Lewis, who joined this summer from Welsh Premiership outfit Ebbw Vale will wear the number 10 jersey, whilst Phillips faces his former club in the second row alongside Elliott Stooke.

Darren Allinson will link up with Lewis in the half-back combination, after re-joining the Club on a permanent contract from London Irish.

Matt Banahan starts his 11^th season in the first team on the left wing, with Jack Wilson on the opposite flank and Tom Homer at fullback.

Rory Jennings and Max Clark form a youthful partnership in the centre in the first of three pre-season games before the Aviva Premiership season gets underway next month.

Matt Garvey captains the side at blindside flanker, with World U20 finallists Josh Bayliss and Zach Mercer at number seven and eight respectively.

Nick Auterac and Jack Walker will make their long-awaited returns to first team action, with Shaun Knight completing the front row trio.

Amongst the replacements, Wil Partington could make his first team bow after signing a long-term Academy contract in June.

Phillips said: “It will be a massive game for me playing against my old club, who are close to my heart. Playing for Bath now, I want to lay down a marker and show Todd, the rest of the coaches and the players what I’m about.

“For Bristol, they’ll want to prove to Pat Lam what they’re about, so I think it’s going to be a tough game. Watching where Pat Lam has coached before, his teams like to play with a lot of width. Bristol pride themselves on having a big, strong forward pack. In the scrums and mauls, we’ll have to be right on the money.”

Bath Rugby team to face Bristol Rugby:

15. Tom Homer

14. Jack Wilson

13. Max Clark

12. Rory Jennings

11. Matt Banahan

10. Josh Lewis

9. Darren Allinson

1. Nick Auterac

2. Jack Walker

3. Shaun Knight

4. Elliott Stooke

5. James Phillips

6. Matt Garvey (capt)

7. Josh Bayliss

8. Zach Mercer

Replacements:

16. Nathan Charles (guest player)

17. Beno Obano

18. Kane Palma-Newport

19. Luke Charteris

20. Guy Mercer

21. Chris Cook

22. Will Homer

23. Rhys Priestland

24. Harry Davies

25. Wil Partington

26. Darren Atkins

27. Ben Tapuai

28. Levi Davis (guest player)

Lewis and Phillips to make Bath Rugby debuts against Bristol

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