Welshman Ben Phillips, who joined Gloucester earlier in the season, has been made available to the Bees by the Kingsholm Coaching staff on a loan basis until the end of the season.

Another Sharmans Cross Road favourite Rob Connolly also returns to the Club, following a spell with Lansdowne Football Club in his native Ireland.

“We’ve got a real fight on our hands to stay in the Championship this year and it is a massive boost for the whole squad to see the return of two seasoned campaigners like Bumps and Rob” said Bees Director of Rugby Russell Earnshaw.

Both players will be available for selection for this weekend’s fixture against Cornish Pirates and, according to Earnshaw, are the first in a series of player announcements that will made by the Club this week.

“Friday sees the closing of the January transfer window - with a fixture backlog and the all important Championship relegation playoffs looming, we need to further bolster our squad in a number of key areas.”

One Russell Earnshaw’s new signings – David Orme - makes his debut for the Bees against the Pirates on Sunday. Formerly on the playing staff at Exeter player, the British born loose head prop has been playing Penoke in Wellington, New Zealand.

The side to face the Pirates on Sunday is:-  1 David Orme, 2 Stuart Philpott, 3 Ricky Davies, 4 Ross Noonan, 5 Stuart Ault, 6 Rob Connolly,7 Jack Preece, 8 Adam Clayton, 9 Jimmy Williams, 10 Ben Patston, 11 Mitch Culpin, 12 Cameron Mitchell, 13 Will Lawson, 14 Simon Hunt and 15 Mike Penn. The bench is to be finalized.