Saracens Turn to Hill As They Seek Revenge on Ospreys

Saracens are looking to their veteran England flanker Richard Hill to revive their season this weekend as they attempt to reach the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time at the expense of an Ospreys team who thrashed them 30-3 less than a fortnight ago.

The loyal Hill is retiring at the end of the season and has yet to collect any major silverware in a 15-year stint with his only senior club, having missed the Tetley's Bitter Cup success in 1998 through injury. He was also absent from Saracens' crushing EDF Energy Cup defeat by the Ospreys at the Millennium Stadium but will be back for his team's first sold-out game in Watford for a decade.

The big props Cobus Visagie and Cencus Johnston will also be wheeled out as the head coach, Alan Gaffney, seeks a more solid forward platform, with the 34-year-old Hill's experience as a World Cup winner regarded as equally vital. "We've purposely kept him out of the last two games with a view to playing him this week," said Gaffney yesterday, admitting the home side would have to "go to another level" on Sunday to beat the in-form Welsh region.

The Ospreys coach, Lyn Jones, believes that Sarries will miss their injured All Black lock Chris Jack, who has been sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken hand. "He's a huge loss," insisted Jones. "I thought he was their stand-out player until he went off in the EDF semi-final."

Sale have switched their New Zealand international Luke McAllister to fly-half for their Challenge Cup quarter-final against Brive at Edgeley Park tonight, with Charlie Hodgson named on the bench. Hodgson's wife, Daisy, gave birth to a boy on Tuesday forcing Philippe Saint-André to also juggle his resources.

"This is a massive game for us as success in this competition would give us a Heineken Cup place next season," said Saint-André, who has recalled the England squad pair of Mark Cueto and Andrew Sheridan. "I have had to rotate the squad, however, as this is the first of three games in 11 days for us."

The Sharks are among five English teams in the last eight, along with Bath, Leeds Carnegie, Newcastle and Worcester. Six of the past seven tournaments have been won by a Premiership team and Sale are attempting to become the first club to win the trophy three times. Brive will be without their England World Cup winners Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson. Cohen has been rested and Thompson is nursing an ankle injury.

Leicester's Seru Rabeni has appealed against his 14-week ban for alleged eye-gouging against Saracens last month. The Fijian center's appeal will be heard in London next Thursday. Rabeni has claimed his contact with Saracens' hooker Andy Kyriacou was accidental.

The Scotland captain, Jason White, says he and his squad want Frank Hadden to remain as the national coach. "We're all behind Frank. He's 100% committed to Scotland, a genuine guy who tries to do what's best for his country," said White. "Everyone involved with the national team wants us to improve and perform better and Frank is the right man to oversee that push for improvement.

"He's one of the best coaches I've ever worked with. He may determine the game plan but it's the players on the pitch who have to execute it. But when things aren't going so well, as in any sport, it's the boss who has people questioning whether he's the right guy."

Hadden's approach has been criticized after Scotland's poor Six Nations campaign, centering on suggestions that his negative approach is stifling the team.