Leicester Tigers travel to the Twickenham Stoop for the first time since May 2019 this afternoon (Saturday) to face Harlequins in Round 9 of the Gallagher Premiership season.
The corresponding fixture last season produced a 30-30 draw and was hosted a few hundred metres away at the national stadium, where England face Italy in the Six Nations at 2.15pm today.
Tigers and Quins kick off at 4.00pm, the first of today’s games in the Premiership, though the league announced on Friday that the match between Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons has been cancelled after the North-East club returned a number of Covid positive tests this week.
Harlequins are unbeaten in the last three meetings with Tigers since Leicester’s 35-24 home victory in December 2018.
Tigers have won on two of their last three Premiership visits to The Stoop but have not won away in the league since a trip to Newcastle in April 2019.
Quins have won their last two league games, away to both Wasps and Bath, and are aiming for three in a row for the first time since March 2019. They have not won at home in any tournament since beating Northampton at the end of August.
Overall the two clubs have met on 206 previous occasions with Tigers winning 115 to Quins’ 81 and 10 games drawn. The Stoop has hosted 37 of those encounters, where Leicester's record is won 23, lost 14.
In team news announced on Friday, Jaco Taute leads a Tigers team showing four changes to the line-up involved in the bonus-point win over Worcester Warriors a week ago and prop Dan Cole is in line for his 250th first-team appearance.
George Ford, Ellis Genge and Ben Youngs are on Six Nations duty with England.
Quins include Joe Marler for his 150th Premiership appearance and scrum-half Danny Care who moved into the top 10 of the league’s all-time tryscorers as a score in the win at Bath last weekend took his total to 64 and moved him past former Gloucester centre James Simpson-Daniel.
Fly-half Marcus Smith who this week announced new contract terms with the Twickenham club, is the Premiership’s top scorer so far this season (102 points) and the only man to top 100 points after 8 rounds.
The win at Bath last week moved Quins into fourth place in the table on 23 points, three above eight-placed Tigers. Just three points separate the six teams between fourth and ninth.
Referee on Saturday is Anthony Woodthorpe, one of Premiership Rugby’s newest appointments and in charge for only the fourth time in the top flight.
Tigers will wear the blue change kit at The Stoop.
There is live coverage of the game on BT Sport Extra 1. Kick-off is at 4.00pm.
Or keep in touch with Matchday Live on the Tigers app and website, and through the club's social media channels.
Elsewhere in Round 9:
Friday: Gloucester Rugby v Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby
Saturday: Exeter Chiefs v London Irish (4.15pm), Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons (Cancelled)
Sunday: Worcester Warriors v Wasps (1.00pm)
