Chiefs reshuffle squad for Falcons clash

Exeter Chiefs have named their match day squad to take on Newcastle Falcons in Round 13 of the Gallagher Premiership at Sandy Park this Saturday.

Just seven points separate the two sides at the foot of the table, and with both teams looking to escape the lower reaches of the standings, the fixture is set to be a significant one.

The Chiefs head into the clash off the back of a much-improved showing at Bristol Bears, while the Falcons suffered a loss to Sale Sharks last weekend.

There are changes in the front row as Scott Sio, Jack Yeandle and Josh Iosefa-Scott return to the starting XV. Dafydd Jenkins continues as captain from the second row, partnered by Franco Molina. In the back row, Martin Moloneyretains his place alongside Richard Capstick and Greg Fisilau.

Stu Townsend returns at scrum-half, teaming up with fly-half Ben Coen, while Harvey Skinner is named at full-back in the only change to the back line. Henry Slade and Will Rigg form the midfield pairing, with Josh Hodge and Paul Brown-Bampoe on the wings.

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter is hoping to see a continuation of the form shown at Ashton Gate: "The performance we put in at Bristol was very positive, very pleasing and hopefully is a baseline for what we want to achieve over the rest of the season."

He added, "We want to put good performances in front of our home crowd more than anything else. Our Achilles heel this season has been that our desperation to get a result has not brought out the best performances in us. We’ve almost got to reset ourselves and how we approach the minute-by-minute actions."

On the bench, Rusi Tuima returns following a jaw injury sustained in February, while Kane James retains his place after making his Premiership debut last week. Also among the replacements are Max Norey, Kwenzo Blose, Jimmy Roots, Tom Cairns, Tamati Tua and Ben Hammersley.