SECOND row Ed Slater will start against his former club on Saturday as Gloucester make half a dozen changes to their starting line-up for the Aviva Premiership fixture at Leicester Tigers.

After two replacement appearances, Slater will make his first Premiership start for the Cherry and Whites as Gloucester look to bounce back after defeat at Harlequins last weekend.

Slater's inclusion is one of six changes to the Gloucester starting line-up from the one named for the game at the Stoop.

Four of the changes are up front, where Motu Matu'u and John Afoa come into the front row, Slater partners Jeremy Thrush in the second row and Jacob Rowan is back at openside flanker.

In the backs, Billy Twelvetrees will also start against his former club as he returns to the Gloucester midfield, while Charlie Sharples makes his first start of the season in his usual right wing berth.

Head coach Johan Ackermann told the media this week that the game against Quins had been a frustrating experience for everyone concerned but that Gloucester have prepared well for Leicester this weekend.

"We were all a bit frustrated by what happened last Saturday. In reality, we let ourselves down by making simple errors. You only get limited opportunities and I think we let that one slip.

"We played a side that was desperate, had a slight lack of confidence after round one and we made it quite easy with the amount of errors we made as well as the penalties.

"But we looked at it on Monday and we've put it behind us. The good thing about rugby is that you get a chance to rectify it seven days later. It's obviously going to be a massive challenge again but the week has gone well.

"We had to look at why we didn't pitch up with the same intensity, energy and mindset.

"We've challenged the players on that while, on the field, we've had a good few days working on fixing the errors and, hopefully on Saturday, it'll be a much better performance.”

Gloucester Rugby: 15. Jason Woodward; 14. Charlie Sharples, 13. Matt Scott, 12. Billy Twelvetrees, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Billy Burns, 9. Willi Heinz; 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. Motu Matu'u, 3. John Afoa; 4. Ed Slater, 5. Jeremy Thrush; 6. Lewis Ludlow, 7. Jacob Rowan, 8. Ruan Ackermann

Replacements: 16. Richard Hibbard, 17. Val Rapava Ruskin, 18. Gareth Denman, 19. Tom Savage, 20. Freddie Clarke, 21. Ben Vellacott, 22. Henry Trinder, 23. Henry Purdy

Unavailable for selection: Mark Atkinson, Fraser Balmain, Callum Braley, Mariano Galarza, Tom Marshall, Paddy McAllister, Ben Morgan, Ross Moriarty, Andy Symons, Owen Williams