London Welsh make four changes for the Championship play-off final first leg, as Seb Stegmann moves to full-back, with Alan Awcock on the bench, and Rhys Crane is on the wing.
Chris Cook replaces injured scrum-half Tyson Keats and forward Daniel Browne returns to action.
Bristol are without Ross Rennie (knee) so Nick Koster comes into the pack and Marco Mama moves to openside flanker.
Luke Baldwin, Ross Johnston and Jason Hobson also start.
Wales international Ryan Jones will continue with the captain’s armband, which he was given at half-time in Bristol’s semi-final second-leg victory over Rotherham.
London Welsh are looking for an instant return to the Premiership following relegation last season.
They finished second in the Championship table this term, eight points behind Bristol, and overcame Leeds Carnegie in a
dramatic semi-final second leg
to win 60-58 on aggregate.
“This is what we set out to do back in July – reach the Championship final,” head coach Justin Burnell told BBC Radio Oxford.
“It’s the final. It’s the first part, it’s at home, we’ve dug in and here we are, two games away from being part of the best club competitions in world rugby.”
Burnell also paid tribute to his players for their effort in making the final ahead of the first leg.
“It’s all about the players – the preparation has been good, it’s in their hands,” he said.
“This group are resilient, hard-working, they make mistakes but bounce back and collectively they are an awesome bunch. I’ve got the utmost confidence in them.”
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Accuracy key for Bristol – Robinson
Bristol dropped out of the Premiership at the end of the 2008-09 season and this is only the second time the West Country club have reached the Championship final since then.
However, they ended the regular season 13 games unbeaten – equalling a club record – and proved their worth after
coming from behind to beat Rotherham
and progress 39-25 on aggregate.
“London Welsh are a big, physical side,” Bristol director of rugby Andy Robinson told BBC Points West. “They showed real desire to stay in the game against Leeds.
“But we have confidence in the way we’re trying to play the game.
“Both sides are capable of playing in the Premiership. We’ve stated that as our desire at the beginning of the season.
“The group of players have worked very hard to get us into the position we’re in and now it’s about executing it in the two games.”
Bristol welcome London Welsh to the Memorial Stadium for the second leg on Wednesday, 4 June.
Wednesday’s line-ups
London Welsh:
Stegmann; Crane, May (capt), Jewell, Scott; Ross, Cook; Trevett, Morris, Edwards, Spencer, Corker, Browne, Kirwan, Browne.
Replacements:
Vella, Bristow, Tideswell, West, Thorpe, Lewis, Awcock.
Bristol:
Wallace; Watkins, Tovey, Mosses, Short; Robinson, Baldwin; Traynor, Johnston, Hobson, Glynn, Townson, Koster, Mama, Jones (capt).
Replacements:
Lawrence, Hall, Eadie, Skirving, Tipuna, Jarvis, Hughes.
Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-springboks-continue-wales-domination-cardiff-win-200500548--spt.html
Championship play-off final first-leg: London Welsh v Bristol
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