TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Ampthill

Jackson Wray says Saracens Men are hugely excited to return to action as their focus turns to the pre-season friendly against Ampthill on Friday evening. 

The Men in Black will run out for the first time since June, with this match a crucial opportunity to get game time before the Gallagher Premiership commences. 

The starting line-up features a debut for Hugh Tizard who joined in the summer from Harlequins, whilst Christian Judge will make his first start since returning to the club. 

Eroni Mawi will start at loosehead whilst Tom Woolstencroft makes his return at hooker, alongside Judge who adds to a powerful front-row. 

Callum Hunter-Hill will be in the second-row next to Tizard, with an experienced back-row of captain Wray, Ben Earl and Andy Christie at the base of the scrum.

Ivan van Zyl and Manu Vunipola will look to manage the game as they start as half-backs, with a midfield partnership of Nick Tompkins and Alex Lozowski. 

Elliot Daly will be on the left wing, with Alex Lewington on the right and Max Malins at full back for the pre-season clash. 

There are plenty of options from the bench with 14 players ready to come on, including a potential debut for James Flynn as well as opportunities for academy players such as Jevaughn Warren, Obinna Nkwocha, Toby Knight and Ollie Stonham.

Wray is looking forward to skippering the side on Friday evening. 

“We’ve had a really good pre-season and now can’t wait to get back out there again on Friday. 

It’s been a while since we’ve been in front of our own fans at StoneX, and with some new faces in the team it’s a really exciting opportunity for everyone to lay down a marker before the season starts.”

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Saracens Men team to play Ampthill:

1 Eroni Mawi

2 Tom Woolstencroft

3 Christian Judge

4 Callum Hunter-Hill

5 Hugh Tizard

6 Jackson Wray (c)

7 Ben Earl 

8 Andy Christie 

9 Ivan van Zyl

10 Manu Vunipola

11 Elliot Daly

12 Nick Tompkins

13 Alex Lozowski

14 Alex Lewington 

15 Max Malins

Replacements:

Kapeli Pifeleti 

James Flynn

Sam Wainwright

Jevaughn Warren 

Obinna Nkwocha

Theo McFarland 

Toby Knight 

Ollie Stonham

Ruben de Haas

Josh Hallett

Dom Morris

Ben Harris

Duncan Taylor

Brandon Jackson