Bath’s Head of Rugby Johann van Graan makes three changes to his starting XV to take on Saracens at The Rec this Saturday (kick-off 12:45) in Round 9 of the Gallagher Premiership. Following last weekend’s 40-15 win away at Newcastle Falcons, Beno Obano comes into the front row, having returned from injury as a second-half replacement in the game against Falcons. He packs down alongside hooker Tom Dunn and fellow prop Thomas du Toit, who also came off the bench the previous Saturday. Quinn Roux and Charlie Ewels, fresh from registering a try against Newcastle, maintain their starting positions in the second row at four and five, respectively. Another try-scorer at the weekend, Alfie Barbeary, continues to link-up in the back row with Guy Pepper, whilst Ted Hill, whose fresh legs also helped make a second-half impact last Saturday, slots in at 6. The backs are unchanged from the Newcastle game with Ben Spencer, captain, and Finn Russell looking to drive the team forward in the half back positions. Russell, with a 100% record off the tee at a blustery Kingston Park, will line-up with Cameron Redpath and Ollie Lawrence as centres. Will Muir and Joe Cokanasiga will be looking to exploit any space on the wings whilst Bath’s top try-scorer this season with four, Tom de Glanville, completes the Blue, Black and White’s starters at fullback. With the impact players making up a 6-2 split, front rowers Niall Annett, Francois van Wyk, and Will Stuart will be ready when called upon, as will Ross Molony, Sam Underhill and Miles Reid as the other replacement forwards. Louis Schreuder and Max Ojomoh complete Bath’s 23 for the visit of the North London side. #### TEAM **Bath Rugby:** 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 10 Finn Russell, 11 Will Muir, 12 Cameron Redpath, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 15 Tom de Glanville **Replacements:** 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Sam Underhill, 21, Louis Schreuder, 22 Max Ojomoh, 23 Miles Reid

**Saracens:** 1 Phil Brantingham, 2 Jamie George, 3 Fraser Balmain, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Nick Isiekwe, 6 Theo McFarland, 7 Toby Knight, 8 Ben Earl, 9 Gareth Simpson, 10 Fergus Burke, 11 Rotimi Segun, 12 Olly Hartley, 13 Alex Lozowski, 14 Tobias Elliott, 15 Liam Williams **Replacements:** 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21, Ivan van Zyl, 22 Sam Spink, 23 Angus Hall #### MATCH DETAILS **Fixture:** Bath Rugby v Saracens
**Date:** Saturday 28 December 2024
**Time:** 12:45
**Location:** The Rec
**Competition:** Gallagher Premiership
**Round:** Round 9
**Coverage:** TNT, BBC Radio Bristol, The Rugby Network, or follow written commentary on our X channel #### MATCH OFFICIALS **Referee:** Karl Dickson
**Assistant Referees**: Harry Walbaum and Jamie Leahy
**TMO:** Peter Allan

Team named for home clash against Saracens

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