TEAM NEWS | Newcastle Red Bulls Vs Saracens Men (PREM R1)
Owen Farrell will make his eagerly awaited return in Saracens colours as The Original Club of North London head to Newcastle for their first meeting with the Red Bulls.
The Gallagher PREM season gets off to a bang in the North East as the Men in Black travel to Kingston Park with a squad packed full of returning international stars.
In what has been a monumental week for the club, following the announcement of their new brand repositioning on Monday, Director of Rugby Mark McCall hopes to start the season on a high under the lights in Newcastle.
Seven days on from Sarries' clash with Northampton in the Cup, the visitors name a front row stacked with international experience. Rhys Carre and Marco Riccioni will prop down alongside Theo Dan, who together boast more than 70 test caps.
Nick Isiekwe returns to PREM action alongside Hugh Tizard in the engine room. A reshuffled back-row sees the reintroduction of Tom Willis at number eight. After an impressive Cup campaign Nathan Michelow reverts to blindside flanker, with Andy Onyeama-Christie at openside.
Ivan Van Zyl has been named to skipper the side from scrum half, and the South African reunites with Fergus Burke who comes back into the Sarries fold after an impressive summer with Scotland.
Farrell returns to the Sarries side at inside centre, with Nick Tompkins selected outside him to form a formidable midfield pairing.
After scoring a brace against Northampton Rotimi Segun continues on the left wing, with Brandon Jackson joining him on the right. Max Malins resumes at full back as he makes his return to Gallagher PREM action in Sarries colours.
The bench includes the return of Eroni Mawi from international duty, as well as Cameron Hutchison who will make his first PREM appearance for the club against his former side. After a successful pre season in the senior squad, Noah Caluori is expected to make his first PREM appearance at the age of  just18.
Farrell is anticipating a huge game on his return.
“It is great to be back in a Saracens shirt. I cannot wait to get back out there with the team. Friday night will bring its challenges but I am excited to see what this group can do and where we can take things this season."
Saracens Men team to face Newcastle Red Bulls:
15 Max Malins
14 Brandon Jackson
13 Nick Tompkins
12 Owen Farrell
11 Rotimi Segun
10 Fergus Burke
9 Ivan van Zyl (c)
1 Rhys Carre
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Nick Isiekwe
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nathan Michelow
7 Andy Onyeama-Christie
8 Tom Willis
Replacements:
16 Eoghan Clarke
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Harry Wilson
20 Olamide Sodeke
21 Charlie Bracken
22 Cameron Hutchison
23 Noah Caluori
