun returns to the Starting XV, with Elliot Daly reverting to full-back and Tobias Elliot remaining on the right wing.
On the bench there are potential first appearances of the season for Phil Brantingham and Nathan Michelow whilst Nick Isiekwe is in line for a landmark day in a Saracens shirt.
Isiekwe says he’s excited to represent his club for the 150th time on Saturday.
“To make one appearance for the club is an honour but to be making my 150th is special and I have a lot of people to thank for getting to this point!
I’m so proud to be achieving this and I hope to make many more.”
Saracens Men team to play Bristol Bears:
1 Rhys Carre
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Maro Itoje (c)
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Theo McFarland
7 Toby Knight
8 Tom Willis
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Alex Goode
11 Rotimi Segun
12 Josh Hallett
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Tobias Elliott
15 Elliot Daly
Replacements:
16 Jamie George
17 Phil Brantingham
18 Alec Clarey
19 Nick Isiekwe
20 Nathan Michelow
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Nick Tompkins
23 Brandon Jackson
