Championship Round Weekend Preview
A round-up of all the latest team news ahead of this weekend's action in The Championship.
The weekend's action kicks off under the Friday night lights at Goldington Road and wraps up on Saturday afternoon at The Stade Santander International, with five enticing fixtures, including a potentially decisive title-race showdown between Doncaster Knights and Cornish Pirates at Castle Park. This weekend sees London Scottish given a BYE round, while the remaining sides jostle for position as the culmination of a rollercoaster Championship season comes into view. Here's a look at how the teams line up.
Friday
19:45 | Bedford Blues v Coventry
Bedford Blues welcome Coventry to Goldington Road for their last home league of the season, with the match set to be live-streamed on bedfordrugby.co.uk. Mike Rayer makes four personnel changes and one positional switch for Friday's East Midlands derby. Following Rich Lane's recent loan move to Bristol Bears, Matt Worley moves to full back on his 50th appearance, and Pat Tapley comes in to fill the void at 14. Two further changes in the Blues backline see Jamie Elliot start at outside centre and Connor Tupai given the No. 9 jersey. The only change in the pack sees Alex Woolford return from injury to partner Jordan Onojaife in the second row.
Coventry banked a one-point victory against Bedford Blues when the sides met in December last year and name a largely settled side to the one that posted a bonus-point win against London Scottish two weeks ago. DoR, Rowland Winter, names an unchanged backline but makes a couple of tweaks up front as Adam Peters and James Tyas switch jerseys in the second row, and Tom Ball comes in for Senitiki Nayalo at blindside.
Saturday
14:00 | Ampthill v Ealing Trailfinders
Ampthill face a tough test at home to Ealing Trailfinders, but will take solace from their last encounter at Dillingham Park, when the visitors needed a last-minute penalty to secure a 22-24 win in the 2019 Championship Cup. Paul Turner makes seven changes to the side that started against Hartpury. In the front row, Theo Dan packs down at hooker with a new prop pairing of Jamie Jack and Aleki Lutui. Cai Devine moves into the second row alongside captain Charlie Beckett, while on the flanks, Jac Arthur and Josh Smart are promoted from the bench and start at blindside and openside, respectively. In the back line, a new 9-10 axis sees home debutant Lewis Finlay and Jack Bergin link up in the half backs, Jordan Venter and Charlie Hudson form a new midfield pairing, while Joe Goodchild moves to full back as Josh Skelcey comes in on the left wing.
Ealing Trailfinders, meanwhile, make just one change to the starting XV that dispatched London Scottish 81-0 at The RAG last weekend, as Simon Linsell makes way for the return of the prolific Simon Uzokwe at openside. The Trailfinders currently sit in second place in The Championship - two points behind Doncaster Knights and two points ahead of Cornish Pirates – and will be firmly focused on taking maximum points from their trip to Dillingham Park to remain in the title race.
14:00 | Richmond v Hartpury
Richmond will be looking to avenge their 38-20 defeat to Hartpury in Round 10, and make just two changes to the side that beat Nottingham at Lady Bay on 4 March. In the forwards, Will Carrick Smith returns to the side and packs down in the second row alongside Freddie Hosking, in an otherwise unchanged pack. There is also one change in the backline as Jack Stafford makes way for James Lennon at scrum-half.
For Hartpury, JB Bruzulier makes his long-awaited return from an injury sustained back in October. The scrum half's clean bill of health couldn't have come at a better time for the West Country outfit, with Toby Venner and Oscar Lennon snapped up by Bristol Bears in recent weeks. The only other change in the backline sees Zimbabwean Matt McNab replace the injured Ben Foley on the left wing. One change in the pack sees dual-registered Gloucester lock Will Britton come in to replace the suspended Cam Jordan in the second row and make his Hartpury debut.
14:30 | Doncaster Knights v Cornish Pirates
The weekend's headline fixture sees top-of-the-table Doncaster Knights take on third-placed Cornish Pirates, in what will be a hugely significant fixture when it comes to deciding the Championship title race. Two weeks ago, the Knights secured an emphatic 17-25 win at Ealing Trailfinders, and Head Coach Steve Boden makes just one change to the side that started that day, as Joe Green comes in to replace the injured Alex Dolly at scrum half.
Cornish Pirates, meanwhile, ring several changes for Saturday's showdown. In the back line, Tom Kessell returns at scrum half, while Shae Tucker comes into the midfield for injured club captain Nicolas de Battista, and AJ Cant gets the nod on the left wing. In the pack, the only change sees Antonio Kiri Kiri come in at openside. There are also significant milestones for club stalwarts Josh Caulfield and Tom Duncan, who will make their 100th and 150th Pirates appearances, respectively.
14:45 Jersey Reds v Nottingham
Jersey and Nottingham then conclude the weekend's action with the Reds' last home league game of the season. The Reds have only won one of their three fixtures at The Stade this year, and will be looking to sign off on a high in front of the Jersey faithful this Saturday. DoR Harvey Biljon names an unchanged pack, but makes three switches to the backline that took on Cornish Pirates last time out. Sam Leeming returns to the matchday squad for the first time in six rounds to pull the strings at 10, and there are also returns for Jordan Holgate in midfield and Harry Simmons on the right wing.
Nottingham, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from last week's defeat against Richmond with a big performance against a top-four side. The Archers make a handful of changes for the trip to Jersey. Up front, Callum Allen replaces Lewis Chessum in the second row, while in the backline, Joe Browning comes in on the left wing for Harry Graham, and Theo Manihero and Elliot Creed form a new-look centre pairing.