Bristol v Harlequins: Teams
New Bristol coach Paul Hull has made two changes to his side to face Harlequins, as he looks to save the club from relegation.
Last Updated: 27/02/09 2:48pm
New Bristol coach Paul Hull has made two changes to his side to face Harlequins, as he looks to save the club from relegation.
The strugglers parted company with previous coach Richard Hill on Friday, leaving Hull just eight games to try and save the club from the drop.
David Blaney and Redford Pennycook both come into the side, with Scott Linklater and Alfie To'oala dropping to the bench.
And Hull, who was Hill's assistant, wants his side to build on the improvements they showed in the recent defeat to Sale.
"We were looking for a better performance last week and show we had a bit more fight and passion and I think we achieved that," he said.
"We only had three days to prepare last week, we've had a full week this week. We want to get something from this game, we don't play to lose. If we continue to make strides then we'll come away with something.
"We've gone for consistency in the backline. Up front, Dave Attwood did very well and deserves to keep his place and Redford (Pennycook) has shown some good stuff in the past couple of months and this is an opportunity for him to stake a claim.
"They're confident, which is a big thing in the Guinness Premiership. We've analysed Harlequins and we know they are a good side who play with good tempo. But if we can focus on ourselves and get things right for us, we will get better performances and better results.
"It's not a case of us being mathematically down - there's still a slim chance there and we are going to take everything we can. It's an old cliche but we're taking each game as it comes and we're focussing completely on this weekend. We'll keep fighting on."
Harlequins boss Dean Richards has made just the one change to the line-up that toppled Gloucester last time out.
Chris Malone comes in at fly-half, with New Zealander Nick Evans taking his place on the bench.
Bristol: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Lee Robinson, 13 Neil Brew, 12 Luke Eves, 11 David Lemi, 10 Adrian Jarvis, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Dan Ward-Smith, 7 Joe El Abd (capt), 6 Redford Pennycook, 5 Nathan Budgett, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Darren Crompton, 2 David Blaney, 1 Mark Irish.
Replacements: 16 Scott Linklater, 17 Wayne Thompson, 18 Roy Winters, 19 Alfie To'oala, 20 Haydn Thomas, 21 Ed Barnes, 22 Nathan Brew.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 David Strettle, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Chris Malone, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Will Skinner (captain), 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Ceri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Aston Croall, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Jim Evans, 19 Neil McMillan, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Nick Evans, 22 Ugo Monye.