Harlequins recall England trio for trip to Bath
Marcus Smith will make his first appearance for Harlequins since before the Six Nations against Bath on Saturday
- Published
England trio Marcus Smith, Fin Baxter and Chandler Cunningham-South will return to the Harlequins side for Saturday's match at Premiership leaders Bath.
The internationals sat out the 23-12 comeback victory against London rivals Saracens last weekend as they had a mandatory rest period following the Six Nations.
The win lifted the Twickenham-based club to fourth in the table with six games remaining.
"Great performance from everyone involved. I think there was an element of getting the tactics right and an element of grit and determination to stay in the fight," head coach Danny Wilson told BBC Radio London.
"The boys did that against a very good Saracens side at a venue where they would be 100% favourites."
A win at the Recreation Ground on Saturday (15:05 GMT) would strengthen their grip on a spot for the end-of-season semi-finals.
"They're a very good side - [they have] unbelievable squad depth. The bench that they seem to be able to put out week in, week out is really impressive," Wilson said.
Smith returns at fly-half with Benson on bench
Jamie Benson came off the bench to kick 13 points for Harlequins against Saracens last weekend
England prop Baxter starts in the front row alongside hooker Jack Walker and Titi Lamositele, with Irne Herbst and Stephan Lewies - captain for the day - in the second row.
Cunningham-South at number eight is flanked by Jack Kenningham and Tom Lawday.
Scrum-half Will Porter partners Smith at fly-half, with Luke Northmore and Oscar Beard at centre.
Nick David and Argentina international Rodrigo Isgro on the wings and South African Tyrone Green at full-back make up the backline.
Danny Care returns to the bench from injury alongside fly-half Jamie Benson, who came on to kick 13 points against Saracens.
Full Bath v Harlequins teams
Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Ojomoh, Redpath, Muir; Russell, Spencer; Obano, Dunn, Stuart, Molony, Ewells, Hill, Read, Barbeary
Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Pepper, Underhill, Carr-Smith, Butt, Coetzee
Harlequins: T Green; Isgro, Beard, Northmore, David; Smith, Porter; Baxter, Walker, Lamositele, Herbst, Lewies, Kenningham, Lawday, Cunningham-South
Replacements: Riley, Els, Jones, Launchbury, Hammond, Schmid, Care, Benson
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe