Rhys Oakley makes his first senior start

Rhys Oakley
By Duncan Wood
October 18 2002

More injuries mean another reshuffle for Peter Thorburn. Rhys Oakley is promoted from the bench and gets his first senior start against Montferrand. What a stage - the Heineken Cup in front of the BBC cameras!

Rhys, who is familiar to those who follow the U21s and the United, only made his senior debut as a replacement in the final leage game last season at Saracens. Now he has the opportunity to shine on the big stage.

He becomes the 4th Bristol player to wear the number eight short this season after Ross Beattie, Matt Salter and Ben Sturnham. No-one would have predicted that this would be the case after only 7 games.

Sturnham has picked up a knee injury and faces a few weeks on the sidelines which is a massive blow given that Ross Beattie has only returned to light training.

The pack is otherwise unchanged from that which started against Leinster with Garath Archer and Alex Brown both overcoming injuries to take their places.

Similarly the backs are unchanged with Shane Drahm continuing at full back in the absence of Lee Best. Bristol delay naming their replacements although I'm sure that the names of Sheridan, Carrington, Higgins and Richards are sure to feature.

The Bristol and Montferrand teams are as follows: