SCOTLAND wing Duhan van der Merwe will return from international duty for Warriors in Friday’s Gallagher Premiership match against Bristol Bears at Sixways.
Van der Merwe has started for Scotland in their first two Guinness Six Nations matches against England and Wales and returns to club duty as one of four changes to the side that faced Sale Sharks last Saturday.
The entire back-row has been changed as Sam Lewis (dead leg), Kyle Hatherell (shoulder) and Tom Dodd (knee) were injured at Sale.
Captain Ted Hill also finished the Sale match with a sore back and he misses out against Bristol.
Joe Batley, Matt Kvesic and Sione Vailanu form a new back-row combination with Wales international centre Ashley Beck captaining the side.
Loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, who was scheduled to be available for this match, misses out as he suffered rib and shoulder injuries playing for Scotland against Wales in Cardiff last Saturday.
Ethan Waller returns to the squad as replacement loosehead prop having recovered from injury.
Tomorrow’s (Friday) kick off time has been pushed back to 8.15pm in a bid to reduce travel issues for supporters as Storm Eunice sweeps over the country.
Strong winds are expected on Friday morning and early afternoon but the latest weather forecasts suggest they will abate by late afternoon. The stadium will now be open to supporters at 6.15pm.
Friday’s match will be preceded by a minute’s applause as a tribute to Evesham wing Jack Jeffery who died from injuries he sustained scoring a try against Berkswell & Balsall last weekend.
Warriors | 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Ashley Beck (C), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Gareth Simpson, 1 Murray McCallum, 2 Niall Annett, 3 Christian Judge, 4 Matt Garvey, 5 Graham Kitchener, 6 Joe Batley, 7 Matt Kvesic, 8 Sione Vailanu.
Replacements | 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Jay Tyack, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Justin Clegg, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Seb Atkinson.