Former England international to captain much-changed Crusaders against Bristol Bears
Crusaders and former England scrum-half Willi Heinz.
Bristol Bears and the Crusaders have announced their matchday squads for the Super Rugby Pacific side’s pre-season encounter at Ashton Gate on Friday evening.
This is the New Zealand outfit’s last match of their northern hemisphere tour, which should be an entertaining spectacle in front of more than 20,000 spectators.
First start of the season for powerhouse wing
For the home side, Siva Naulago will make his first start of the season. The powerhouse wing, who made his first appearance of the season off the bench against Bath last time out, is the only backline change from that emphatic derby victory.
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam has named an extended 26-man matchday squad for the blockbuster clash against the New Zealand-based Super Rugby Pacific outfit, featuring 20-year-old academy duo Sam Worsley and Paddy Pearce among the replacements.
Sam Grahamslaw starts at loosehead prop alongside Fred Davies (hooker) and Kyle Sinckler (tighthead) in the front-row, while Steven Luatua is named in the second-row alongside Joe Batley.
22-year-old Joe Owen packs down on the blindside flank, joining skipper Fitz Harding and number eight Magnus Bradbury in the back-row.
Meanwhile, former England and Gloucester scrum-half Willi Heinz will captain the Crusaders in this fixture.
Crusaders boss Rob Penney and his coaching group are taking the usual opportunities of a pre-season encounter and have made 10 changes to their starting line-up after last weekend’s narrow loss to Munster.
Kershawl Sykes-Martin and Seb Calder join George Bell in the front-row with Quinten Strange (vice-captain), Jamie Hannah, Dominic Gardiner, Corey Kellow and Christian Lio-Willie rounding out the pack.
Heinz forms a half-back partnership with Rivez Reihana while Macca Springer starts on the left wing and Manasa Mataele slots in on the right.
Meanwhile, Ryan Crotty and Jone Rova occupy the midfield positions, mixing fresh talent with a seasoned pro, and Chay Fihaki provides structure at full-back.
A further 10 players are set to make an impact off the bench, including the likes of Ioane Moananu and George Bower, Noah Hotham and Taka Kemara. No shortage of depth.
The teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Siva Naulago, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding, 6 Joe Owen, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Steven Luatua, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Fred Davies, 1 Sam Grahamslaw
Replacements: 16 Tomas Gwilliam, 17 Andrew Turner, 18 Jonny Benz-Salomon, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Paddy Pearce, 21 Dan Thomas, 22 Kieran Marmion, 23 Sam Worsley, 24 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 25 Virimi Vakatawa, 26 Gabriel Ibitoye
Crusaders: 15 Chay Fihaki, 14 Manasa Mataele, 13 Jone Rova, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Macca Springer, 10 Rivez Reihana, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Corey Kellow, 6 Dominic Gardiner, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Seb Calder, 2 George Bell, 1 Kershawl Sykes-Martin
Replacements: 16 Ioane Moananu, 17 George Bower, 18 Ryan Coxon, 19 Antonio Shalfoon, 20 Fletcher Anderson, 21 Noah Hotham, 22 Taha Kemara, 23 Levi Aumua, 24 Taine Robinson, 25 Jack Gray, 26 Gus Brown
Date: Friday, February 9
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 19:30 GMT
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