Harlequins v Saracens: Teams
Saracens head to Harlequins with a home semi-final already secured and on their best run since 1988/89.
Last Updated: 06/05/11 4:01pm
Saracens head to Harlequins with a home semi-final already secured and on their best run since 1988/89.
The Sarries are looking to extend a winning run of 10 matches in all competitions, while they have also won on three of their last four visits to the Twickenham Stoop.
Hayden Smith and Mouritz Botha will form the second-row partnership for the visitors with club captain Steve Borthwick named on the bench.
The club's player of the year, Jacques Burger, starts in the back-row alongside Andy Saull and Ernst Joubert, with Aviva Premiership Player of the Year nominee Schalk Brits continuing at hooker while Land Rover Discovery of the Season contender Owen Farrell starts at fly-half.
Harlequins are looking to build on their historic victory against Munster in the Amlin Challenge Cup last week, though, which made it three wins from four.
Quins are also fighting for a potential top-six spot and a place in the Heineken Cup next season. They go into Saturday's game in seventh place, just three points off local rivals London Irish.
Emotional
It will be an emotional occasion for some as Ceri Jones will bid farewell after eight years as a faithful servant to Quins. Gonzalo Camacho, John Andress, Dave Moore, James Percival and Lewis Stevenson will also move on in the summer.
There are a handful of changes to the side that claimed that surprise 20-12 semi-final win at Munster, with Joe Gray and Joe Marler having failed to recover from knocks they picked up last week.
Ceri Jones and Matt Cairns have therefore come into the front row, where they will start alongside James Johnston. Fly-half Nick Evans (ankle) is sidelined so Rory Clegg takes on the No.10 shirt.
Danny Care continues at scrum-half, with Ugo Monye and Gonzalo Camacho on the wings and Mike Brown starting at full-back.
New faces on the Quins bench include Rob Buchanan, John Andress, Pete Browne, Luke Wallace and Ben Urdapilleta, with Will Skinner and Tomas Vallejos also ruled out.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Ceri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 John Andress, 19 Pete Browne, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Ben Urdapilleta, 23 Ross Chisholm.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 James Short, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert (capt), 7 Andy Saull, 6 Jacques Burger, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Hayden Smith, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Steve Borthwick, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nils Mordt, 23 Noah Cato.