Saracens v Exeter: Teams
Saracens will welcome Exeter to Vicarage Road on Saturday boosted by the return of Mouritz Botha and Jacques Burger.
Last Updated: 30/10/10 8:48pm
Saracens will welcome Exeter Chiefs to Vicarage Road on Saturday boosted by the return of Mouritz Botha and Jacques Burger for the meeting.
Joining the forward duo in the line-up are Nils Mordt and Michael Tagicakibau, who are also back for the Aviva Premiership clash.
Ethienne Reynecke starts at hooker with Schalk Brits rested on rotation, while David Strettle and Brad Barritt are named on the replacements bench after training with England during the week.
"It didn't take long for Exeter to make their mark on the Premiership - in fact it only took one game as their performance in round one to beat Gloucester sent out a message to the rest of the competition that they are not here to make up the numbers," said coach Brendan Venter.
Talent
"Their displays since have proved that point and we will pay them the utmost respect on Saturday knowing that they will put in a huge effort - just as they have every week."
Meanwhile, Ryan Davis will make his first-ever start for Exeter Chiefs on Saturday afternoon.
The former Bath man comes in for the injured Gareth Steenson in the sole change to the XV that went down narrowly to London Irish a week ago.
Steenson's loss will certainly be felt by the Chiefs, especially as the Irishman is the club's leading points-scorer this term with 88 in all competitions, but his absence - due to a knee injury - means 24-year-old Davis finally gets his chance to showcase his talents.
After biding his time, head coach Rob Baxter believes this weekend's fixture is the ideal opportunity for Davis. He said: "Ryan's been playing well, he's trained really hard this week and I'm looking forward to seeing him play.
"I know he's desperately looking forward to playing and it's probably just the right time for him to come in. He's had time to settle in, he's got some decent game time under his belt and he's got over a couple of niggly injuries that he had at the start of the season."
With Steenson set to be ruled out for a couple of weeks, Davis will be hoping he can cement his place in the line-up on a more permanent basis.
Scans
As for Steenson, Baxter remains hopeful that the player will be fit and raring to go in time for the visit of Leeds Carnegie on Saturday, November 20.
"We're assessing Steeno on an ongoing basis," explained the coach.
"He has a slight knee injury and we're looking at in on a daily basis. He's had a couple of scans and we're not going to know too much more about it for a week or so. We'll assess it further next week and make a decision on when he'll be available to play after that."
Other team changes for the Devon club sees hooker Simon Alcott return on the bench in place of Chris Whitehead, whilst Davis' elevation means a call-up for Fijian international Josh Matavesi.
Saracens: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Nils Mordt, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Neil De Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Parr, 18 Richard Skuse, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Brad Barritt, 23 David Strettle.
Exeter: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Andrew Higgins, 13 Phil Dollman, 12 Bryan Rennie, 11 Mark Foster, 10 Ryan Davis, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (capt), 3 Chris Budgen, 2 Neil Clark, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Simon Alcott, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Hoani Tui, 19 Peter Kimlin, 20 Chad Slade, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.