Gareth Delve is ready to unleash six months of frustration on London Irish at Kingsholm today.

The Gloucester No 8 is back in the starting line-up for his side's Guinness Premiership top-of-the-table clash, having undergone major knee surgery last summer.

The 26-year-old Welshman last figured on his country's tour of South Africa in June and is yet to play under the game's Experimental Law Variations.

But Delve is delighted to go straight back into the side for such an important game rather than being introduced from the bench.

"I know it's all going to hit me in that first 10 minutes of the game – it's going to be like a bomb going off in my head," said Delve.

"It's all about finding my way around the field again, because while I have run through the moves in training, it is something quite different to do it when someone is trying to take your head off.

"But I am really looking forward to it and it is great to come straight back into the starting line-up. That means I won't spend any time getting cold or dwelling on things from the bench.

"I know that from minute one I need to have my head switched on and play my part in a big back-row effort. I am glad the decision has been made and I am in the team, because I am ready to go now.

"Being in from the start takes any kind of hesitation out of the equation – and now I want to go out and throw six months of frustration at London Irish."

Victory today will not only end Gloucester's three-match losing streak but also send them above Irish and back to the top of the Premiership table. But the match, which is being played on the Premiership's reserve weekend for teams who have reached the EDF Energy Cup semi-finals, has had something of a low-key build-up.

And Delve believes that is down to Gloucester's poor recent form, with them losing against Newcastle, Cardiff Blues and Biarritz in their last three matches.

"The reason this game hasn't been built up is because we have been pretty poor over the last few weeks," said Delve. "Maybe it has slipped people's minds that we are right up in the mix – but if we win this game we go top of the table.

"The boys have been adamant this week that they want to go out and really turn things around. We want people to see the real us this weekend – and this is the perfect game in which to do that.

"You can't get a bigger game in the league than second-versus-first live on television. This is the perfect time for us to come out and show people what we are about going into the big months of the season."

And while Delve has completed his rehabilitation, built his confidence back up on the training field and learned the calls, there was one remaining area of uncertainty for him this week.

"I was in Tesco on Thursday and realised I needed to buy something for my pre-match meal," he said. "But it has been so long since I last played that I had no idea what to get!"

Delve is not the only player returning to the Gloucester ranks after a lengthy lay-off this afternoon. Prop Greg Somerville returns to the starting line-up six weeks after suffering a detached retina in the 42-12 defeat against Irish at the Madejski Stadium, while flanker Andy Hazell is back on the bench after three months out with a knee injury.

Teenager Henry Trinder replaces the absent England man Mike Tindall at outside centre, while Olly Barkley switches to fly-half. For Irish, England pair Delon Armitage and Nick Kennedy start after being released from the national team's training camp in Portugal.

Gloucester: W Walker; I Balshaw, H Trinder, A Allen, J Simpson-Daniel; O Barkley, R Lawson; A Dickinson, O Azam (capt), G Somerville, A Eustace, A Brown, A Strokosch, A Satala, G Delve. Reps: A Titterrell, N Wood, M Bortolami, A Hazell, D Lewis, R Lamb, M Foster.

London Irish: D Armitage; T Ojo, E Seveali'i, S Mapusua, A Thompstone; P Hewat, P Hodgson; C Dermody, D Paice, T Lea'aetoa, N Kennedy, B Casey (capt), R Thorpe, D Danaher, Chris Hala'ufia. Reps: A Corbisiero, D Coetzee, R Skuse, J Hudson, G Johnson, A Lalanne, M Catt.