Gloucester v Cardiff: Teams
LV=Cup champions Gloucester continue their defence on Saturday against Cardiff Blues with Ollie Phillips set to make his debut.
Last Updated: 27/01/12 3:26pm
LV= Cup champions Gloucester continue their defence on Saturday against Cardiff Blues with Ollie Phillips set to make his debut.
Tim Molenaar will make his first appearance of the season whilst coach Bryan Redpath gives the nod to England Under-20 international Ryan Mills at fly-half.
In the pack Shaun Knight is set to make his Gloucester bow at prop while Andy Hazell and Brett Deacon make their first starts since December when they last featured in the tie with Connacht.
Despite Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, James Simpson-Daniel and Alex Brown being the only three to retain a place in the starting line-up following Heineken Cup victory over Toulouse last weekend Redpath admits the squad will need to rotate with the Six Nations on the horizon.
"Last Friday night was great in terms of creating a feel good factor and we now have to carry that on even though there is a big swing in personnel," he said.
"We're having to make full use of the squad but most have played first team this season and also played very well in the A League, where our form in the last four games was really good.
Opportunity
"Now, they're going to get their opportunity on Saturday and also over the next few weeks during the Six Nations period.
"Quite a few of them have been chomping at the bit, desperate to play. Our squad is important, they're all good club men and the next six weeks are important to us."
The Cardiff Blues have also rung the changes ahead of Saturday's clash at Kingsholm following their match against Racing Metro last week, which saw them guarantee a place in the Heineken Cup last-eight.
Second-row Macauley Cook will lead the Blues who will hand a start to Tom Jones on the wing while John Yapp with make his 153rd start for the club at tighthead prop.
The Blues will also be boosted by the return of full-back Ben Blair who will start for the first time since recovering from injury.
Youth
"The team we've selected to face Gloucester is a mixture of youth and experience," said Blues coach Gareth Baber.
"It's been a pretty full on season so far, so we've looked for some players to have a bit of time off and bit of a rest after our Heineken campaign.
"Equally we have other players who need a bit of game time to keep the level of competition as high as possible within the squad.
"I think it's important for those players to get a chance to express themselves. Some of the younger ones who have been playing in the Premiership will come in and force their name forward."
Gloucester: 15 Tom Voyce, 14 Ollie Phillips, 13 Tim Molenaar, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Brett Deacon, 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Peter Buxton (capt), 5 Alex Brown, 4 Will James, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Matias Cortese, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Matt Cox, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Nick Runciman, 22 Mike Tindall, 23 Henry Trinder.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Tom James, 12 Cory Allen, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Macauley Cook (capt), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Sam Hobbs, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Ruben Tucker, 21 Tom Rowlands, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Dan Fish.