Francois Hougaard will make his long-awaited return from injury on Saturday as Warriors travel to BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park to take on Cardiff Blues in the Anglo-Welsh Cup (kick-off 3pm).
The scrum-half, who was part of South Africa’s Sevens side at last summer’s Rio Olympics and represented his country in last year’s Rugby Championship, will feature in a Warriors shirt for the first time since last April.
Meanwhile, December signing Chris Vui will start in the back row alongside Sam Lewis and the fit-again Dewald Potgieter, who captains the side at number eight.
Ryan Mills makes his 50th Warriors appearance at fly-half, with Jackson Willison and Wynand Olivier forming the centre partnership.
Dean Hammond is back on the wing following his hat-trick against Enisei-STM last month, with Bryce Heem on the opposite side and Josh Adams starting at full-back as he prepares for his first appearance since the New Year’s Day win over Harlequins.
In the pack, Val Rapava Ruskin, Jack Singleton and Nick Schonert occupy the front row, while Will Spencer and Darren Barry team up in the second row.
Among the replacements is Scotland international Tom Heathcote, who could make his first showing since picking up an injury at Wasps in November.
Perry Humphreys and Alafoti Faosiliva are also named on the bench as Warriors look to reproduce the same result as the last time they visited Cardiff – when they enjoyed a 21-16 win in the same competition in 2013.
Warriors
15 Josh Adams
14 Bryce Heem
13 Wynand Olivier
12 Jackson Willison
11 Dean Hammond
10 Ryan Mills
9 Francois Hougaard
1 Val Rapava Ruskin
2 Jack Singleton
3 Nick Schonert
4 Darren Barry
5 Will Spencer
6 Chris Vui
7 Sam Lewis
8 Dewald Potgieter (C)
Replacements
16 Jaba Bregvadze
17 Ryan Bower
18 Biyi Alo
19 Andrew Kitchener
20 Alafoti Faosiliva
21 Luke Baldwin
22 Tom Heathcote
23 Perry Humphreys