Gloucester make five changes to their starting line-up, three in the backs and two in the forwards, for Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership fixture at home to Harlequins (kick off 3pm).

In the back line, Tom Hudson, Mark Atkinson and Ben Vellacott will all make their first starts of the season with Jason Woodward, Billy Twelvetrees and Callum Braley named among the replacements.

In the pack, James Hanson comes in for Franco Marais at hooker while Ben Morgan is named at number eight with Ruan Ackermann having failed to recover from the knock he picked up at Saracens last Sunday.

Both teams will be looking to get back to winning ways having lost last weekend. Quins have won just one of their four fixtures to date, and while Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann has some sympathy for Quins’ new head of rugby Paul Gustard he is also wary of the threat they pose.

"It’s always difficult when you come in late as a coach or a director of rugby and to get your philosophy and style over, especially when the competition starts and you feel the pressure of performing on top of you,” said Ackermann.

"But it also makes them a dangerous side because they’re going to be a desperate side who want to come and pick up points. They also haven’t lost any game by a massive margin, so they’ve always been in the game in the first four rounds and one or two moments have cost them.

"They still have quality players so we can’t read too much into their form. We have to look at ourselves, we weren’t good enough last Sunday and have to rectify that."

Meanwhile co-captain James Horwill and Mike Brown are back for Harlequins. Second row Horwill, who shares the captaincy with Chris Robshaw, makes his first start for the team since April while Brown, who played on the wing in the first match of the season, is at full-back having recovered from a wrist injury.

Elswehere Tim Visser makes his first start of the season on the left wing and Renaldo Bothma starts at No 6.

Paul Gustard said: “We are delighted to welcome back James and Mike back into the match-day squad following differing time periods where they have not been considered for selection due to injury.

“I am also delighted to see Lewis Boyce return to the squad following his lay-off and we are also pleased to welcome Semi Kunatani into the match 23 as a game changer as he continues to develop and adjust to the demands of Premiership rugby. We haven’t played to our potential in any of our games to date but we have got something out of every match we have played and I have already seen lots of improvements in the squad which encourages me and the coaching staff.

“We are a couple of per cent off here or there which can sometimes feel like a million miles off but after forensically reviewing our performances we can see the growth we are beginning to make. With the ongoing evolution of our playing style and developing mindset we feel that our best 80 minutes is around the corner.

“The spirit in the camp is very good and we now look forward to taking on Gloucester who have invested heavily in a strong playing group and will pose a formidable challenge on Saturday. I know from plenty of personal experience that playing at Kingsholm is a fantastic ground and it is a great place to get a win.”

Gloucester: 15. Tom Hudson; 14. Charlie Sharples, 13. Henry Trinder, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Matt Banahan; 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Ben Vellacott; 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. James Hanson, 3. Fraser Balmain; 4. Ed Slater (capt), 5. Gerbrandt Grobler; 6. Jake Polledri, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Ben Morgan. Replacements: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Alex Seville, 18. Ciaran Knight, 19. Freddie Clarke, 20. Gareth Evans, 21. Callum Braley, 22. Billy Twelvetrees, 23. Jason Woodward. Unavailable for selection: Ruan Ackermann, Gareth Denman, Ruan Dreyer, Willi Heinz, Jaco Kriel, Tom Marshall, Paddy McAllister, Henry Purdy, Val Rapava Ruskin, Tom Savage, Ollie Thorley.
Harlequins: 15. Mike Brown; 14. Nathan Earle, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Ben Tapuai, 11. Tim Visser; 10. James Lang, 9. Danny Care; 1. Joe Marler, 2. Max Crumpton, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Matt Symons, 5. James Horwill, 6. Renaldo Bothma, 7. Chris Robshaw, 8. James Chisholm. Replacements: 16. Dave Ward, 17. Lewis Boyce, 18. Will Collier,
19. Stan South, 20. Semi Kunatani, 21. Charlie Mulchrone, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Aaron Morris.