Preview: Bristol v Gloucester

Editor

Bristol head coach Mark Tainton has rung the changes to his starting XV for Friday's  West Country derby with Gloucester at Ashton Gate.

Tainton makes six changes from the side that suffered defeat to Worcester Warriors in the last outing with Jack Wallace, Tusi Pisi and Billy Searle returning to the back-line as Tom Varndell (toe) and Siale Piutau (knee) are ruled out through injury.

In the pack, Marc Jones skippers a side that will see Sam Jeffries making his first Premiership start while James Phillips and Mark Sorenson come into the second row.

Dan Tuohy (arm) is unavailable for selection.

Tainton said: “A positive performance on Friday in front of our home supporters can be the catalyst for us to push forward.

“We are focused and well-prepared and know what is expected of us at Ashton Gate against a very talented opposition outfit.

“Gavin [Henson] picked up a niggle with his toe last week and hasn’t trained in the lead-up to this game, so we won’t risk him on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Henry Trinder will make his first start in the Premiership this season as Gloucester make seven changes to their starting line-up.

The changes, compared to the side that started last time out against Harlequins, see four of the pack changed and three of the backs.

In the back-line, returning from international duty is Jonny May who lines up on the right wing, while there is a new-look centre pairing in Andy Symons and Trinder.

Up front, there is a return from injury for Paddy McAllister while Josh Hohneck covers the suspended John Afoa at tighthead prop. Tom Savage takes over from Mariano Galarza in the second row and the final change sees Sione Kalamafoni back in at blindside flanker.

Jonny Bell has taken over as Interim head coach following the departure of Laurie Fisher and reflected upon the past couple of weeks before focusing on Friday evening’s game.

“It’s been a couple of weeks now and I suppose we didn’t want to dwell on it for too long as you naturally wouldn’t," he said. 

"There was disappointment and then all the consequences of that.

“We had a break as a group and then came back in together and focused on moving forward and sticking tight together. I’m incredibly proud of the group, they’ve worked incredibly hard over the last two weeks.

“We’re up against a good side this weekend, against a team who are desperate for points and who play some good rugby.  But we’ve got a number of league games to finish off and we want to finish them well, as well as a European campaign which we’re very much in. But we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, it’s a step at a time and the first step is Bristol.

“We’re playing against a side that needs points, they are also up against a team that needs points. We are hungry and desperate to climb the league.

"We are disappointed to be ninth, but we feel that we are better than that. We are where we are but we have to finish games to 80 minutes, we know that.”

Form: Bristol have won just once in Aviva Premiership Rugby since the 12th round: 12-11 at home to Bath on 26th February. Bristol have won two of their last three home games in Premiership Rugby at Ashton Gate. Gloucester’s only victory in their last four Aviva Premiership Rugby matches was 31-23 at home to Saracens in round 15. Gloucester have not won away from home in the competition since a visit to Sale on 16th September. Gloucester have lost just one of their last six matches against Bristol: 26-29 at Memorial Stadium in February 2008. Gloucester’s only previous visit to Ashton Gate was actually a home game, moved there due to renovation at Kingsholm, beating Bristol 35-13 in April 2007.

The teams:

Bristol: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Jack Wallace, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Tusi Pisi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Sam Jeffries, 5 Mark Sorenson, 4 James Phillips, 3 Gaston Cortes, 2 Marc Jones (c), 1 Ryan Bevington 
Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Jack O’Connell, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Jordan Crane, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jack Tovey, 23 Luke Arscott

Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Andy Symons, 11 David Halaifonua, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jacob Rowan, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paddy McAllister 
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Charlie Sharples

Date: Friday, March 24
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace, Ross Campbell
TMO: Rowan Kitt