Marcel Garvey is recalled to the Worcester line-up for the LV= Cup clash with London Irish at Sixways.
Garvey, who recently signed a new deal at the Warriors, is one of three changes made by Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock from the team that lost at Gloucester in the last pool game.
Warriors Academy product Greg King is named at inside centre alongside Dale Rasmussen, with Sam Tuitupou unavailable after being given permission to return to New Zealand this week.
Prop Tevita Taumoepeau is promoted to the front row, with Olivier Sourgens moving to the bench, while Will Bowley is also named among the replacements.
Tom Wood and Miles Benjamin are not selected as they will represent England Saxons in Italy on Sunday while Alex Grove is on the bench for Scotland against France in the Six Nations.
Matt Mullan returns to the Warriors squad from senior England training and is named among the replacements.
Meanwhile, London Irish have made six personnel changes to their starting XV for their trip to Sixways.
The Exiles also alter two positional areas to the side that started against Harlequins last weekend. In the front-row, Faan Rautenbach comes in at tighthead, Matt Garvey starts alongside Andy Perry at lock, Gary Johnson switches from the second to back-row where he starts at blindside flank while Kieran Roche takes over at number eight.
Among the backs the experienced John Rudd, Elvis Seveali'i and Seilala Mapusua start at left wing, outside centre and inside centre respectively.
"Having seven players on international duty gives us a great opportunity to demonstrate the strength of our squad and continue to grow our talented Academy players," said London Irish Head Coach, Toby Booth.
"Last week we saw excellent performances from Matt Garvey and Jamie Gibson and I'm sure we'll see more of the same at Sixways.
"Matches with Worcester are always dogged and competitive at their home stadium. We expect the Warriors to be preparing themselves for a good run into their upcoming Guinness Premiership fixtures so supporters are promised an entertaining match with good rugby from both teams."
Form: Worcester's only win in their last eleven games was 54-3 at home to Madrid in the European Challenge Cup on 16 January. The Warriors have won just one of their last five matches in the LV= Cup: 32-6 at home to Newcastle on 7 November. London Irish are winless in their last four matches in all competitions since their 23-19 home victory over Saracens in the Premiership on 27 December. The Exiles have won their last two away games in the LV= Cup. This is the third successive season that the two teams have clashed in the LV= Cup with Irish winning 48-27 at Reading in 2007 and Worcester 22-5 at Sixways in round one last year. This victory is the Warriors only one against London Irish since 2005. Worcester can only progress to the last four of the LV= Cup if they win with a bonus point and Cardiff Blues, Harlequins and London Wasps all lose and score very few tries. Conversely, the Exiles need a bonus point win and hope that Scarlets gain no points and Gloucester do not also win.
The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Chris Pennell, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 12 Greg King, 11 Marcel Garvey, 10 Willie Walker, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Pat Sanderson (capt), 6 Chris Cracknell, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Greg Rawlinson, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Adam Black.
Replacements: 16 Matt Mullan, 17 Chris Fortey, 18 Olivier Sourgens, 19 Will Bowley, 20 James Collins, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Matthew Jones, 23 Rico Gear.
London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat (capt), 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 John Rudd, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Alfredo Lalanne, 8 Kieran Roche, 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Gary Johnson, 5 Andy Perry, 4 Matt Garvey, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Buckland, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Clarke Dermody, 18 James Tideswell, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Chris Malone, 22 Peter Richards,,23 Jamie Lennard.
Date: Saturday, February 6
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Sixways Stadium
Referee: David Bodilly (Wales)
Assistant referees: Don Helme (England), Paul Burton (England)
Television match official: Laurie Bryant (England)
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