Cambridge Rugby Head Coach Richie Williams has named his side to face Hartpury RFC on Saturday in round four of the Championship competition.
Despite a bye week last weekend, Williams has been busy boosting his side with a new signing and confirmation of a front row loan, both of which will feature in this week’s team. William’s is positive that the week’s rest has proved beneficial to his squad ahead of round four;
“The week off has allowed us plenty of time to reflect and review the last run of difficult fixtures in which we have faced the three teams who occupy the top three league places; Ealing, Doncaster and Ampthill.”
“The time has allowed the players an opportunity to re-energise and look ahead to the next block of fixtures in which we face Hartpury, Bedford and Nottingham. I believe that come the end of these games, we will have a better understanding of ourselves and what the status of our current playing squad is.”
“We also felt that it was a good time to strengthen the squad in some key positions. Both the opening three rounds of Championship games in addition to the Premiership Cup campaign have highlighted the speed and intensity in which the top teams operate.”
“We have brought in Leicester Tigers scrum half Sam Edwards who will remain with us for the full season. He will provide some high-level experience and also provide some continuity as he and Jamie Benson were the half backs for the England U20’s a few seasons ago. Sam is named as a replacement for tomorrow’s clash.”
“Also joining us on a short-term loan is Harlequins tighthead prop Will Hobson. He is another player that has graduated from the same England U20’s group as Jamie Benson and Sam Edwards. He will alleviate some of the pressure from Billy Walker who has played a lot of minutes over the last month. Will joins Edwards on the bench tomorrow in his first appearance for the club.”
Fans will note that the starting forward pack, to face Hartpury, will be the same eight that faced Ealing Trailfinders in round three. Meanwhile, behind the scrum, Matt Hema replaces Tom Hoppe in the only change to the starting XV for this week.
The blood and sand will run out at home at Ellgia Fields on Saturday 18 November at 2pm. Tickets to the clash are on sale now and can be purchased via the Cambridge Rugby website.
Cambridge line-up:
15- Eli Caven
14- Joe Green
13- Matty Williams
12- Sam Hanks
11- Matt Hema
10- Jamie Benson
9- Kieran Duffin
1- Jake Elwood
2- Morgan Veness
3- Billy Walker
4- Kieran Frost
5- Geordie Irvine
6- Ben Adams (c)
7- Jared Cardew
8- Anthony Maka
Replacements:
16- Willie Priestley
17- Huw Owen
18- Will Hobson
19- Gareth Baxter
20- Matt Dawson
21- Sam Edwards
22- Steffan James
23- Kwaku Asiedu