LV=Cup Preview; Exeter v Ospreys

The unbeaten Ospreys head to Sandy Park (Saturday 7.45pm) to face an Exeter side who are probably happy for the break in league fixtures after a tough start to the season.

Both sides have made sweeping changes to not only rest key players but also give young guys a chance to show what they can do in high pressure situations.

Exeter skills coach Ricky Pellow was quick to stress this week, it's not a case of worrying all about the Ospreys this weekend, but instead making sure Exeter get back to doing what they do best.

"Even with their Welsh players missing, we know we have a massive physical challenge ahead of us," said Pellow. "Of course it will be a tough, physical game, but one of the main areas we've talked about this week is making sure Saturday is all about ourselves. We've spoke how it's important we go back to our core values and go back to the things that work well for us.

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter has decided to utilise his first team squad for the opening Cup clash. Just props Ben Moon and John Andress are retained for duty from those who took to the field at Franklin's Gardens a week ago, whilst Irishman Gareth Steenson will skipper the side in the absence of Tom Hayes.

Despite the changes, however, it is a powerful Exeter line-up and includes first-ever starts for flanker Ben White and full-back Jack Nowell. For Pellow the inclusion of Academy youngster Nowell is particularly fitting, especially given his previous links with Truro College.

Ospreys will hand debuts to Tom Habberfield and Sam Lewis with Eli Walker, Scott Baldwin, Joe Rees, Richard Kelly and Morgan Allen all making their first start for the club.

Lloyd Peers, Ben Thomas, Tom Grabham, Will Price and Ross Jones all hoping to make their first Ospreys starts if they come off the bench.

Acting Head Coach, Steve Tandy; "This is an exciting time for the Ospreys and a great opportunity for some 

of these young players to really show what they are about. As a coach, I'm also proud to have this chance to lead the team for two difficult fixtures that will really test this group.

"It will be a great benchmark to see where these boys are, Exeter are a strong team doing well in the Premiership and their fans always create a fantastic atmosphere so it's going to be a tough evening. The boys have worked hard in training, they know their roles, now they have to pay attention to detail, be accurate and clinical, do things properly, and we'll see how they cope with the challenges that Exeter will throw up.

"The LV= Cup is an important competition for us, it allows us to bring young players on. Look at the squad that played in this competition last season and you'll see some of the boys who have established themselves, kicked on and played a big part in the opening period of the PRO12 where we've won all six games. The boys coming in this week have seen the standard that has been set, and they've got to hit that standard if they want to follow in the footsteps of those who've stepped up this season."

Exeter Chiefs: 15.Jack Nowell, 14.Mark Foster, 13.Phil Dollman, 12.Bryan Rennie, 11.Nic Sestaret,         10 Gareth Steenson (capt), 9.Kevin Barrett, 1.Ben Moon, 2.Simon Alcott, 3.John Andress, 4.Chris Bentley, 5.James Phillips, 6.Dave Ewers, 7.Ben White, 8.Chad Slade

Replacements: 16.Neil Clark, 17.Lloyd Fairbrother, 18.Ben Rogers, 19.Aly Muldowney,                    20.Charlie Walker-Blair, 21.Pat Phibbs, 22.Myles Dorrian, 23.Josh Tatupu

Ospreys: 15.Barry Davies, 14.Kristian Phillips, 13.Ben John, 12.Sonny Parker, 11.Eli Walker, 10.Matthew Morgan, 9.Tom Habberfield, 1.Cai Griffiths, 2.Scott Baldwin, 3.Joe Rees, 4.Tom Smith (Capt), 5.Richard Kelly, 6.James King, 7.Sam Lewis, 8.Morgan Allen

Replacements: 16.Mefin Davies, 17.Aaron Jarvis, 18.Craig Cross, 19.Lloyd Peers, 20.Ben Thomas, 21.Tom Grabham, 22.Will Price, 23.Ross Jones

LV=Cup Preview; Newcastle v Cardiff

An Anglo-Welsh clash sees Cardiff travel to Kingston Park (kick-off 6.30pm) to face a Newcastle team rock bottom of the Aviva Premiership who will be looking to the LV=Cup to kick start their season.

Newcastle Falcons will unleash some of their big guns on the competition with Euan Murray, fresh from his World Cup exploits down under, starting in the front-row while giant lock Andrew van der Heijden gets the nod in the second row.

Kiwi Jeremy Manning returns to the back division following a lengthy spell on the sideline and will form a mouth-watering centre combination with new South African signing Corne Uys.

Rikki Sheriffe and Luke Eves occupy both wings while Jordi Pasqualin, an LV= Cup winner with Gloucester last term is handed a chance to impress at scrum-half.

Speaking about Euan Murray Falcons boss Alan Tait said: “He is one of the best scrummagers in the world, and Mickey Ward has got a smile on his face as front-row coach because he knows like me that great players make a great difference.

“I am expecting the scrum to be a solid base for us to attack from, and Euan will be a key part of that.”

 “I have always said that I am keen to get a Newcastle Falcons style of rugby, so that everybody knows when the Falcons turn up they are going to get a certain type of game.

Cardiff Coaches Gareth Baber and Justin Burnell have named a young team for their first LV=Cup match of the season

Looking ahead to the LV=Cup match against Newcastle, Baber said: "I think it's important that some of the players that haven't featured in the first five or six games are given the opportunity to push for the main squad. This is certainly what these two games are about."

"We are ambitious as a group and we want to make sure that we are pushing everybody all the time and this is the next phase of pushing on."

"It is a young team that we've selected, but it's full of talent as well and that's what we want to see as coaches."

"I imagine they (Newcastle) will want to create some momentum and that can happen in tournaments like this, where you can go on a bit of a run, and then it lends itself to your League campaign."

"I think they'd want to target this game against us, especially playing at home, but what we have to do as a group is make sure it doesn't happen, or afford them that opportunity and get positives that we want out of the match."

Newcastle: 15.Greg Goosen, 14.Rikki Sheriffe, 13.Corne Uys, 12.Jeremy Manning,11.Luke Eves, 10.Jimmy Gopperth (capt), 9.Jordi Pasqualin, 1.Darren Fearn, 2.Michael Mayhew, 3.Euan Murray, 4.Glen Townson, 5.Andrew van der Heijden, 6.Mark Wilson,7.Redford Pennycook, 8.Ally Hogg.

Replacements: 16.Joe Graham, 17.Ashley Wells, 18.James Hall, 19.Tim Swinson, 20. Will Welch,            21.Will Chudley, 22.Jamie Helleur, 23.Joel Hodgson

Cardiff Blues: 15.Dan Fish, 14.Richard Mustoe, 13.Owen Williams, 12.Cory Allen, 11.Adam Thomas, 10.Rhys Patchell, 9.Rhys Downes, 1.Nathan Trevett, 2.Ryan Tyrrell, 3.Ryan Harford, 4.Cory Hill, 5.James Downes (capt), 6.Ellis Jenkins, 7.Thomas Young,   8.Luke Hamilton,

Replacements:16.Rhys Williams, 17.Jamie Corsi, 18.Thomas Davies, 19.Matthew Screech, 20.Rhys Shellard, 21.Lewis Jones, 22.Lewis Williams, 23.Richard Smith

LV=Cup Preview; Scarlets v Leicester

Scarlets and Leicester have been hit heavily by World Cup call ups but both make several change for the LV=Cup game at Parc Y Scarlets (Saturday 6pm).

Chances have been handed to a group of new young Scarlets including no 8 Kieran Murphy, centre Adam Warren, wingers Dale Ford and Liam Williams.It will also be the first opportunity for the Scarlets home crowd to welcome new lock signing Sione Timani, who starts on the bench. The Tongan second row has been signed on a two-year contract.

Viewed as a competition which will allow young Scarlets to take their opportunities, Head Coach Nigel Davies said: "We are approaching this competition and fixture as we would any other, it is one of three competitions we are in and it gives us the opportunity to allow some of our younger new Scarlets the chance to show their potential. This is a big opening fixture for us in the LV=Cup against a strong Leicester side so our players they have to realise they must stand-up and perform under pressure.

Davies added: "The LV+ Cup is an excellent platform for young, up and coming players to shine and foster the next generation of talented players which is a big part of our philosophy and vision as Scarlets."

Leicester will be lead for the first time by experienced second-row Geoff Parling.

Rob Hawkins makes his first start of the campaign alongside props Jonny Harris and Ryan Bower, and England Saxons lock Graham Kitchener starts alongside Parling.

Ben Pienaar makes his first start since injury drew his 2010/11 season to a premature close, joining Tom Armes and Ed Slater in the back row.

Sam Harrison and Niall Morris retain their places in the backline and there is a first-team return for George Ford and Andy Forsyth.

Academy prospect Alex Lewington is included on the wing, with centre Andy Symons making his Tigers debut after a spell in club rugby in New Zealand.

The squad also includes Ed Rolston and Dante Mama who have played with Loughborough Students and the Tigers Development XV.

George Skivington returns from injury to take a place among the replacements and Richard de Carpentier could make his Tigers debut from the bench.

Scarlets 15.Daniel Evans, 14.Liam Williams, 13.Rhodri Gomer Davies, 12.Adam Warren,  11.Dale Ford, 10.Aled Thomas, 9.Ruki Tipuna, 1.Phil John (capt), 2.Kirby Myhill, 3.Rhodri Jones, 4.Dominic Day, 5.Damian Welch, 6.Matt Gilbert, 7.Johnathan Edwards, 8.Kieran Murphy.

Replacements: 16.Simon Gardner, 17.Craig Hawkins, 18.Peter Edwards, 19.Sione Timani, 20.Richie Pugh, 21.Aled Davies, 22.Jordan Williams, 23.Lee Rees.

Leicester Tigers: 15.Niall Morris, 14.Ed Rolston, 13,Andy Forsyth, 12.Andy Symons,
11.Alex Lewington, 10.George Ford, 9.Sam Harrison, 1.Jonny Harris, 2.Rob Hawkins, 3.Ryan Bower, 4.Graham Kitchener, 5.Geoff Parling (capt), 6.Ben Pienaar, 7.Tom Armes,
8 Ed Slater

Replacements: 16.Tom Youngs, 17.Peter Bucknall, 18.Fraser Balmain, 19.George Skivington, 20.Richard De Carpentier, 21.James Grindal, 22.Jeremy Staunton, 23 Dante Mama

LV=Cup Preview; Worcester v Wasps

Worcester Warriors kick-off the club's LV= Cup campaign with an all-English line-up against London Wasps at Sixways Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The coaching team of Richard Hill and Phil Davies has named a starting line-up with every player being English qualified - including hooker Chris Fortey who will make his 150^th appearance for the Warriors.

"The LV= Cup gives an opportunity for many players within our set-up to feature prominently in the first team and represents a new stimulus within the group," said Forwards Coach Phil Davies.

"Both teams pride themselves on a strong defence. I used to work with Wasps Assistant Coach Rob Hoadley when he was with the Wales Under-20s so know how much of an impact he has had at Adams Park. Likewise Phil Larder has done a fantastic job on our 'D' this season.

"However, both teams will be tested to the full with some real attacking talent on show and we believe Josh Drauniniu and Andy Short can offer us a real threat out wide. It's all set-up to be a very exciting game for the Sixways faithful."

With Wasps having a number of players ruled out through injury, Director of Rugby Dai Young has utilised the club’s on-going partnership and development programme with top-level local clubs to name some leading Championship players in the squad with Mike Powell, Ben Russell and Joe Ajuwa (London Welsh) and Karl Rudzki (London Scottish) all wearing the Wasps colours this weekend.

Young said: “We’ve had a lot of guys ruled out this weekend with various bumps and bruises and we’re also using the opportunity to give a few players who have played non-stop for six weeks a bit of a breather. This game offers a real opportunity for the players who are chomping at the bit to get in the starting team week in week out. The challenge for them is to step-up and show us what they have got. I want to thank London Welsh and London Scottish for allowing us to use some of their top players this weekend. We’re continuing to develop strong partnerships with these clubs which is really important for us, especially with our squad size.”

Warriors: 15.Tom Arscott, 14.Andy Short, 13 Chris Pennell (capt), 12.Alex Crockett, 11 Josh Drauniniu, 10.Joe Carlisle, 9.Ollie Frost, 1.George Porter, 2.Chris Fortey, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 4.Chris Jones, 5.Craig Gillies, 6.Sam Betty, 7.Matt Kvesic, 8 Adam Balding

Replacements: 16.Ollie Hayes, 17.Bruce Douglas, 18.James Currie, 19.Ben Gulliver, 20 Richard Muagututia, 21.Danny Gray, 22.Andy Goode, 23.Mike Penn

London Wasps: 15. Jack Wallace, 14.Alex Cheesman, 13.Elliot Daly, 12.Chris Mayor (capt) 11.Charlie Ingall, 10.Ryan Davis, 9.Jonah Holmes, 1.Jeremy Castex, 2.Tom Lindsay, 3.Simon McIntyre, 4.Ross Filipo, 5.Mike Powell, 6.James Harris, 7.Matt Everard, 8. Joe Burton


Replacements: 16.Nathan Morris, 17.Lewis Theide, 18.Guillermo Roan, 19.Karl Rudzki,
20. Ben Russell, 21.Charlie Davies, 22.Will Robinson, 23.Joe Ajuwa

LV=Cup Preview; Northampton v Saracens

Two of the top four clubs from last year’s Aviva Premiership meet at Franklins Garden (Saturday 3pm) at Northampton Saints take on Saracens.

Northampton have been one of the teams worst affected by the World Cup call ups but are bolstered by the return of Tom Wood and Vasily Artemyev (Russia) to the starting line up along with Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes to a bench that already boasts the Tongan power house Soane Tonga’uiha.

Director of rugby Jim Mallinder is making the most of several World Cup returnees and injury comebacks by naming a strong match squad for Saturday's LV= Cup Round 1 clash with Saracens.

“No one wants to leave a tournament early, but it also means that we have more time to integrate the players back into the club environment ahead of the next rounds of Premiership matches and then the Heineken Cup,” he said. “This makes tomorrow’s game important for us.

“We want to get a good start in the LV= Cup, continue the momentum that we got from the promising performance against Exeter last week, and give players some game time in a Saints shirt for the first time since the end of last season.

“It is good that we will have a game against a team as competitive as Saracens. Their players are all ambitious to succeed and with plenty of depth across every position they have a squad that can certainly compete with anyone in the competition. It won’t matter what team they put out tomorrow, it will be a tough game for us.”

The Saracens side is barely recognisable from the one that beat Newcastle a week ago, only four players are retained. Jamie George captains the side that welcomes back Kameli Ratuvou for the first time in nearly a year after a knee injury. The Fiji international makes up the centre pairing with Adam Powell with Nils Mordt and Ben Spencer forming the halfback partnership. In the forwards, Hugh Vyvyan makes his first start of the season

Northampton Saints: 15.Greig Tomks, 14.Jamie Elliot, 13.Scott Armstrong, 12.Tom May (capt), 11.Vasily Artemyev, 10.Ryan Lamb, 9.Martin Roberts, 1.Alex Waller, 2 Mike Haywood, 3.Tom Mercey, 4.James Craig, 5.Mark Sorenson, 6.Tom Wood, 7.Ben Nutley, 8.Roger Wilson

Replacements: 16.Dylan Hartley, 17.Soane Tonga’uiha, 18.Paul Doran Jones,19.Courtney Lawes, 20.Adam Eustace, 21.Lee Dickson, 22.Stephen Myler, 22.Cesar Sempere

Saracens: 15.Ben Ransom, 14.Joe Maddock, 13.Kameli Ratuvou, 12.Adam Powell, 11.Duncan Taylor, 10 Nils Mordt, 9.Ben Spencer, 1.Deon Carstens, 2.Jamie George (capt),   3 .Petrus du Plessis, 4.George Kruis, 5.Hugh Vyvyan, 6.Justin Melck, 7.Andy Saull, 8.Jackson Wray

Replacements: 16.Harry Allen, 17.Nick Auterac, 18.Mako Vunipola, 19.Hayden Smith, 20.Will Fraser, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22.Rodd Penney, 23.James Short

LV=Cup Preview; Harlequins v London Irish

Two of the Aviva Premiership’s in form sides meet at The Stoop as Harlequins will try to maintain their unbeaten start to the season against London Irish.

Both sides are coming fresh of impressive league victories and will look to carry their recent form into the LV=Cup but have made a number of changes.

Harlequins have made nine changes to the starting line up that beat Leicester a week ago; Tom Williams returns from injury at full back, Tom Casson will start alongside Ben Urdapilleta in a new look centre partnership and Rory Clegg and Richard Bolt who start as half backs together for the first time this season.

In the forwards James Johnston starts at at tight head alongside Joe Marler and Chris Brooker, Charlie Matthews makes his first start after some impressive appearances from the bench, alongside Sam Twomey to form an all England u20 second row partnership. Will Skinner returns to the starting line up for the first time since his injury in the opening game of the season against Irish, to captain the side

London Irish has made six changes from the side that blew away Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership last.

James Buckland and Alex Gray come into the forward pack for David Paice and Chris Hala’ufia (who starts the first of his seven match ban) respectively. Paul Hodgson and Adrian Jarvis will forge a new half back combination and Guy Armitage and Jonathan Spratt will come into the centres. Nick Kennedy will captain the side.

London Irish head coach Toby Booth said: “The LV=Cup presents a great opportunity to continue the momentum we have gained in the Premiership. It is a tournament we will be taking seriously and want to do well in.”

Harlequins: 15.Tom Williams, 14.Seb Stegmann, 13.Ben Urdapilleta, 12.Tom Casson, 11.Sam Smith, 10.Rory Clegg, 9.Richard Bolt, 1.Joe Marler, 2.Chris Brooker, 3.James Johnston, 4.Sam Twomey, 5.Charlie Matthews, 6.Luke Wallace, 7 Will Skinner (capt), 8.Chris York

Replacements: 16.Rob Buchanan, 17.Mark Lambert, 18.Kyle Snickler, 19.George Merrick, 20.Joe Trayfoot, 21.Ollie Lindsay Hague, 22.Matt Hopper, 23.Charlie Walker

London Irish: 15.Tom Homer, 14.Topsy Ojo,  13.Jonathan Spratt, 12.Guy Armitage,                     11.Adam Thompstone, 10.Adrian Jarvis,  9.Paul Hodgson, 1.Max Lahiff, 2.James Buckland,                3.Faan Rautenbach, 4.Nick Kennedy (Capt), 5.Bryn Evans, 6.Declan Danaher, 7. Jamie Gibson, 8.Alex Gray

Replacements: 16.Brian Blaney, 17.Mark George, 18.Paulica Ion, 19.David Sis,; 20.Richard Thorpe, 21.Joe Ansbro, 22.Steven Shingler, 23.Ross Samson