Wasps v Gloucester: Teams
London Wasps captain Rob Webber will make his 50th Guinness Premiership appearance on Saturday.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 06/03/10 9:03am
London Wasps captain Rob Webber will make his 50th Guinness Premiership appearance when he leads his side out against Gloucester on Saturday.
The hooker, named as skipper for the second time this season, has recently committed himself to the London club for a further two years.
Webber, who starts in place of Joe Ward, heads a team which has undergone four changes following the 26-10 defeat at Leeds.
Paul Sackey returns on the wing after recovering from illness, while Tom Varndell moves to the bench.
Dave Walder and James Honeyben form a new half-back pairing in place of Danny Cipriani and Warren Fury, who are both named amongst the replacements.
The final change comes in the back row as John Hart returns after being sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained against Scarlets in January.
Challenging
Wasps director of rugby Tony Hanks is expecting a challenging encounter against the Cherry and Whites.
"We're up against a familiar side in Gloucester, a team we've played twice already this season in the Guinness Premiership and the LV= Cup, and we're looking forward to renewing that rivalry," he said.
"They come to Adams Park on the back of some good form, so we're under no illusions as to how tough the game will be."
Gloucester have made five changes to their starting XV as they go out on the road looking to maintain their recent run of good form.
Pierre Capdevielle steps in for the injured Greg Somerville at tight-head prop, while Andy Williams and Tim Taylor start at scrum-half and fly-half respectively.
Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and Scottish international flanker Alasdair Strokosch are also restored to the starting line-up.
"We're well aware of how tough this will be," said Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath.
"Wasps will be angry at losing last weekend and we've only won once at Adams Park so we have to get our heads around that.
"We know how tough this next six to eight weeks will be and we have to rise to that challenge. This weekend is a proper test and we have to get something out of this game."
Wasps: 15 Mark Van Gisbergen, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 David Lemi, 10 Dave Walder, 9 James Honeyben, 1 Zak Taulafo, 2 Rob Webber (c), 3 Ben Broster, 4 Marty Veale, 5 Dan Leo, 6 John Hart, 7 Serge Betsen, 8 Dan Ward Smith.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Gabriel Bocca, 18 Bob Baker, 19 Hugo Ellis, 20 Warren Fury, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 Dominic Waldouck, 23 Tom Varndell.
Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Tim Taylor, 9 Andy Williams, 1 Nick Wood, 2 Olivier Azam, 3 Pierre Capdevielle, 4 Will James, 5 Alex Brown, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 7 Akapusi Qera, 8 Gareth Delve (c).
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Adam Eustace, 20 Jake Boer, 21 Rory Lawson, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Tim Molenaar.