Heineken Cup
Gloucester and Blues set for Kingsholm showdown
Scrum.com
January 16, 2009
Iain Balshaw touches down as Gloucester beat Northampton 33-10, November 29, 2008
Iain Balshaw returns to the Gloucester side for the first time since his try-scoring performance against Northampton in November © Getty Images
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Gloucester welcome back Iain Balshaw and James Simpson-Daniel to their squad to face Cardiff Blues in a vital Heineken Cup Pool Six meeting at Kingsholm on Saturday.

Balshaw returns to the wing after being sidelined since November with a groin injury, while Simpson-Daniel makes his return after a lengthy layoff with ankle ligament damage. His last appearance for the side was in their Heineken Cup loss to Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium in October.

Gloucester were dealt a late blow with the news that both Olly Morgan and Mike Tindall will miss the game with a finger injury and dead leg respectively. Morgan's place is taken by Willie Walker while Simpson-Daniel is promoted onto the wing from the bench with Matthew Watkins slotting in at No.13.

"We understand that if we want to continue in Europe then this weekend is absolutely vital," said head coach Dean Ryan. "I think we are a pretty robust outfit and we need to take that into this weekend. We did some pretty smart things in attack against them [Cardiff] earlier in the season but they scored twice far too easily just before half-time - that is something you cannot afford at this level because it is so hard to go back and repair any damage.

"I am confident that if we are slightly more solid our attacking game will offer us opportunities we must try and exploit. Heineken Cup weeks are quite easy - there is no motivation required, there will be a lot of emotion and players respond to that. We are at home and we will be fighting for a result.

"There have obviously been some injuries this week and we have to try and work through that in a positive way."

Martyn Williams will lead Cardiff Blues for their vital trip to Kingsholm. Williams has recovered from a shoulder injury suffered against the Ospreys on New Year's Eve to take his place on the openside, and will skipper the Pool leaders after Paul Tito was ruled out with a knee injury.

Scott Morgan steps into the second-row in his place, while Leigh Halfpenny continues at fullback with Ben Blair still sidelined with a hand injury. Jamie Roberts, recently recovered from a fractured skull sustained while playing for Wales against Australia, slots in at inside-centre with Tom Shanklin moving to No.13 and Jamie Robinson to the bench.

"We are going to Kingsholm to win," said Blues boss David Young. "If we do that, then we have got to feel that we've probably done enough. The pressure is certainly on them (Gloucester), because they've got to win to have any chance of going though.

"People have talked about us going there and trying to get a bonus point, but you can't play for a bonus point. We've got to go and try and win this game, and that is our mindset. It would then just be a case of getting the result against Calvisano. If we can't beat Calvisano at home, we shouldn't be in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup anyway. That is not being disrespectful to them, that is just being truthful."

Gloucester: W Walker, I Balshaw, M Watkins, O Barkley, J Simpson-Daniel, R Lamb, G Cooper, A Dickinson, O Azam, C Nieto, M Bortolami, A Brown, A Strokosch, A Satala, L Narraway [capt].

Replacements: A Titterrell, N Wood, W James, A Eustace, D Lewis, A Allen, M Foster.

Cardiff Blues: Leigh Halfpenny, Gareth Thomas, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Tom James, Nicky Robinson, Jason Spice, Gethin Jenkins, Gareth Williams, Gary Powell, Deiniol Jones, Scott Morgan, Maama Molitika, Martyn Williams (capt), Andy Powell

Replacements: Taufa'ao Filise, Rhys Thomas, Bradley Davies, Xavier Rush, Darren Allinson, Ceri Sweeney, Jamie Robinson

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