Cole brings up 200 opposite old foe Joe
DAN COLE makes his 200th Premiership appearance in the Leicester front row up against his old England teammate Joe Marler.
Cole is alongside club captain Ellis Genge and hooker Julián Montoya, who are among eight Tigers returning to club action after the autumn internationals.
Nic Dolly, who made his Test debut in England’s win over South Africa at Twickenham a fortnight ago, and Joe Heyes are front row replacements.
England newcomer Freddie Steward is at fullback, with Jasper Wiese picked at No.8 after featuring in each of South Africa’s three-Test tour.
Ben Youngs and George Ford are the starting halfbacks, with Richard Wigglesworth named as the replacement scrumhalf.
Director of rugby Steve Borthwick said: “It is an exciting week for everyone at Leicester. We have our whole squad back together, after the Autumn Internationals, and we have a sell-out crowd for a game against the Premiership champions. It is sure to be a special atmosphere.”
Fly-half Marcus Smith and No.8 Alex Dombrandt return to the Quins lineup. Scotland international Huw Jones starts his first Premiership fixture in the centres, with wing Louis Lynagh playing for the first time since October as he returns from injury.
Backs coach Nick Evans said: “We’re expecting a big challenge.
We’ve talked about getting our mentality right and they are top of the league for a reason – we see this as an opportunity to bounce back from last week’s loss.
“They are a quality outfit – their power game and set-piece is very good. You expect someone like Steve (Borthwick) to make sure their set-piece is right and he has brought that mentality of Leicester of old back. We are going to test ourselves against the best in the competition and we always back ourselves.”