Aviva Premiership Rugby - Wasps v Leicester (highlights)
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- May 5, 2011
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- knowyourpast
Highlights - 40 mins. Remember to seed, people. Do not cut and run. Stay around and seed this torrent. British & Irish Lions star Tom Croft will make his first start of the season as Leicester take on London Wasps at Adams Park on Saturday. After sitting out the first week of the Aviva Premiership Rugby season due to injury, Croft returned from the replacements bench for last Saturday's home win over Exeter Chiefs and resumes his place in the back row for the trip. International props Marcos Ayerza and Martin Castrogiovanni also return to the starting team, while on-loan Ed Slater steps up into the second row after coming off the bench in each of the opening two fixtures. Matt Smith and Billy Twelvetrees line up at centre following ankle injuries to Dan Hipkiss and Anthony Allen in last week's defeat of Exeter. "I would never question the resilience of the boys," said director of rugby Richard Cockerill. "We made some errors in attack and some poor decisions in defence against Exeter, but in the end we came through with the bonus win. "We've been doing some very good things and, if we can tidy up a few bits and improve our accuracy, we are only going to get better." Summer signings Rob Hawkins and Horacio Agulla are brought into the replacements and Tonga international Steve Mafi joins the matchday squad for the first time. Tigers are without Richard Blaze, Louis Deacon, Geoff Parling, Jordan Crane, Dan Hipkiss, Anthony Allen and Toby Flood due to injury. Meanwhile, key centre Dom Waldouck returns for Wasps for their big-game clash against Leicester. Making four changes and one positional switch to the starting line-up that travelled to Kingston Park last Friday, Wasps also welcome back David Lemi, Ben Broster and Joe Worsley. England centre Waldouck, who has recovered from a hand laceration, takes the place of Ben Jacobs who is ruled out with a tight hamstring. Samoan international Lemi, who featured as a replacement at Kingston Park and put out a strong display in Wasps' Aviva A League opener on Monday, collects his first start of the season on the left wing, with Tom Varndell moving to right and Richard Haughton named on the bench. Broster comes in for the injured Zak Taulafo, who sustained a moderate ankle sprain in the clash with Newcastle, whilst Worsley trades places with Dan Ward-Smith who is named on the bench. Also amongst the replacements are Joe Ward and Tom French. Both receive the nod after an impressive A League run outs. Richard Birkett also comes back into the side, replacing Serge Betsen after recovering from an elbow injury sustained in Wasps opening clash with Harlequins. "After good pre-season there is obvious disappointment with results in the first two weeks of the Premiership, so in true Wasps style we've worked hard in training and have focused on ensuring we are more clinical at key moments," said Hanks. "In terms of the game this week, it is or first at Adams Park, it's Wasps v Leicester and we don't really need to say much more than that. "We are confident that our supporters will come out in their numbers and get behind a fixture of this calibre. No one is more critical on the way we perform than the team themselves and everyone is determined to get the right result this week and deliver a performance that the supporters can really be excited by." Form: Leicester's 34-8 victory at Welford Road in January ended a five game losing run against Wasps. London Wasps have won just one of their last five Premiership matches: 25-21 at Newcastle on 8 May. Wasps are undefeated at Adams Park in the Premiership since early January, but have not won a home game played on a Saturday in any competition since beating Bayonne 22-18 in the European Cup on 12 December. Leicester Tigers were the only side in Aviva Premiership Rugby last weekend to gain a try bonus point, whilst the East Midlanders have won four of their last six away matches in the Premiership. The Tigers have not won at Adams Park since a 20-17 victory on 30 September 2007. The teams: Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Dominic Waldouck, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Nic Berry, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Tom Rees (capt), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 James Cannon, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne. Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Tom French, 19 Richard Birkett, 20 Dan Ward-Smith, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Steve Kefu, 23 Richard Haughton. Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (capt), 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Jeremy Staunton, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Ben Woods, 6 Tom Croft, 5 George Skivington, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza. Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Dan Cole, 18 Boris Stankovich, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Craig Newby, 21 James Grindal, 22 Manu Tuilagi, 23 Horacio Agulla. Date: Saturday, September 18 Kick-off: 15:05 BST Venue: Adams Park Referee: Wayne Barnes