Preview: Bristol v Bath
Bristol play host to Bath in the much-anticipated West Country derby on Sunday in the Premiership.
Mark Tainton’s men will look to end a three-game losing streak in the Premiership in front of the largest crowd of the season at Ashton Gate.
Bristol make eight changes from the side that suffered defeat to Leicester Tigers, as Gavin Henson starts at fly-half for the first time since October.
Will Hurrell, Tom Varndell and David Lemi return to the backline, while Alby Mathewson is included for his first Premiership start.
In the pack, Marc Jones and Anthony Perenise are recalled, while Ian Evans comes into the second row.
“It promises to be an intense eighty minutes of rugby with both sides throwing everything at each other to achieve the victory.
“With a big, passionate crowd roaring us on, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play at Ashton Gate,” said Head Coach Mark Tainton.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Joseph will return to the Bath starting line-up for the Aviva Premiership clash with West Country rivals Bristol.
The centre returns to domestic action to take his place in the midfield alongside Ben Tapuai, who makes his comeback after missing last weekend’s 22-12 win against Harlequins.
Semesa Rokoduguni, who is the top try scorer for Bath in the competition with nine lines up on the right wing, with Harry Davies on the left and Tom Homer making his 50th appearance for the Club at full-back.
Following a 17-point haul against Quins, co-captain Rhys Priestland will aim to continue his recent run of form at fly-half alongside Chris Cook, who comes into the side to complete the half-back combination.
Beno Obano will make his starting debut in the Premiership with Ross Batty and Max Lahiff completing a physically imposing front row. Elliott Stooke and Charlie Ewels are the second row pairing for the Club’s fourth meeting of the season against their local rivals.
Tom Ellis, David Denton and Paul Grant will be looking to make an impact from the back row, with the club targeting a third successive win in the competition.
Form: Bristol’s only two victories in the Premriship this season came in successive matches, against Worcester and Sale over Christmas last year.Bristol’s last two home wins in the Premiership have both been against Worcester, seven years apart. Bath have lost just one of their last six first team fixtures and that by the narrowest of margins at Newcastle in the Anglo-Welsh Cup earlier this month. Bath have lost their last three away games in the Premiership since their victory at Exeter in Round 7. Bath have won their last eight fixtures with Bristol, in all competitions since Bristol’s 16-6 victory at Ashton Gate in the Premiership in December 2006.
The teams:
Bristol: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 David Lemi, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Jordan Crane (c), 7 Jack Lam, 6 Mitch Eadie, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Jack O’Connell, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Nick Fenton-Wells, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Jack Wallace
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Harry Davies, 10 Rhys Priestland (cc), 9 Chris Cook, 8 Paul Grant, 7 David Denton, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (cc), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Will Homer, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Max Clark
Date: Sunday, February 26
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal, Steve Lee
TMO: David Grashoff