TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Bath Rugby
Sean Maitland says it is a dream come true for him as he prepares to make his 100th appearance for the club on Saturday afternoon.
The Scotland International who signed for Saracens back in 2016 is the latest player to reach the landmark, and the prolific try-scorer has been a huge part of the success in recent years.
There are three changes to the starting XV after the loss to Wasps last week as Sarries begin a new era at StoneX Stadium with supporters in the new West Stand for the first time.
Co-captain Mako Vunipola starts in an unchanged front-row with Tom Woolstencroft and Vincent Koch, while Theo McFarland moves in to the second-row alongside Tim Swinson.
Andy Christie, who spent part of the week in the Scotland camp gets the nod at blindside flanker, with Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola at the base of the scrum after their relentless performances at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ivan van Zyl and Manu Vunipola will continue to steer the ship as half-backs, and Dom Morris is back at inside centre with Alex Lozowski outside him.
In-form Alex Lewington stays on the left wing, with new centurion Maitland on the right and co-captain Alex Goode at full-back.
On the bench Richard Barrington provides plenty of experience, and Elliott Obatoyinbo returns to the match day squad to cover the back-three.
Maitland is proud to reach the landmark and is excited to lead the team out against Bath on Saturday.
“To reach 100 games for Saracens is a dream come true. Every time I have put the jersey on from 1-100, all I’ve wanted to do is earn the respect from my fellow team mates and hopefully I have done that.”
Saracens Men team to play Bath:
1 Mako Vunipola (cc)
2 Tom Woolstencroft
3 Vincent Koch
4 Theo McFarland
5 Tim Swinson
6 Andy Christie
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Manu Vunipola
11 Alex Lewington
12 Dom Morris
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Sean Maitland
15 Alex Goode (cc)
Replacements:
16 Ethan Lewis
17 Richard Barrington
18 Sam Wainwright
19 Kapeli Pifeleti
20 Sean Reffell
21 Ruben de Haas
22 Brandon Jackson
23 Elliott Obatoyinbo