STUART McInally will make his first start for Bristol Rugby – as one of seven changes made by Andy Robinson – when they host Cornish Pirates on Sunday (1pm).
The on-loan Edinburgh forward – who arrived at Bristol as a hooker, having switched from the back row last summer – has made two appearances from the bench in recent weeks.
But he will start in a new-look front row, alongside compatriot Kyle Traynor and James Hall, as director of rugby Robinson freshens up his side as they look to make it eight GKIPA Championship wins in a row.
Victory over Cornish Pirates – who have an incredibly poor record at the Memorial Stadium – would take Bristol to the brink of securing a place in the Championship play-offs. As it stands, Robinson’s team need only 13 more points to book their spot – and that number will decrease as other teams drop points.
Bristol won 34-26 at Rotherham last weekend – but out go Jack Wallace, Luke Eves, Charlie Amesbury, Ross Johnston, Gaston Cortes, Glen Townson and Ross Rennie from the side that won with a bonus point at Clifton Lane.
In come Auguy Slowik, Adam Hughes, Andy Short, McInally, Hall, Ben Glynn and Mitch Eadie – with Marco Mama switching to openside flanker from No 8.
Cornish Pirates have beaten Bristol twice in the Championship this season – winning at the neutral venue of Exeter on the opening weekend, before extending Bristol’s Mennaye misery in November.
However, Ian Davies’ side go into Sunday’s fixture 25 points adrift of their opponents in the table.
Bristol team: A Slowik; G Watkins, A Hughes, B Mosses, A Short; N Robinson, L Baldwin; K Traynor, S McInally, J Hall, B Glynn, M Sorenson (capt), N Koster, M Mama, M Eadie. Reps: R Lawrence, G Cortes, G Townson, B Skirving, R Tipuna, A Jarvis, J Tovey.
Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/heineken-cup-2013-14/rugby/story/200461.html
TEAM NEWS: Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates
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