In this weeks edition of Carnegie Call Director of Rugby Stuart Lancaster looks ahead to Leeds Carnegie's clash with Saracens in the EDF Energy Cup First Round this Friday at Headingley Carnegie, kick off 8pm.

HOW DO YOU REFLECT ON LAST WEEK'S DEFEAT AT BRISTOL?

Looking back on the weekend's performance, my initial reaction was pretty much the one I still have after watching and reviewing the game again. There were areas we improved on after the Worcester game in including the lineout however the overall outcome was disappointing. Credit to Bristol, I thought they were excellent in the second half and matched and bettered, other than Gloucester, anything we had previously experienced in the Guinness Premiership and underlined the reasons for their Top 3 finish last season.

HOW HAVE YOU APPROACHED THIS WEEKS GAME?

As I have always said, the trick for us is to get consistency of performance if you are slightly off the mark in this league you will get punished, so we have a real focus going into this EDF Energy Cup game against Saracens, another side who are playing great rugby at the moment.
The EDF Energy Cup is a great opportunity for us to work on improving our levels of performance and it is a competition we will be looking to do well in. I am excited about seeing the team we have selected perform. It has given us an opportunity to rotate one or two players and give some players who have been pushing hard in training and in the A team a chance at a higher level. There will also be chances in the next few weeks of EDF Energy Cup and European Challenge Cup games to get our long term injured players some game time. Players such as Jon Dunbar and Rob Vickerman are close to full fitness and with Martin Schusterman back we have plenty of players hungry for games.
In addition we also have the Guinness A league starting on Monday. This is an excellent competition and will also allow us to look at combinations and form as we build towards our next Guinness Premiership fixture against Leicester in a few weeks time. Players who have contributed fully in our opening campaign will also get a chance for a rest, which will be a great for the long term health of the squad and I am sure they will come back ready to compete hard for their shirt again next week.

WILL YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES THIS WEEK?

In terms of changes, James Parkes will get a well deserved opportunity at hooker; Rob has been struggling with a shoulder injury that needs some further rest and investigation. In the second row Stuart Hooper gets a well earned rest and I am looking forward to seeing Kearnan Myall and EriK Lund together in the second row. Mark Lock gets a rest in the back row with Rhys Oakley reverting to Number 8, he will also captain the side in the absence of Stuart Hooper. Danny Paul, again a player with great potential, gets his first start in the back row.
Joe Bedford picked up a knock against Bristol and so we continue with the half back partnership of Alberto Di Bernardo and James Brookes whilst Tom Rock will join Andy Tuilagi in the centre. On the wing Tom Biggs gets a rest and Richard Welding is struggling with a knee injury so Appo Satala gets his chance. He has worked hard to develop his game to adapt to the higher level and is without doubt a player of great potential and we are all looking forward to seeing him play on Friday. Another exciting winger also gets his chance on the bench in Scott Armstrong, another product of the clubs outstanding Academy system.