England duo return for play-off chasing Bath

Full-back Anthony Watson is one of four changes to the starting XV as Bath face off against West Country rivals Gloucester at the Rec on Tuesday.

The England international comes back into contention and replaces Tom de Glanville, who has impressed in recent weeks.

Semesa Rokoduguni replaces Gabriel Hamer-Webb on the wide channel whilst Elliott Stooke replaces Josh McNally at lock and Tom Ellis moves into the back-row for Josh Bayliss.

A notable return sees Joe Cokanasiga back in the squad for the first time this season after suffering a knee injury on England duty at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Meanwhile, Gloucester boss George Skivington has handed a full debut to Argentine international Matias Alemanno, who made an impressive impact off the bench against Harlequins last week. Alemanno partners former Bath man, Matt Garvey in the second-row.

Jack Singleton and Ruan Ackermann return to the pack after missing last week’s game, with Ackermann stepping in at eight, and Jake Polledri switching to blindside flanker.

There’s also a welcome return for Willi Heinz as he makes his first appearance since the restart, following a successful recovery from injury. He will link up with Lloyd Evans at fly-half, who steps up from the bench alongside Billy Twelvetrees at inside centre.

In the back three Matt Banahan comes in at full-back to face his former club, with Ollie Thorley and Jonny May retaining their spots on the wings.

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Form: Bath’s only defeat since Premiership Rugby resumed was 23-27 at home to Wasps in Round 17. Bath’s most recent home form at the Recreation Ground has been a little shaky with a won two, lost two record. Gloucester have lost their last two Premiership fixtures since beating London Irish at Kingsholm on 5 September. The Cherry & Whites’ only away win in any competition since October was 44-15 at Worcester in Round 14. Gloucester have lost just one of their last five domestic encounters with Bath: 20-43 at Kingsholm in April 2018, while Gloucester’s only victory at the Recreation Ground in their last five visits in all competitions was by a solitary point in October 2017.

The teams:

Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Joe Cokanasiga

Gloucester: 15 Matt Banahan, 14 Ollie Thorley, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jack Stanley, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Jordy Reid, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Tom Seabrook, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit

Date: Tuesday, September 22
Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Karl Dickson
TMO: Christophe Ridley