Quins v Bath: Teams
Aviva Premiership leaders Harlequins host Bath Rugby on Saturday looking to get back to winning ways.
Last Updated: 23/03/12 3:46pm
Aviva Premiership leaders Harlequins host Bath Rugby on Saturday looking to get back to winning ways.
The leaders go into the clash on the back of a 9-9 draw at Newcastle, while Conor O'Shea's side lost at Gloucester the game before.
Bath went down narrowly 17-16 to eventual champions Leicester in their LV= Cup semi final last time.
Ian McGeechan's side currently sit in eighth in the table, eight points behind Northampton in the race for the last play-off berth.
In team news, the majority of the Quins squad are available for selection for this weekend's clash.
On his return from international duty, Mike Brown starts at full back alongside Ugo Monye and Tom Williams.
Jordan Turner-Hall and George Lowe continue in tandem in the centres, while Nick Evans and Danny Care start at half back.
Joe Marler also returns from international duty alongside Joe Gray and James Johnston in the front row.
Ollie Kohn partners the returning George Robson, who will also captain the side. Tom Guest, Luke Wallace and Nick Easter make up the back row.
Chris Robshaw will be ready to return against Saracens at Wembley next week having been given the week off to recover post Six Nations.
The bench sees Rob Buchanan, Mark Lambert and Will Collier covering the specialist front row positions.
Tomas Vallejos and the returning Mo Fa'asavalu will look to impact in the back five. Karl Dickson and Rory Clegg cover at half back with Ross Chisholm covering the remainder of the back line.
Amongst those players unavailable are Tim Fairbrother (calf), Chris Brooker (knee), Charlie Matthews (ankle), Charlie Walker (Hong Kong 7's) and Sam Twomey (shoulder).
For Bath, Nick Abendanon, Olly Woodburn, Nathan Catt, Pieter Dixon, David Wilson and Simon Taylor all return to the starting line-up.
There are also returns for Ross Batty, Kane Palma-Newport, Mark McMillan and Dan Hipkiss, who are all named on the bench in a matchday squad containing 10 changes from the LV= Cup semi final defeat to the Tigers two weeks ago.
Abendanon comes back in at full back, with Woodburn joining Tom Biggs on the wings. Matt Carraro and Olly Barkley combine in the centres, with Tom Heathcote and Michael Claassens continuing their half back pairing.
Up front, Catt, Dixon and Wilson form a new front row, with Dave Attwood and Ryan Caldwell joining forces in the engine room. Taylor completes the pack alongside Carl Fearns and Francois Louw in the back row.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 1 Joe Marler, 2 Joe Gray, 3 James Johnston, 4 Olly Kohn, 5 George Robson (c), 6 Tom Guest, 7 Luke Wallace, 8 Nick Easter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Ross Chisholm.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Michael Claassens, 1 Nathan Catt, 2 Pieter Dixon, 3 David Wilson, 4 Dave Attwood, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 6 Carl Fearns, 7 Francois Louw (c), 8 Simon Taylor.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Ben Skirving, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Dan Hipkiss, 23 Jack Cuthbert.