Sam Burgess will start for Bath Rugby for the first time on Friday night when they host Montpellier in the European Champions Cup.

Burgess has come off the bench in Bath’s previous two matches following his cross-code arrival from NRL side South Sydney Rabbitohs in October.

The 25-year-old will play at inside centre at The Rec, while first-team coach Toby Booth confirmed South African international flanker Francois Louw is also set to return to the Bath starting line-up.

“Sam Burgess will get his first start and Francois Louw will also come into the 15 too,” said Booth.

“Sam has progressed well and is improving all the time. He’s put in a hug effort on the training field and we always said we were going to centre his learning what happens at the ruck, and we’re delighted with how he’s come on in that regard.

“There will be more focus on and pressure on him this week but it’s not just about Sam, it’s about what’s best for Bath Rugby.

“It’s important to give him opportunities and get him involved in situations but this also gives us a chance to give people like Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph a bit of a breather because they’ve played a lot of rugby for us this year and been outstanding pretty much all the way though.”

Louw has yet to feature for Bath this term after suffering a neck injury while on Springboks duty during the Rugby Championship.

The 29-year-old required surgery to correct the problem and will make his first Bath appearance since the Amlin Cup final defeat to Northampton Saints at the end of last season.

“Flow has been training for number of weeks and it was just a case of making sure we have everything right with him,” added Booth.

“It was something we didn’t want to rush and it’s about consulting with the right people and making sure the player is confident to play.

“He is itching to get back out there and I’m sure people are itching to see him again too.”