For the Chiefs’ Gallagher Premiership Round Ten journey to Ashton Gate to play the Bristol Bears on Friday,
December 29, Rob Baxter has made eight changes to his starting lineup.
Nika Abuladze will start in the front row with Dan Frost and Josh Iosefa-Scott, beneath the Friday night floodlights.
Dafydd Jenkins, the captain for the evening, and Rusi Tuima are back in the starting lineup in the second row.
Youngster Ross Vintcent is brought into the starting XV as Jacques Vermeulen shifts to the bench to make room for
the substitution, while Ethan Roots and Greg Fisilau stay in the back row.
Harvey Skinner and Stu Towsend start as fly half and scrum half, respectively. For the second week running, Ollie
Devoto and Henry Slade are starting together in the center pairing.
After that, there is some moving about in the back three as Ben Hammersley takes over at fullback and Immanuel
Feyi-Waboso and Olly Woodburn come back to the starting lineup as wings.
Director of Rugby Rob Baxter is hoping that his team will maintain the upbeat and diligent mindset they have shown
in previous games when they visit Ashton Gate to play the Bears in front of a sizable crowd in what will be their final
meeting of 2023 for both clubs.
We’re eagerly anticipating it. The days and weeks fly by when you’re in good shape, so we’re prepared to get started.
Hopefully, we can keep up our previous success and advance to play well in
“They should be getting ready to perform for a large audience at home. We’re hoping that will bring out the best in us
to compete, and that the fans will energize us as well.
“Things are going well here. We’re performing fairly well; the boys are showing up every week, and I can’t ask for
much more from them. We’re not really sure about the conditions for tomorrow, but we’ll go up there and go on
nonetheless. We’ll try our hardest and concentrate only on ourselves to see what opportunities present themselves.
The bench’s replacement front row, which includes props Alec Hepburn and Marcus Street in addition to hooker
Max Norey, combines youth and experience.
Vermeulen is joined by Lewis Pearson as the second and rear row cover options.
Tom Cairns, Joe Hawkins, and Zack Wimbush, who made his Premiership debut in last weekend’s thrilling triumph
over the Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park, cover the backline.
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