Bradford and Bingley are giving debuts to two overseas players in their third-round Powergen Cup tie at Bristol tomorrow.

They are prop Fred Biddlecombe and utility forward Bloues Volschenk.

Tight-head Biddlecombe, 23, has played in the Junior Currie Cup in South Africa for Blue Bulls under-20s and under-21s.

Volschenk, 27, who can play anywhere in the back five of the pack, is a Russian international who has played for the Eagles in the Currie Cup.

The arrival of the duo is good news for Bees head coach Geoff Wappett, who admits that the club have been working on a shoestring this season as far as players are concerned.

He said: "We have four players out - Joey Nau with a broken arm, prop Peter Hall with a broken ankle, Ben Greaves with badly bruised ribs and Jon-Paul Rimmington with a bad abdominal injury.

"And when you have that number of players out the worst thing that could happen tomorrow would be more injuries - that would be catastrophic."

However, former Rotherham player Matt Rhodes is back after recovering from a neck injury and severe headaches, and goes straight in at scrum half.

As for the prospect of facing a club who were in the Zurich Premiership as recently as 2002-03 and are currently second in National League One as they bid to regain their top-flight status, Wappett said: "They are going to be a major handful and they are virtually full-time. We know we are going to have our work cut out tomorrow but we know we are not going to win the Powergen Cup.

"Bristol had a young side last season (when they finished ninth) but this season they have added more experienced players.

"However, it could work to their advantage if they don't field their best side.

"A more experienced player might see tomorrow as a run-of-the-mill fixture, but a younger, hungrier player might well play better.

"I have seen it happen before because the younger player doesn't know when his next chance will come."

National League Three North strugglers the Bees are two divisions below Bristol, and Wappett added: "People have been asking me 'Do we have a chance'? And I have said yes we have a chance because we both have the same number of players."

He said, however, that there is no doubt that the Bees are missing Chris Hala'uifa, their No 8 of the last two seasons, who joined Newbury during the close season.

Wappett said: "Chris is a big loss and he played a very large part in the Bees' success. He is a big hole to fill which we haven't filled yet. We have tried to cope so far with what we have got.

"But I have to say that some people's expectations of how this season will go, bearing in mind what has happened in the past two campaigns when we have been promoted, have been too optimistic."

Bees: J Simpson; R Tafa, P Greaves, S Dixon, M Dracup; T Rhodes, M Rhodes; R Kelly, P Scott, F Biddlecombe, B Clark, R Hughes, K Yates, B Volschenk, I Judson. Replacements: D Allen, S Cummins, L Treco, R Raper, N Tonga, A Bateson, L Makaafa.