Friday Night Lights

The weekend's action kicks off at The Stade Santander International, where Jersey Reds take on Cornish Pirates in what is surely set to be one of the ties of the round. Unbeaten in their opening three matches for the first time in 11 years, the hosts will be looking to stretch their run at the top of the table into round four and make nine changes to the side that started against London Scottish last weekend. Cornish Pirates' last two trips to The Stade resulted in narrow defeats [32-31 and 15-5] and will be looking to bounce back from a home defeat against Bedford Blues in round three. The visitors will be without their dual-registered Exeter Chiefs players and make four changes for Friday night's fixture, with club stalwart AJ Cant set for his first start of the season at full back. The second kick-off on Friday night sees Nottingham host Doncaster Knights at Lady Bay. The Archers have made a solid start to the season, with two wins from three [against London Scottish and Caldy], but now face a stern test against last season's runners-up. Steve Boden makes four changes to the side that banked a bonus-point win against Richmond last Saturday, with last week's hat-trick hero Maliq Holden switching to full-back to accommodate Robbie Smith's inclusion on the left wing.

Super Saturday

Saturday's lineup in The Championship sees all four remaining matches kick off at 15:00. Ampthill welcome London Scottish to Dillingham Park with both sides still on the hunt for their first wins of the campaign. Paul Turner rings four changes after a "disappointing performance" against Coventry, including a full debut for Alfie Bell in the second row. The Exiles name a largely settled side, with Jordan Els coming back into the starting XV at loosehead, and Sam Smith and Tom Osborne set to make their club debuts from the bench. Bedford and Caldy meet for the first time ever at Goldington Road, with the Blues on the hunt for a third-straight victory in The Championship for the first time in nearly four years. Mike Rayer makes two changes to the side that shipwrecked Cornish Pirates in round three, with Michael Le Bourgeois wearing the captain's armband this weekend. Caldy, having come out on either side of late drama in rounds three and four [scoring a 79th-minute winner against Richmond, followed by conceding a 78th-minute stinger against Nottingham the following week], will no doubt be looking to send out a message with another win against an established Championship club. The Ravers make two changes to last weekend's side, with Joe Murray coming in at scrum half and Michael Barlow starting in the centres.

Coventry are unbeaten at home this season but now face the toughest of challenges with reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders set to visit fortress Butts Park Arena in round four. Alex Rae names another youthful squad, with Jake Bridges and Fin Ogden coming in at tighthead and scrum half, respectively, while Toby Trinder deputises as captain in the absence of the injured Jordon Poole. Ealing Trailfinders make six changes to the side that rallied late against Hartpury last weekend, including a first start of the season for Simon Linsell and a return to the squad for captain Rayn Smid. Richmond take on Hartpury in a finely-balanced 9th vs 10th clash at The RAG. Rob Powell's men will have taken plenty of heart from a try bonus point at Castle Park in round three and will target Saturday's assignment as an opportunity to bank their first win of the campaign. The hosts are buoyed by the return from injury of Will Carrick-Smith, while loosehead Conor Maguire is set to face his old club for the first time. Hartpury make just a couple of changes to the starting XV that put in such an impressive defensive shift against Ealing Trailfinders last Saturday, and are captained by livewire scrum half JB Bruzulier.

Round 4 Fixtures