PREVIEW: Rotherham v Bedford Blues
After returning to winning ways against Birmingham & Solihull last weekend, Bedford Blues head out on the road tomorrow afternoon as they travel up the M1 for a difficult game against Rotherham.
An eight try haul will have boosted confidence at Goldington Road, but the team were dealt a blow by the news that Sacha Harding will be out of action for six weeks after fracturing his arm during the game against the Bees.
The flanker had a successful operation earlier this week to have a metal plate put into the injured arm and if recovery goes to plan he could be back by December.
Elsewhere, Gregor Gillanders remains sidelined with a stress fracture, Marco Cecere will be out of action until December with his shoulder problem and Mike Guess faces the prospect of missing the majority of the season with an ankle problem.
On a brighter note Mike Howard is making steady progress following an operation to his back and Nick Walshe is edging ever closer to a return as is Brendan Burke who is recovering well from a medial ligament injury.
Heading into Saturday's game, director of rugby Mike Rayer makes a number of changes with James Pritchard, Ollie Dodge, Myles Dorrian, Will Chudley, Chris Goodman, Harry Spencer, Alex Brown and Dan Richmond all set to start.
Rayer said: "We've looked at the players and how they fit and I think we have selected a team which is the best mix for this weekend.
"We've got a very difficult four weeks coming up and we know that we have to protect some players over the course of the season. Phil Boulton has taken on a huge workload in recent weeks and Ian Vass has been heavily involved throughout.
"But this is also a chance for guys like Alex Brown and Harry Spencer to show us what they are about. Alex got 20 minutes on the field for Saracens last week and he is champing at the bit to get game time.
"Harry is a tremendous athlete and he is a huge guy as well and this is an opportunity for him to really make a claim for the shirt.
"I've also felt that we need a bit of experience on the bench to close a game out. With Nick Walshe still out injured I think Vassy can come on at scrum half when needed to steady the boat rather than moving to that position three quarters of the way through a match.
"I've always said that Rotherham was a difficult place to go as a player and it is no different as a coach. They will be hurting after the defeat against Nottingham and we have to be wary of the threat that they pose.
"We've gone from not conceding any tries in four games to six in two and that seems to be hurting us. We have to get back into making things hard for the opposition and we will have to start fighting fire with fire if we want to pick up wins."
Starting line-up:
15. James Pritchard
14. Luke Fielden
13. Ollie Dodge
12. Liam Roberts
11. Ian Davey
10. Myles Dorrian
9. Will Chudley
8. Paul Tupai
7. Ben Lewitt
6. Chris Goodman
5. Alex Rae
4. Harry Spencer
3. Alex Brown
2. Dan Richmond
1. Sam Walsh
Replacements: 16. Mark Lilley, 17. Phil Boulton, 18. John Harlock, 19.Brett Daynes, 20. Ian Vass, 21. Brad Davies, 22. Duncan Taylor
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Weather for Biggleswade
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
