Gloucester to make Paul pay for 'Munster mare'

If the art of selection is central to success in knock-out rugby, the coaches involved in this weekend's Powergen Cup quarter-finals can be forgiven for feeling just a little tetchy.

Should Nigel Melville of Gloucester continue to back the much-maligned Henry Paul following the shambles in Munster last weekend? Can Mark Evans of Harlequins possibly challenge Leicester when his dressing-room resembles an orthopaedic ward? Has Wayne Shelford of Saracens named a bona fide team, or is he attempting another con-trick?

First things first. Melville has included Paul, the errant rugby leaguer whose frailties at full-back were so ruthlessly exposed by Ronan O'Gara at Thomond Park seven days ago, in a 23-man squad for this afternoon's tie with Saracens at Kingsholm. There again, he has named the world and his wife alongside him. The word is that Thinus Delport, a fully-fledged Springbok rather than a half-baked cross-coder, will start ahead of Paul. If that is so, the latter may not be long for the union game.

As all good captains should, Phil Vickery flatly refused to point a public finger at those most implicated in the "Munster mare", as the 33-6 Heineken Cup defeat is now known in the Cotswolds. "We have all been hurting this week," Gloucester's international tight-head prop said, "so I am disappointed that some reports singled out individuals. It is not fair. The team didn't perform, and didn't help certain players through their problems. If we had performed as a team, the pressure on those people would not have been so great."

All the same, Melville has some big issues to address. It is inconceivable that Gloucester, top of the Premiership by a distance but facing an awkward away match against today's opponents next Sunday, feel as good about themselves now as they did this time last week. They are feeling the absence of Trevor Woodman and Marcel Garvey, they appear short of ideas in midfield and they are weighed down by the poor form of Paul, one of their highest-paid players. This cup tie is a significant test of character.

Given Saracens' recent record of naming bogus line-ups, Gloucester cannot be entirely sure of who they are likely to face. According to Shelford, Thomas Castaignède and Andy Goode are injured, and Richard Hill, perhaps the most complete loose forward in the sport, is being rested on the grounds that Saracens will have to do without him during the forthcoming Six Nations and might as well bite the bullet now. If Sarries are telling it straight – a big "if", admittedly – Niki Little will play at outside-half for the first time since breaking an arm on Test duty with Fiji in November, with Robbie Russell making a first appearance of the season at hooker.

Not for the first time in recent seasons, the Stoop Memorial Ground will resemble a sardine tin for a tie between Harlequins and Leicester. The Londoners have beaten the four-time English champions in each of the last two domestic cup competitions, but their prospects of completing a hugely satisfying hat-trick are undermined by injuries to four quality forwards – Keith Wood, Laurent Gomez, Roy Winters and Pat Sanderson – plus Nick Duncombe, their first-choice scrum-half, and Chris Bell, their exciting midfield prospect.

Northampton are in far better physical shape for their visit to Bath: Andrew Blowers and Budge Pountney, as combative a pair of flankers as any in these islands, are both fit after injury and will play. Bath, on the other hand, are denied the services of Iain Balshaw and, despite home advantage, must be ranked distant second favourites in a two-horse race.