Ben Morgan will make his 100th competitive appearance for Gloucester as they welcome Pau to Kingsholm on Friday evening in the Challenge Cup.
Morgan is one of 11 changes to the starting line-up, with only Jeremy Thrush, Ross Moriarty, Henry Purdy and Jason Woodward retaining their places from the 45-24 victory over Agen – a result which secured their qualification for the quarter-finals.
Pau have also reached the knock-out stages and sit top of the pool, but the winner of the group will secure a home quarter-final so there is plenty to play for.
The changes reflect the strength in depth in the Gloucester squad at the moment and the subsequent competition for places with all the replacements having started against Agen, a fact not lost upon assistant coach Jonny Bell when he addressed the media this week.
"Selection has been difficult,” Bell said. “We've got a wealth of options in the back-row, the midfield is exceptionally hard to choose as we've got such talented players. Across the board we've got a bit of strength in depth now which is really important.
"But Johan always stresses that, when he picks a team, he picks the team that he feels suits the way that we want to approach this game and the plan that we've put in place. That's tough on some guys when they don't get picked but that's what you need to be successful."
And the task in hand this weekend is Pau, who have every bit as much incentive to win as Gloucester.
"Pau are coming here unbeaten in the tournament this year, which is a big factor for them,” Bell added. “They know that if they do the business against us, they top the pool and get a home quarter-final.
"We know that if we win and we deny them any points, ultimately we get that home quarter-final and that's what we're after. I'd rather them be coming to us in this situation rather than having to go to Pau, but it's going to be a tough match, one we're looking forward to and the boys are excited about it.
"We have a good recent history in this competition and it's one we like to get our teeth into and be successful in. It's important to try and get a home quarter-final as there are a lot of good teams in this competition and travelling away gives your opponent a significant foot up.
"They're a good side, they've got some quality players and we know they can play. They're pretty balanced as a side – strong up front but with some good backs. We're not taking them lightly at all, we know we'll have to be at our best to beat them."
Meanwhile, Pau have made nine alterations, which includes one positional change, for their encounter at Kingsholm.
They have named a strong line-up with Charly Malie, Conrad Smith, Colin Slade and Thibault Daubagna replacing Mathias Colombet, Florian Nicot, Brandon Fajardo and Clovis Lebail in the backs.
Thomas Domingo is the only newcomer in the front-row from the team that defeated Zebre in round five, but Daniel Ramsay joins Fabrice Metz in the engine room after switching from blindside to lock.
That means a new back-row as Ben Mowen, Sean Dougall and Steffon Armitage complete the first XV.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Henry Purdy, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Andy Symons, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Jake Polledri, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Owen Williams
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Malik Hamadache, 19 Masalosalo Tutaia, 20 Peter Saili, 21 Clovis Lebail, 22 Antoine Hastoy, 23 Florian Nicot
Date: Friday, January 19
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
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