Danny Cipriani is back for Gloucester for their huge Heineken Champions Cup clash against Munster at Kingsholm tomorrow (kick-off 7:45pm).

The fly-half has been out for a month with a chest injury since then Gloucester have spluttered in the Gallagher Premiership but the 31-year-old starts for the biggest of tests against the Irish province.

Cipriani is just one of a number of players Gloucester are able to welcome back from injury.

Ex-Cheltenham College pupil Ollie Thorley returns on the left wing, while Franco Marais, sidelined since the previous meeting between these two sides, is named among the replacements.

Other changes from the side that lost at Welford Road against Leicester Tigers five days ago see Henry Walker come in at hooker, Franco Mostert move to the blindside flank from the second row with Ed Slater taking Mostert’s place in the engine room and Lewis Ludlow back at openside flanker.

Pool 2 is the tightest of all the groups, with all the teams within four points of each other. The Cherry and Whites have lost their last two Premiership games, but head coach Johan Ackermann insists it’s about looking forward and not back.

“Having those losses were disappointing and not good for us,” he admitted. “But my message to the players was that history can’t be changed and we can only control what’s in front of us.

“We’ve learned lessons from the past two weeks and implemented them into our training to try and get better. But we’ve not been sulking about it. Friday’s challenge is massive and, if you go into it with a negative mindset, it’s not going to help.

“We’re looking forward to a big challenge against a quality side and, after this weekend, we’ll know where we are in the pool. But we can’t worry about that, we just have to put in a big performance and let the result look after itself.”

Gloucester: 15. Tom Hudson; 14. Charlie Sharples, 13. Billy Twelvetrees, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Callum Braley; 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. Henry Walker, 3. Fraser Balmain; 4. Ed Slater, 5. Gerbrandt Grobler; 6. Franco Mostert, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Ben Morgan (captain). Replacements: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Alex Seville, 18. Ciaran Knight, 19. Freddie Clarke, 20. Gareth Evans, 21. Ben Vellacott, 22. Owen Williams, 23. Henry Trinder. Unavailable for selection:
Ruan Ackermann, Gareth Denman, Ruan Dreyer, Todd Gleave, James Hanson, Willi Heinz, Jaco Kriel, Tom Marshall, Jake Polledri, Henry Purdy, Val Rapava Ruskin, Will Safe, Tom Savage, Jaco Visagie, Jason Woodward