TEAM NEWS | Saracens Men v Vodacom Bulls (ICC - Rd 1)

Saracens captain Maro Itoje knows Saracens will need to be at the top of their game ahead of their Investec Champions Cup opener against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday.

The Men in Black start their European campaign by welcoming the South African outfit to StoneX Stadium, and face the Bulls in their first game for the second year in a row.

Director of Rugby Mark McCall has made five changes to the side that fell short in Newcastle, with multiple internationals cleared to return after an eventful Autumn Nations Series.

Two changes come in the front row as Jamie George and Marco Riccioni return to the starting XV, joining Rhys Carre in the scrum.

The second row is overhauled, with England duo Maro Itoje and Nick Isiekwe returning to European action after featuring in all of England's November internationals.

In the back row there are two positional changes, Theo McFarland shifts from lock to blindside flanker, while Juan Martin Gonzalez moves across to the openside. Tom Willis remains a mainstay at number eight.

In the backline Ivan Van Zyl will face his former side continuing at scrum-half, with Fergus Burke partnering him at fly-half.

The only change to the backs comes in the centres, with Lucio Cinti returning to join Nick Tompkins in the midfield. The Argentinian is cleared to return following a packed international campaign which saw him face Italy, France and Ireland.

The back three remains unchanged, with Rotimi Segun and Tobias Elliot commanding the wings and Elliot Daly at full-back.

Amongst the replacements, England internationals Theo Dan and Ben Earl will provide considerable impact. Meanwhile, after impressing during the Premiership Cup campaign, Tiff Eden could make his Champions Cup debut off the bench for the Men in Black.

Upon his return to SportsEvents Guide starting XV, Club Captain Maro Itoje is eagerly awaiting the resumption of this historic competition.

“This competition is incredibly special, and we are very excited to be starting a new campaign. Some of the best moments of my career and also in the history of this great club have been in this tournament so it is always a highlight of the season when we get going in Europe.

The Bulls are a brilliant team, and we know we’ll need to be right at the top of our game to get a positive result. They have a lot of experience in their group and with the squad they have named to head over here it is a big challenge for us.

We experienced first-hand last season when we went to Pretoria how physical they are so we’ll have to front up and I’m sure with the later kick off it will be a raucous atmosphere here at StoneX.”

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Saracens Men team to play Vodacom Bulls:

1 Rhys Carre

2 Jamie George

3 Marco Riccioni

4 Maro Itoje (c)

5 Nick Isiekwe

6 Theo McFarland

7 Juan Martin Gonzalez

8 Tom Willis

9 Ivan van Zyl

10 Fergus Burke

11 Rotimi Segun

12 Nick Tompkins

13 Lucio Cinti

14 Tobias Elliott

15 Elliot Daly

Replacements:

16 Theo Dan

17 Eroni Mawi

18 Alec Clarey

19 Harry Wilson

20 Ben Earl

21 Gareth Simpson

22 Tiff Eden

23 Tom Parton