WARRIORS have named an unchanged starting 15 as they return to Aviva Premiership action against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday (kick-off 2.30pm).
Having beaten Bristol in their last outing, Gary Gold’s men will be looking to put further space between them and their relegation rivals when they battle Dai Young’s Wasps, who sit top of table.
Chris Pennell, Bryce Heem and Josh Adams form the Warriors back three, with the latter having scored twice at the Ricoh Arena in an Anglo-Welsh Cup clash between the sides in November.
Jackson Willison and Wynand Olivier team up in the centre, while Francois Hougaard and Ryan Mills form the half-back combination again for the sixth consecutive game.
In the pack, Val Rapava Ruskin, Joe Taufete’e and Nick Schonert complete a powerful front row, backed up by mammoth lock Will Spencer and skipper Donncha O’Callaghan, who celebrates his 38th birthday today.
Chris Vui, Sam Lewis and Marco Mama also keep their spots in the back row.
In the replacements, Jaba Bregvadze returns after international duty with Georgia, while Phil Dowson is recalled to the squad as a second back row replacement, with Dewald Potgieter also on the bench.
Dean Hammond is also back in the side following his return from injury, and he and Ryan Lamb could both make their 50th Warriors appearances should they feature.
Warriors
15 Chris Pennell
14 Bryce Heem
13 Wynand Olivier
12 Jackson Willison
11 Josh Adams
10 Ryan Mills
9 Francois Hougaard
1 Val Rapava Ruskin
2 Joe Taufete’e
3 Nick Schonert
4 Donncha O’Callaghan (C)
5 Will Spencer
6 Chris Vui
7 Sam Lewis
8 Marco Mama
Replacements
16 Jaba Bregvadze
17 Ryan Bower
18 Biyi Alo
19 Phil Dowson
20 Dewald Potgieter
21 Luke Baldwin
22 Ryan Lamb
23 Dean Hammond