TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Hartpury (PRC - Rd 5)
Tom Parton says Saracens Men are looking to use Saturday’s final Cup outing to keep growing as they edge towards the start of their Gallagher Premiership defence.
The full-back, who joined in the summer will be looking to continue his promising start to life in North London when Sarries welcome Hartpury to StoneX Stadium on Saturday to bring the curtain down on their cup campaign.
There are five changes to the starting line-up from the side that took on Harlequins last Sunday, with the coaches looking to build some more cohesion before the trip to Sandy Park next weekend.
Sam Crean, Samson Adejimi and Ollie Hoskins start in the front-row, with Callum Hunter-Hill and Nick Isiekwe continuing in the second-row.
Nathan Michelow, Toby Knight and Tom Willis operate in a powerful back-row, tasked with providing front-foot ball for an attacking back-line.
Aled Davies remains at scrum-half, and is joined by Alex Goode at number 10 who has recovered from a minor groin injury.
Olly Hartley and captain Alex Lozowski keep up their midfield partnership, and a back-three of Rotimi Segun, Francis Moore and Parton will aim to finish any try-scoring opportunities that come their way.
On the bench hooker James Hadfield could make his debut after arriving on a short-term loan, and Sean Maitland provides a big boost as he is back in the matchday squad for the first time since the Premiership Final in May.
Parton says Saturday’s match is crucial to build momentum as the start of the league campaign draws closer.
“As a group we are learning each week and performances have been growing. We’re really excited about what we can go on and achieve to make sure we start the Premiership with real confidence.
Saturday is another chance for us to take a step forward as a group and we’ll be looking to do exactly that against Hartpury.”
Saracens Men team to play Hartpury:
1 Sam Crean
2 Samson Adejimi
3 Ollie Hoskins
4 Callum Hunter-Hill
5 Nick Isiekwe
6 Nathan Michelow
7 Toby Knight
8 Tom Willis
9 Aled Davies
10 Alex Goode
11 Rotimi Segun
12 Olly Hartley
13 Alex Lozowski (c)
14 Francis Moore
15 Tom Parton
Replacements:
16 James Hadfield
17 Ralph Adams-Hale
18 Alec Clarey
19 Kaden Pearce-Paul
20 Ollie Stonham
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Manu Vunipola
23 Sean Maitland
