England trio sharpen their claws
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:50
Tigers head coach Marcelo Loffreda has called up most of his international stars for Saturday's EDF Energy Cup semifinal with London Wasps at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
The match is the first of back-to-back fixtures against Ian McGeechan's men, with the two sides also scheduled to meet in the Guinness Premiership next Saturday, March 29, at Welford Road.
England internationals Ben Kay, Tom Croft and George Chuter return from Six Nations duty to earn a place in the starting XV, as does Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni.
Boris Stankovich starts at loosehead prop, with Harry Ellis starting his third successive match at scrumhalf following a 10-month absence and Ben Herring also named in the starting line up.
"It's a massive game for the club and one which everyone is looking forward to," said Tigers forwards coach Richard Cockerill.
"The attitude of the players has been top class all week and it's been pretty obvious how determined they are to do well on Saturday.
"Playing in a semifinal, on a big stage like the Millennium Stadium and against a good side like Wasps, is a great opportunity. Winning the trophy against the Ospreys last season was a massive achievement for the club and we've said all along that we're desperate to try and repeat that success this time around."
Tigers: 15 Johne Murphy, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Seru Rabeni, 12 Dan Hipkiss, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Martin Corry (captain), 7 Ben Herring, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Julian White, 19 Jordan Crane, 20 Christophe Laussucq, 21 Matt Cornwell, 22 Sam Vesty.
Date: Saturday, 22 March
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14.30 (GMT)
Referee:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
Television match official: Derek Bevan (Wales)
