Captain Joe’s back

JOE Launchbury returns from injury to start for Wasps against Newcastle Falcons tonight (7.45pm).

The England lock has been missing for seven games but captains Wasps at Kingston Park while fellow forward Alfie Barbeary will make his first appearance of the year from the bench.

Jimmy Gopperth makes a rare start at fly-half against one of his former clubs, as Jacob Umaga steps out of the 23-man squad.

Kieran Brookes returns from his suspension to start against his former club in a front row that also features Ben Harris and Tommy Taylor.

Lee Blackett’s side go into the match off the back of six defeats in seven games to sit tenth in the table with nine rounds remaining.

Reflecting on Launchbury’s return, the head coach said: “His return is as valuable as it comes. I’ve said all along, I’ve worked with Joe for a long time now. I’ve seen him when he first got appointed captain to where he is now, he’s massive for us.

“He really is someone that everyone loves so when we were winning and going to the final [last season], I felt like I was talking about Joe every week!

“You see how big he is, he’s very valuable to us, put it that way. He’s key for us.” WASPS: 15 Rob Miller; 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett; 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Sam Wolstenholme; 1 Ben Harris, 2 Tommy Taylor, 3 Kieran Brookes, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 5 Will Rowlands, 6 Brad Shields, 7 Thomas Young, 8 Sione Vailanu. Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Tom West, 18 Jeff Toomaga-allen, 19 Theo Vukasinovic, 20 Alfie Barbeary, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Matteo Minozzi