Paul Hull has called for his Bristol Rugby players to pick up where they left off in the Championship when Birmingham & Solihull come to the Memorial Stadium on Sunday.

Bristol claimed three straight bonus-point victories in the league – against Coventry, Plymouth Albion and Nottingham – before breaking for two weeks of British & Irish Cup action.

And head coach Hull, who has recalled his big guns – minus Jason Spice and Darren Crompton – for the visit of the struggling Bees, is eager for his side to hit the ground running.

"We are now back to the competition that we have prioritised – and the aim is to carry on as we were before the cup games," said Hull.

"That is the key for us – to keep building results and performances in the Championship.

"I was asked before the first British & Irish Cup game whether the break came at a bad time for us, but I think it came at a perfect time.

"Some guys really needed a rest because they had been playing in every league game.

"Now they have got their rest – and hopefully we will start again as we finished in the league. We've rested some guys and given game-time to others, so we're in a good position at the moment."

Scrum-half Spice is continuing his rehabilitation from a minor injury, while Crompton has been kept out of the squad by 18-year-old prop Mako Vunipola.

The tighthead earned his first-team debut from the bench in the 18-11 win at Neath, before making his first senior start for Bristol in last week's 18-6 defeat at Munster A. And he is almost certain to make his Championship bow against the Bees this weekend.

"Mako Vunipola and Darren Barry both did well in the British & Irish Cup and they're both in the squad for this weekend," said Hull. "Mako has been injured recently, but we've always known about his massive potential, which is obvious to most people who have seen him play.

"He has worked really hard to get his fitness levels up to speed and we felt he was best off starting from the bench at Neath.

"But he played at Munster last week and did well in the set-piece – and we're looking forward to seeing him involved this weekend.

"We are taking each game in the Championship very seriously – but that does not mean players won't get opportunities if they do well."

Bristol were narrow 40-36 winners at Birmingham & Solihull, but the bottom-of-the-table club have since lost key players Mark Woodrow, Dan Seal, Chris Brightwell, P J Gidlow, Craig Voisey, Reece Spee, Shaun Pammenter, Darren O'Reilly and Tal Selley as a result of the financial issues that saw them docked 15 points.

Luke Arscott, Tom Arscott, Jack Adams, Adrian Jarvis, David Blaney, Roy Winters, James Phillips and Dan Montagu – all of whom sat out both the Neath and Munster A matches – are recalled for Sunday's game.

Bristol Rugby (from): Backs – L Arscott, T Arscott, L Robinson, J Adams, L Eves, J Fatialofa, S Giddens, A Jarvis, C Ashwin, S Alford, R Shaw. Forwards – A Clarke, M Irish, D Blaney, R Johnston, W Thompson, M Vunipola, R Winters, N Budgett, D Barry, J Phillips, I Grieve, R Pennycook, D Montagu.