TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Sale Sharks (GPR - Final)
Captain Owen Farrell says Saturday’s occasion is exactly why he plays the game as he looks to steer Saracens to their sixth Gallagher Premiership title.
The skipper pulled the strings in the semi-final to book their place at Twickenham a fortnight ago, and now he will be aiming to go on step further and get his hands on the most prestigious trophy in English club rugby once again.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall has named a squad packed full of experience for the showpiece event against Sale Sharks, and there is one change from the side that beat Northampton Saints in the semi as Eroni Mawi comes in to start at loosehead.
Mawi, Jamie George and Marco Riccioni start in a strong front-row, with Maro Itoje and Hugh Tizard operating the lineout in the second-row.
Nick Isiekwe and Ben Earl continue at six and seven, and they will be joined by Jackson Wray at the base of the scrum who will make his 309th and final Saracens appearance after over a decade of service to the club.
Ivan Van Zyl starts at nine fresh from signing a new two-year contract, and he will have Farrell as his half-back partner at Twickenham.
Nick Tompkins and Alex Lozowski keep up their ever-reliable midfield partnership, and a back-three of Sean Maitland, Max Malins and Alex Goode will be aiming to take any chances that come their way.
On the bench Mako Vunipola will add a wealth of experience when called upon, and Aled Davies has recovered from a hamstring injury to take his place amongst the replacements.
Farrell can’t wait to run out at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.
“These games are the reason you play and that makes it so exciting. We’ve worked hard this year and the lads have done a brilliant job to put us in this position but we want to make sure we finish it off.
Last year is in the past, it took us a while to think about how to get the best out of ourselves but we’ve made some good steps forward this season and hopefully that is shown on Saturday.”
Saracens Men team to play Sale Sharks:
1 Eroni Mawi
2 Jamie George
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Ben Earl
8 Jackson Wray
9 Ivan Van Zyl
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Sean Maitland
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Max Malins
15 Alex Goode
Replacements:
16 Theo Dan
17 Mako Vunipola
18 Christian Judge
19 Callum Hunter-Hill
20 Toby Knight
21 Aled Davies
22 Duncan Taylor
23 Elliot Daly
