Gloucester v Bath: Teams

Gloucester boss Bryan Redpath has told his side to keep their discipline when they face west country rivals Bath on Saturday.

There will be added spice to an already mouth-watering derby with both sides in top form - Gloucester have won eight on the bounce, while Bath have lost just one in nine outings.

And with Gloucester having won at The Rec earlier in the season, Bath will no doubt be out for revenge.

Redpath said: "We've got to focus on our jobs and on what we can control. We can't control what Bath do all week and what their mindset is coming into the game.

"But we can certainly control our own thoughts and mind process and that's got to be strong for us.

"That win at Rec has no relevance to this weekend. We've got to get our stuff right. That night was great for everyone involved. We held the field position well that evening and got rewards for it.

"It'll be the same challenge this weekend. We've got to be strong, we've got to be disciplined. They've got a big attacking threat and have always had a good set piece so it's a proper challenge on Saturday. It's a big game."

Gloucester have made five changes for the match with Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Rory Lawson, Scott Lawson and Andy Hazell coming into the side.

Credit

Bath director of rugby Sir Ian McGeechan insists his side are up to the challenge of toppling Gloucester at Kingsholm.

"Gloucester are a side who always play well at home," he said.

"They have a good pack of forwards, some talented backs and they are well coached. We are going to have to be on top of our game to come away with a win, but we've gone away from home and done very well, especially since the New Year, so we know we are capable of getting the result we want.

"We have shown with recent games that we can play whichever way the game evolves, so we are a tough side to beat now, which is what we want to be.

"We have a great defensive base that we've been working on, and Brad Davis should take a lot of credit for the way we have been playing when we don't have the ball as it's been key in getting us where we are at the moment.

"We've not given soft tries or points away, which is very important, and we have managed to win three away games with one score, so if we can do that again this weekend, it will put us in a very good position."

Bath welcome back England international Matt Banahan for the clash, with Tom Biggs starting on the other wing and Jack Cuthbert moving to full-back.

Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Tom Voyce, 10 Nicky Robinson, 9 Rory Lawson, 1 Nick Wood, 2 Scott Lawson, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 4 Will James, 5 Jim Hamilton, 6 Peter Buxton, 7 Andy Hazell, 8 Luke Narraway (capt).
Replacements: 16 Olivier Azam, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Alex Brown, 20 Alasdair Strokosch, 21 Jordi Pasqualin, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Tim Molenaar

Bath: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Ben Williams, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Butch James, 9 Michael Claassens, 1 David Flatman, 2 Lee Mears, 3 Duncan Bell, 4 Stuart Hooper, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Ben Skirving, 7 Luke Watson (c), 8 Simon Taylor.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Barnes, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Nick Scott