GLOUCESTER second row Alex Brown remains cautious over the

13 new laws that will be used in the Guinness Premiership for

the first time next weekend.

The Cherry and Whites have played two friendly matches under

these Experimental Law Variations, which are on trial at all

levels throughout the game for 12 months.

Gloucester host Glasgow today at Kingsholm in their final

warm-up game (2.30pm) but the match will not be refereed by a

Premiership official because they are all at a conference.

But Brown and Co are still coming to grips with the 13 new

laws – which include being able to pull down a maul while both

sides can plough as many people into a line-out as they

want.

He said: "The law variations have changed things. We will be

looking to get the best out of them but I think it is going to

be 'suck it and see' with these laws.

"We will have to see how they go in the Premiership. I'm not

really sure how some of them will work.

"The line-out is going to be a bit harder this season. It is

going to be a bit tricky. The emphasis will come more on the

hookers to get the ball at the right height."

Gloucester cannot wait to kick-off the new campaign when

they face Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm a week tomorrow

(4pm).

Head coach Dean Ryan's side, despite finishing top of the

pile after the weekly rounds, were booted out of the

Premiership play-offs by the Midlanders last season.

And Brown believes a good performance – not necessarily a

good result – against Glasgow will get the club in the right

frame of mind for the Leicester clash.

"I'm very excited about the new season. This game is

important for the build up to that. Leicester, obviously, is a

big start for us," he added.

"We need to have a good game against Glasgow to get us in

the right mood for the big home game with Leicester.

"It is the performance we want – the result will take care

of itself hopefully. Hopefully we can build on what we have

done in pre-season so far and integrate some of the new

guys.

"We are looking to get a good start. The key thing is to get

the ball rolling and perform well.

"We haven't set any benchmarks about (winning the first five

matches). It's more about performance and building from there.

I think that's the right way to go about it."

Having spoken to several of his former Bristol team-mates,

who beat Glasgow 15-12 last weekend, Brown is expecting a hard

assignment against the Scots.

He added: "Glasgow will be a tough test. Having spoken a few

boys from Bristol, Glasgow are a pretty useful team.

"They also have a lot of threats outwide. They scored two

tries out on the wing against Bristol.

"They like to throw the ball around and I am sure they come

to Kingsholm with nothing to lose.

"It is a good opportunity for us to put a marker down. It's

also a home game for us and we have a proud home record we like

to keep."