TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v London Scottish (PRC - Rd 2)
Olly Hartley is raring to go ahead of his eagerly anticipated return against London Scottish in the Premiership Rugby Cup on Saturday.
The centre is back after recovering from a seven-month knee injury and will form an exciting partnership with Sam Spink which is sure to have Saracens fans out of their seats at StoneX Stadium.
Sarries will be looking to get back on track in the Cup after an opening day defeat, and the coaching duo of James Tirrell and Rob Webber have made seven changes to the side that fell short against Ealing Trailfinders.
A full front row switch sees Sam Crean, James Hadfield and summer signing Fraser Balmain all pack down in the scrum.
A second row of Kennedy Sylvester and Harry Wilson start at StoneX, with trialist Izaiha Moore-Aiono taking the place of Toby Knight in the back-row alongside Max Eke and captain Nathan Michelow.
Callum Braley starts at scrum-half after a commanding display in West London, and he will accompany Tim Swiel at fly-half.
A new look centre pairing of Hartley and Spink will take to the StoneX pitch for the first time, with the Men in Black also naming an unchanged back three of Brandon Jackson, Angus Hall and Tom Parton.
James Isaacs and Reggie Hammick are in line for their first senior appearances of the campaign off the bench, whilst experienced duo Alec Clarey and Gareth Simpson are also named amongst the replacements. Tiff Eden could make his Sarries debut after joining on a trial this week.
Hartley is excited to be getting back out on the pitch in a Saracens shirt.
“I’m buzzing to get back playing with the boys, it’s felt like a long time and I can’t wait for Saturday.
Like any injury it has had ups and downs, but it’s been great to watch how the team have gone at the start of the season and hopefully we can add to that this weekend.”
Saracens Men team to play London Scottish:
1 Sam Crean
2 James Hadfield
3 Fraser Balmain
4 Harry Wilson
5 Kennedy Sylvester
6 Max Eke
7 Izaiha Moore-Aiono
8 Nathan Michelow (c)
9 Callum Braley
10 Tim Swiel
11 Brandon Jackson
12 Olly Hartley
13 Sam Spink
14 Angus Hall
15 Tom Parton
Replacements:
16 James Isaacs
17 Phil Brantingham
18 Alec Clarey
19 Charlie West
20 Reggie Hammick
21 Gareth Simpson
22 Tiff Eden
23 Jack Bracken
