Gloucester v Leicester: Teams
Gloucester coach Bryan Redpath refuses to be fooled by Leicester's poor start to the season ahead of their Aviva Premiership clash.
Last Updated: 25/11/11 1:08pm
Gloucester coach Bryan Redpath refuses to be fooled by Leicester's poor start to the season ahead of their Aviva Premiership clash.
The Tigers currently find themselves languishing in 10th in the standings after a torrid start to the campaign.
However Redpath fully expects Richard Cockerill's side to come out all guns blazing at Kingsholm on Saturday.
"Their tenth position in the table doesn't reflect on the ability of their squad. It just reflects on their injury list and the World Cup period," said Redpath.
"They'll be fighting in every game now because they need to push for that top four and that's what Leicester always target.
"It's not going to be easy and it shouldn't be easy. We have to earn our wins and we didn't do that last week."
Gloucester have made two changes of personnel for the clash, with Luke Narraway and Olly Morgan returning to the starting XV.
Benched
Narraway's recall means Alasdair Strokosch shifts to the blindside flank.
Leicester's injury problems show no sign of abating, with Andy Forsyth, Geoff Parling and Julian Salvi all forced out of the trip to Gloucester.
As a result, Billy Twelvetrees, George Skivington and Ben Woods come into the starting XV alongside Martin Castrogiovanni, who replaces the benched Dan Cole.
And after a disappointing start to the campaign, Cockerill knows his team need to continue their recent good form.
"This is a big month of fixtures with Gloucester and Northampton, and then the European double-header with Clermont Auvergne," he said.
"Gloucester have a good forward pack and a dangerous set of backs, and Kingsholm is always a tough place to go.
"But we put in a good all-round performance against Ulster last weekend, our defence was good throughout and we got the basics of the game right and came through in the end. Our recent form has been pretty good and we obviously want that to continue."
Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Luke Narraway (capt), 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Will James, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Peter Buxton, 20 Brett Deacon, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Tim Taylor, 23 Jonny May
Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (c), 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Ben Woods, 6 Tom Croft, 5 George Skivington, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Ed Slater, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Scott Hamilton.