Steward reaches 100 Premiership starts as Leicester target top spot at Bristol

Freddie Steward will make his 100th Gallagher Premiership start when Leicester Tigers face Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate on Friday night, with Geoff Parling’s side knowing a win will send them to the top of the table.

Steward has started every Premiership and Investec Champions Cup match for Leicester this season and arrives in form, having scored the bonus-point try in last weekend’s derby victory over Northampton Saints. The full-back’s milestone caps a consistent run that underlines his status as one of the division’s most reliable performers.

Parling has reshuffled his backline for the trip to Bristol, recalling Tom Whiteley at scrum-half, Ollie Hassell-Collins on the wing and Orlando Bailey at fly-half. Bailey’s return pushes Sol Kata out to outside centre, while Jack van Poortvliet, Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Will Wand all drop to the bench. The forward pack is unchanged from the Saints derby, with Ollie Chessum continuing as captain from the second row.

Lock Elliott Stooke, who joined the Tigers from Japanese side Red Hurricanes in the summer, has recovered from injury and earns his first place in the matchday squad, named among the replacements.

Currently second in the Premiership standings, Leicester would leapfrog Gloucester and go top — at least temporarily — with a win on Friday. Parling was clear about the importance of ending this block of fixtures strongly before the November international break.

“It’s important we finish this block of Prem games well before we break as a group over the November period,” the head coach said. “We know that we will need to be right at the top of our game and be both accurate and decisive in order to beat a quality Bristol outfit.”

Leicester Tigers XV: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Adam Radwan, 13. Solomone Kata, 12. Orlando Bailey, 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10. Billy Searle, 9. Tom Whiteley, 1. Archie Van der Flier, 2. Jamie Blamire, 3. Joe Heyes, 4. Cameron Henderson, 5. Ollie Chessum (c), 6. Aaron Wainwright, 7. Finn Carnduff, 8. Olly Cracknell

Replacements: 16. Samiuela Moli, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Will Hurd, 19. Elliott Stooke, 20. Joaquin Moro, 21. Jack Van Poortvliet, 22. Will Wand, 23. Gabriel Hamer-Webb