Bristol Shoguns coach, Peter Thorburn will come face to face with his former coaching colleague, Northampton coach Wayne Smith, when the two sides clash on Wednesday night.

Thorburn, a New Zealander, joined the Shoguns as part of Dean Ryan's team in March and has been working alongside Ryan, backs coach James Grant, fitness coach Mark Bennett and technical advisor and kicking coach Mark Tainton.

The Shoguns guaranteed their place in the Zurich Championship on Sunday and a victory against Saints on Wednesday night and Saracens on Sunday could lift the side into fifth position and a possible place in the Heineken Cup.

Thorburn, a former All Blacks selector, has worked for the New Zealand national side with both Wayne Smith and Laurie Mains. He is looking forward to coming face to face with his friend and former coaching colleague.

The current Shoguns coach worked with Smith on the All Blacks' Sevens team in the early 90s and also at the World Cup in 1999, and is still good friends with the Northampton head coach.

"I'm still in touch with Wayne. He's a great guy, but I'm sure he'll try and be tricky and come up with a few surprises on Wednesday evening."

In the team's last Zurich Premiership outing on Sunday, the Shoguns took the game to current champions, Leicester Tigers. The final winning score of 38-21 put the team in confident mood for the next two games.

Commenting on the three games in one week, Thorburn said: "It's tough for the players, but there are other teams in the same position.

"We're treating the series of fixtures as three one off games. There is no other way to approach it. We don't want to lose sight of the team's current objectives for this season."

Thorburn will also be competing against another former All Black when the Shoguns travel to Saracens on Sunday 12 May. Wayne Shelford, recently announced as the new Saracens coach was coached by Thorburn in the New Zealand National Provincial side, North Harbour between 1985-91.

Bristol coach Dean Ryan has named a squad of 24 for the team's second game in three days. Sunday's 38-21 victory over Leicester Tigers guarantees the Shoguns a quarter-final place in the Zurich Championship.

Ryan welcomes back Andrew Sheridan and Jamie Williams to the squad, who both missed the victory over the Premiership champions on Sunday.

Absentees from the Shoguns squad include Paul Johnstone and Shane Drahm who both picked up medial ligament damage in the West Country derby against Gloucester at the end of April.

Seating and standing tickets are still available and supporters can purchase them from the Shoguns ticket hotline on 0117 311 1461 or from the Shoguns Shop at 2 St Agustine's Place in the city centre.

The match day ticket office at the Memorial Stadium will be open from 5pm on Wednesday evening.

Bristol Shoguns squad to face Northampton Saints at the Memorial Stadium on Wednesday 8 May, kick off 8pm:

Tim Payne, Darren Crompton, Julian White, Saul Nelson, Neil McCarthy, Garath Archer, Alex Brown, Andrew Sheridan, Craig Short, Jim Brownrigg, Ben Sturnham, Chris Morgan, Michael Lipman, Agustin Pichot, Ross Blake, Felipe Contepomi, Matt Carrington, Jason Little, Andrew Higgins, Phil Christophers, David Rees, Brendon Daniel, Lee Best, Jamie Williams