Bath hooker Rob Hawkins is standing by to make his first Guinness Premiership start since the 2006-07 season at Kingsholm on Saturday.

Hawkins, whose two starts so far this term have both come in the EDF Energy Cup, will be called into the side if Pieter Dixon fails to recover from a knee injury.

The 25-year-old from Taunton has made just three Premiership starts in his career, but has earned a reputation as a fine understudy for Lee Mears and Dixon through his contributions from the bench.

And head coach Steve Meehan would have no concerns about handing the No 2 jersey to Hawkins at Gloucester this weekend.

"Dixy took a bit of a bang to his knee, so we have to wait and see what's happening there," said Meehan.

"Mears and Dixon have played very well for the past couple of seasons, so as a result Rob has had certain areas of his game he has had to work hard on.

"And I think this year, more so than any other year, he has done that and has received quite a lot of praise from the players around him whenever he has played.

"The coaching staff and the players' confidence in him is growing and growing, so it's a good position for him to be in."

Bath are still waiting to discover whether or not they will be able to select captain Michael Lipman, who has not played since January 25 following concussion. The 29-year-old England flanker was due to be assessed by a neurosurgeon last night.

"Michael seems fine. He's his jovial self, but until he goes through all the protocol he can't take any contact at training," said Meehan. "But he's in good spirits and doing all the training he's allowed to do.

"He's allowed to do skills sessions and any unopposed, or even semi-opposed, team run. I wouldn't put him up against somebody to make a full-on tackle at this stage, though.

"We just have to be patient and make sure we do the right thing."