Gloucester are unlikely to face disciplinary action despite making 12 changes from last Saturday for their Heineken Cup group match against Munster at Thomond Park and leaving the England squad players Billy Twelvetrees, Henry Trinder and Matt Kvesic out of their match-day squad.
Gloucester's two previous visits to Munster in the Heineken Cup have ended in heavy defeats, the first of 10 years ago which cost them a place in the quarter-finals. They started the tournament with a late victory over Perpignan, who themselves have made 10 changes for their home match with Edinburgh.
European Rugby Cup Ltd regulations state that teams are expected to pick their strongest available side for each match. In the past, French clubs had to explain team selections, particularly in the final round of group matches when, with no hope of making the last eight, they have fielded virtual reserve teams.
The relevant regulation has a caveat, saying that subject to player rotation within the tournament squad, the reasonable and customary need to rest players, injuries and international call-ups, each club must field its strongest possible team for each match in which it competes and its representatives must refrain from making any public comments that suggest, or state, that the club's strongest possible team was not fielded for any given match.
Team selections form part of ERC's review of each round. Gloucester's director of rugby, Nigel Davies, said before the start of the tournament that he intended to rotate his squad for the first two matches and, while Twelvetrees, Kvesic, Trinder, Jimmy Cowan and James Simpson-Daniel have been left out of the match-day 23 ahead of Friday night's Premiership match at Bath, the starting line-up contains six full internationals, including the England No8 Ben Morgan.
"When the draw was made, this match stood out," said Davies. "There's a rich history between the two sides. It's a huge challenge. They're coming off the back of, what would be for them, a bad loss and I'm sure they're going to come out all guns blazing. We got a feel for the place when we played a pre-season game there and the pressure is pretty much on them to get a result."
