Hill makes his long awaited comeback for Saracens

The match also sees Nick Lloyd, Adam Powell and Tom Mercey make their first starts of the season and Thomas Castaignède given an opportunity at fly-half.

On the bench, Academy players Tom Audley and Noah Cato are rewarded for good performances in the A-League side.

"This is an opportunity for those players who have had limited game time this season and who have been pressing hard for a first team place," said Saracens coach Alan Gaffney.

"It's great to see Richard Hill back on the team sheet and he has worked very hard to get back to fitness.

"A number of these players have been performing well in the A-team this season and they deserve a chance to show what they can do.

"We've also got a number of guys who have played in most, if not all, of the matches this season and we need to manage them correctly and ensure they are fresh for the busy Christmas schedule."

Castaignède and Cobus Visagie will join up with the World XV squad following the match for the game against South Africa at The Walkers Stadium in Leicester on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Wasps boss Ian McGeechan fields a fistful of youthful talent across his XV for Friday’s EDF Energy Cup game against Saracens at Vicarage Road.

Behind the scrum, teenagers Danny Cipriani and Dominic Waldouck also feature; both winning their second starts of the season.

The Academy and England U19 players both made their first starts for the club against London Irish in the EDF Energy Cup in October, and Cipriani went on to score his first try Premiership try against Bath earlier this month.

In the pack, Richard Birkett is back in action, having recovered from a concussion that kept him out of last week’s game, and 23-year-old prop Tom French makes his first competitive start after having come through the Academy system since joining Wasps as an 18-year-old.

Form: Saracens are still searching for their first point in this season’s EDF Energy Cup. Saracens tripped up at home to Worcester in the Premiership on Sunday and have won just one previous match in this competition: 32-13 at home to London Irish last season. Reigning cup holders London Wasps must win with a bonus point and then hope that London Irish beat Cardiff Blues by four match points to nil to set up a three-way tie at the top of Pool B. It will then be down to tries scored in the three head to head matches to see which team progresses to the semi-finals of the EDF Energy Cup. Wasps easily won 42-8 when the two sides met at this stage at Adams Park last year. Wasps also won 21-19 in the Premiership double header at Twickenham on 2 September.

16-month injury... CRAZY!