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Ellis Genge to go head-to-head with England teammate in Bristol return
By Josh Raisey
England loosehead prop Ellis Genge will make his first appearance since the World Cup bronze final when he runs out for Bristol Bears tomorrow night in a West Country derby against Bath at the Rec.
The 28-year-old has been rested since the World Cup, but comes straight back into the starting XV to try and arrest a three-match losing streak. He will go head-to-head with Bath tighthead Will Stuart, who helped form England's starting front row against Argentina the last time Genge played.
The loosehead's England front row partner, tighthead Kyle Sinckler, will start on the bench having made his return to action last week.
Elsewhere in the squad, lock Ed Holmes will make his 100th appearance for the Bears.
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam, said: “We know what this fixture means to the people of Bristol, so we’re excited to represent them in what is always an entertaining West Country derby.
“Bath have had a great start to the season, and we know the challenge we will face on Friday night at The Rec. Our success there in recent seasons has been built on mindset and teamwork which is what we need to bring.”
Bath XV: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer ©, 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Jaco Coetzee
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 GJ van Velze, 20 Alfie Barbeary, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Max Ojomoh
Bristol Bears XV: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Piers O’Conor, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall (c); 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 3 Max Lahiff, 4 Ed Holmes, 5 Joe Batley, 6 James Dun, 7 Harry Thacker, 8 Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 James Williams, 23 Max Malins.
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Latest Comments
I think it's the least likely possibility Ed.
Go to commentsScotland should win this one, considering they are the settled team compared to Australia. However, that is no guarantee that they will win. The Aussies tails is up, and they are throwing everything at the opposition.
When the Aussie fans cracked up and got angry when Joe Schmidt was appointed, I said to them to be patient, that he will get them on the right track. They said that he is not Australian and he won nothing. Second best. I should mind my own business because I don't know the Aussie ways, which is true as I'm SA.
However, now that he is bringing in results, they are all changing their minds. Joe is all in when he coaches a team. There is no team he supports more than the team he coaches. His quality is shining through properly now.
It's going to be a very tight game, much tighter than people realise. Both teams is playing exciting rugby right now. They both want to win. I'd even go as far as marking this game as the top game of the weekend.
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