Bristol v Saracens: Teams
Bristol look to bounce back, while Saracens have responded to the defeat to Newcastle by wielding the axe.
Last Updated: 04/01/08 12:48pm
Bristol coach Richard Hill is looking for his side to bounce back for the visit of Saracens following their 27-0 defeat to Gloucester.
Bristol never got going against their west country rivals, however Hill is refusing to dwell on the defeat - instead insisting to focus on the arrival of Saracens at the Memorial Stadium.
He said: "Last week wasn't very good at all and we let ourselves down a little bit. The effort was there, we weren't dropping off tackles for example but a few silly errors crept in the sort we weren't making against Stade Francais or Wasps.
"We've talked about it but we won't dwell on it. Occasionally it happens but you just wear yourself down if you try and over analyse it.
"We had a debrief on Monday but are now 100 per cent focussed on Saracens. The atmosphere has been good and everyone is up for this one.
Stronger
"Saracens have been going well but didn't have their best team out against Newcastle which is a little bizarre considering they had their best home crowd for three years! So, I'm sure they'll be stronger this week with the likes of Hill, Jackson and Farrell all back."
Hill welcomes Jason Strange back to fly-half and Mark Regan to hooker.
Saracens director of rugby Alan Gaffney has responded to his side's defeat to Newcastle by wielding the axe for the trip to Bristol.
Richard Hill, Andy Farrell, Glen Jackson, Iain Fullarton and Kameli Ratuvou all return to the starting line-up, while Italy prop Matias Aguero is handed is full debut.
And having come unstuck 22-19 at home to the Falcons, Gaffney wants to see a positive response from his players.
He said: "We know we didn't perform last weekend against Newcastle and that was disappointing in front of a big crowd.
Proud
"We've made changes this week and we will be going to Bristol to win the game, but we're under no illusions as to the size of the task ahead of us.
"Bristol have a very proud home record and we are expecting a very tough test.
"We've given a full debut to Aguero this weekend after what has been a delayed start to his Saracens career. He's performed well in the A-games and deserves the chance to show what he can do."
Bristol: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Rob Higgitt, 12 Neil Brew, 11 David Lemi, 10 Jason Strange, 9 Brian O'Riordan, 1 Alex Clarke, 2 Mark Regan, 3 Darren Crompton, 4 Roy Winters, 5 Sean Hohneck, 6 Matt Salter (c), 7 Joe El Abd, 8 Andrew Blowers,
Replacements: 16 Scott Linklater, 17 Jason Hobson, 18 Dave Attwood, 19 Alfie To'oala, 20 Haydn Thomas, 21 Ed Barnes, 22 Sam Cox.
Saracens: 15 Brent Russell, 14 Rodd Penney, 13 Kevin Sorrell, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Kameli Ratuvou, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Neil de Kock, 1 Matias Aguero, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Iain Fullarton, 6 Paul Gustard, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Ben Skirving.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Tom Mercey, 18 Tom Ryder, 19 Don Barrell, 20 Alan Dickens, 21 Adam Powell, 22 Richard Haughton.