Bristol v Bath team news: Benhard Janse van Rensburg to face off with snubbed England duo as Bears star makes long-awaited return
AJ MacGinty returns for Bristol Bears against Bath.
USA international AJ MacGinty will make his long-awaited return from injury when Bristol Bears face off with West Country rivals Bath at Ashton Gate on Friday night.
The fly-half, who sustained an Achilles injury against Leicester Tigers on the opening day of the season, partners Harry Randall at half back for the round 17 clash.
Noah Heward starts at full back, while Argentina international Matias Moroni joins recent England call-up Benhard Janse van Rensburg in the midfield. Louis Rees-Zammit and Kalaveti Ravouvou are on the wings.
Up front, Pat Lam names an unchanged pack from round 16, with Bristolian trio Ellis Genge, George Kloska and James Dun all starting. Skipper Fitz Harding continues on the openside flank, with Joe Owen on the blindside and Argentinian international Santiago Grondona at number eight.
Among the replacements, Academy trio Tomas Gwilliam, Jimmy Halliwell and George Taylor are all included, as is Bristolian Jack Bates. International duo Kieran Marmion and Tom Jordan are set to make an impact from the bench.
Bristol currently sit in sixth place on the PREM table, five points adrift of the semi-final places.
Meanwhile, after securing a third consecutive play-off spot in as many seasons, Ashton Gate visitors Bath look to confirm their seeding among the top four of the log.
In team news, loosehead prop Beno Obano is joined by Kepueli Tuipulotu and Thomas du Toit in the front-row set up.
Ted Hill and Charlie Ewels remain in the second-row following their pairing in Round 16.
Coming into the starting line-up, Ethan Staddon will take the blindside with Guy Pepper at seven while Sam Underhill is named at number eight to complete the forward pack.
Ben Spencer captains from scrum-half, joined by Ciaran Donoghue who makes his second start this season.
In the midfield, Max Ojomoh starts at 12, joined by Ollie Lawrence at 13 as the pair go up against Janse van Rensburg.
Completing the backline, Henry Arundell and Joe Cokanasiga take the wide channels with Santi Carreras manning the back field.
Providing this week’s impact from the bench, Dan Frost, Francois van Wyk and Vilikesa Sela make up the replacement front-row.
Ewan Richards, Josh Bayliss and Alfie Barbeary complete the replacement forwards and Tom Carr-Smith and Cameron Redpath are named as Bath’s replacement backs.
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Prediction: Bath by 6
The teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Noah Heward, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Joe Owen, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 George Kloska, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Tomas Gwilliam, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Jimmy Halliwell, 20 George Taylor, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Jack Bates
Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Ciaran Donoghue, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Sam Underhill, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ethan Staddon, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Ted Hill, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Alfie Barbeary
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Andrew Jackson
How to watch: Live on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max, TNT Sports Ultimate