Match preview

22 November 2012, 11:56am

Bath Rugby team to face Harlequins

Club captain Stuart Hooper returns to the starting line-up for Bath Rugby tomorrow evening as they take on Harlequins at the Recreation Ground in Round 9 of the Aviva Premiership.

Hooper links up with Dave Attwood in the second row, as Charlie Beech and Anthony Perenise prop down either side of Lee Mears at hooker. Josh Ovens makes his first Premiership start of the season on the blindside flank, with Guy Mercer on the openside and Simon Taylor at number 8.

Michael Claassens and Stephen Donald renew their southern hemisphere half-back partnership, whilst Kyle Eastmond returns to the right wing and Tom Biggs continues on the left. Semesa Rokoduguni is also in line to make his first Premiership start, partnering Matt Banahan in the centres. Nick Abendanon comes in at fullback to complete the line-up.

Scrum-half Michael Claassens, who made his 150th appearance for Bath last week, knows that tomorrow night's game will be a tough test for the home side.

"Having lost out to Harlequins in the LV= Cup last week, this is our chance to learn from the mistakes we made and improve on them at the Rec.

"To test ourselves against the likes of Quins is massive for us, and it's probably the biggest match of our season so far – it's a chance for us to prove we can compete with the best."

Bath Rugby team to face Harlequins

15. Nick Abendanon

14. Kyle Eastmond

13. Semesa Rokoduguni

12. Matt Banahan

11. Tom Biggs

10. Stephen Donald

9. Michael Claassens

1. Charlie Beech

2. Lee Mears

3. Anthony Perenise

4. Stuart Hooper (c)

5. Dave Attwood

6. Josh Ovens

7. Guy Mercer

8. Simon Taylor

Replacements

16. Brett Sharman

17. Alan Cotter

18. Kane Palma-Newport

19. Dominic Day

20. Ryan Caldwell

21. Will Skuse

22. Mark McMillan

23. Jack Cuthbert