Gallagher PREM Rugby round 12 team news: Maro Itoje, Henry Pollock and Louis Rees-Zammit back in action after international duty

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As the race for the play-offs heats up following the Six Nations, a raft of international stars return to Gallagher PREM action. Maro Itoje, Louis Rees-Zammit, George Ford and Henry Pollock are all back in the starting XVs for their clubs, and the biggest names will be gracing the biggest stages on Saturday, as Villa Park, Principality Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium host key encounters.

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The big names are back for a bumper round of Gallagher PREM Rugby action and big stages await the returning international stars.

The Six Nations may have ended two weeks prior to round 12 of the PREM, but those busiest on international duty will only now return to the fold after an extended break.

Maro Itoje, Tommy Freeman, Henry Pollock and Fin Smith will all do battle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Saracens welcome Northampton Saints to north London on Saturday.

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A gap of 16 points separates the table-topping Saints from Saracens in sixth, and The Men in Black desperately need a win to stay within touching distance of the chasing pack in the play-off race.

Northampton offered all of their international players respite from their victory over Newcastle Red Bulls last time out, and joining the trio of English stars above in their starting XV is Curtis Langdon, with Danilo Fischetti, Trevor Davison and Fraser Dingwall bolstering the replacements bench.

Young scrum-half Charlie Bracken is back in the fray for Saracens, who also see Rhys Carre and Andy Onyeama-Christie promoted to the line-up.

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But the weekend gets going on Friday evening, when Exeter Chiefs travel to Newcastle Red Bulls hoping to climb above Leicester Tigers into third.

Promising prospect Nick Lilley will make only his second start for Chiefs in the PREM and the versatile back will play alongside future Newcastle pair Will Rigg and Rusi Tuima.

Red Bulls, meanwhile, have made three changes from their defeat to Saints, with Oscar Usher, Rhys Beeckmans and Christian Wade all stepping in.

Villa Park is the venue for Gloucester's clash against Leicester Tigers on Saturday afternoon, and the hosts have brought in young Welsh back-rower Deian Gwynne and Irish scrum-half Caolan Englefield.

Jack van Poortvliet is the sole change for Tigers, who will be champing at the bit to retain the Slater Cup after their heavy win over Gloucester in December.

Bristol Bears are the third side on Saturday to enjoy a change of scenery as Harlequins cross the border to Principality Stadium.

The big guns are back for Bears in the Welsh capital, with Louis Rees-Zammit, Tom Jordan and Ellis Genge making up half of the hosts' changes from their narrow loss to Tigers last weekend.

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Aidan Boshoff, Matias Moroni and Viliame Mata also come in, while Quins have chosen to rest Marcus Smith as part of four changes that include starting spots for Jarrod Evans, Jamie Benson, Joe Jones and Elliot Williams.

And on Sunday, England internationals George Ford, Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Roebuck will be in action for Sale Sharks, who also insert Nathan Jibulu and move Rob du Preez to centre.

Bath are Sharks' opponents and the second-placed side have 12 changes from the starting XV that defeated Saracens last time out.

Miles Reid is the visiting captain at No. 8, while Santi Carreras fills the absence of Finn Russell.

Newcastle Red Bulls v Exeter Chiefs line-ups

Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Rhys Beeckmans, 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz; 1 Adam Brocklebank, 2 George McGuigan (c), 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Oscar Usher, 5 Adam Scott, 6 Reuben Parsons, 7 Tom Christie, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Tom Gordon, 21 James Elliott, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Oli Spencer.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Olly Woodburn, 14 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney; 1 Scott Sio, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 3 Jimmy Roots, 4 Rusi Tuima, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 6 Tom Hooper, 7 Ross Vintcent, 8 Greg Fisilau

Replacements: 16 Julian Heaven, 17 Ethan Burger, 18 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Finn Worley-Brady, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Dan John

Gloucester Rugby v Leicester Tigers line-ups

Gloucester Rugby: 15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson (c), 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield; 1 Val Rapava Ruskin, 2 Jack Innard, 3 Afo Fasogbon, 4 Arthur Clark, 5 Matias Alemanno, 6 Deian Gwynne, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 8 Jack Clement

Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Rhys Price, 22 George Barton, 23 Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Will Wand, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 6 Joaquin Moro, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Olly Cracknell

Replacements: 16 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Harry Palmer, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Adam Radwan

Bristol Bears v Harlequins line-ups

Bristol Bears: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 James Williams, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Harry Randall; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 3 George Kloska, 4 James Dun, 5 Joe Owen, 6 Steven Luatua, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 8 Santiago Grondona

Replacements: 16 Tomas Gwilliam, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 George Taylor, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Gabriel Ibitoye

Harlequins: 15 Jamie Benson, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Cadan Murley, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Nick David, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Stu Townsend; 1 Simon Kerrod, 2 Jack Walker, 3 Joe Jones, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 5 Elliot Williams, 6 Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 7 Jack Kenningham, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Will Hobson, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Jonny Green, 20 Zach Carr, 21 Seb Driscoll, 22 Jack Grant, 23 Sean Kerr

Saracens v Northampton Saints line-ups

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Charlie Bracken; 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Theo Dan, 3 Marcus Street, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Theo McFarland, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Tom Willis

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Fergus Burke, 23 Max Malins

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanul Iyogun, 2 Curtis Langdon, 3 Luke Green, 4 Tom Lockett, 5 Ed Prowse, 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Henry Pollock

Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Chunya Munga, 21 Callum Chick, 22 Jonny Weimann, 23 Fraser Dingwall

Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby line-ups

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke; 1 Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 James Harper, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5 Ben Bamber, 6 Sam Dugdale, 7 Nathan Jibulu, 8 Jacques Vermeulen

Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Ralph McEachran, 18 Tye Raymont, 19 Dan du Preez, 20 Jos Gilmore, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Tom O’Flaherty
Bath Rugby: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Louie Hennessey, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Santi Carreras, 9 Tom Carr-Smith; 1 Scott Kirk, 2 Dan Frost, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 4 Will Jeanes, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Ethan Staddon, 8 Miles Reid (c)

Replacements: 16 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Ewan Richards, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Alfie Barbeary

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