He comes in to partner Mike Tindall in the Gloucester midfield with Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu (knee) and Henry Trinder (jaw) both sidelined.

Other changes to the starting line up that defeated Harlequins at Kingsholm last weekend see Tom Voyce and Dave Lewis replace James Simpson-Daniel and Rory Lawson respectively.

Meanwhile, in the pack, the front five are retained but there is a slight rejig in the back row with Deacon starting at number eight and Matt Cox shifting across to the open side in place of Akapusi Qera who is named amongst the replacements.

Gloucester Rugby:

Jonny May; Charlie Sharples, Mike Tindall (capt), Tim Molenaar, Tom Voyce; Freddie Burns, Dave Lewis; Nick Wood, Darren Dawidiuk, Rupert Harden; Will James, Alex Brown; Tom Savage, Matt Cox, Brett Deacon

Replacements:

Scott Lawson, Dan Murphy, Shaun Knight, Jim Hamilton, Akapusi Qera, Nick Runciman, Ryan Mills, Ollie Phillips