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Preview: Harlequins v Newcastle

19th December 2014 11:30

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conor oshea harlequins

Six changes: Conor O'Shea

Following back-to-back encounters with Leinster, there are six changes to the side for Harlequins against Newcastle.

Mark Lambert, Joe Gray and Kyle Sinckler start in the front row, while George Robson captains the side from an unchanged second row.

In the back-row Joe Trayfoot and James Chisholm, who makes his first Premiership start, are named alongside Jack Clifford.

Luke Wallace broke his hand last weekend and, after successfully undergoing surgery this week, is expected to return in six to eight weeks.

In the backs, Tim Swiel also makes his first Premiership start as Nick Evans continues his return from injury.

Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons name a side with eight changes.

Heading back into league action after a European window which saw them put in two strong performances against Stade Franšais, the Falcons have named a team with eight changes from the side which turned out in Paris last weekend.

Club captain Will Welch returns to action while Scott Wilson, Ally Hogg, Sinoti Sinoti, Alex Tuilagi and Mike Blair will all take their places in a revamped starting line-up.

Meanwhile Parisian substitutes Tom Catterick and Dom Barrow both make the transition back into the first XV for Saturday's trip to The Stoop.

Elsewhere in the team Simon Hammersley continues at full-back whilst the centre pairing of Juan Pablo Socino and Adam Powell remains unchanged. Rob Vickers, George McGuigan, Calum Green and Mark Wilson also retain their places in the starting XV.

Form: Quins have only won once in their last four league games and currently sit ninth in the table with only four wins from the opening nine rounds. Falcons sit a place behind them in tenth and have only won once in their last 12 away games stretching back to last season.

The teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Jack Clifford, 6 Joe Trayfoot, 5 George Robson (c), 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Mark Lambert
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 George Merrick, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ross Chisholm, 23 Ugo Monye

Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Alex Tuilagi, 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair, 8 All Hogg, 7 Will Welch (c), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Calum Green, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Mark Irving, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Josh Furno, 21 Ruki Tipuna, 22 Andy Tuilagi, 23 Noah Cato.

Date: Saturday, December 20
Kickoff: 15:00 GMT
Venue: The Stoop
Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Ross Campbell, Gareth Copsey
TMO: David Grashoff

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