With the RFU’s new concussion protocols requiring greater assessment and control of suspected head injuries, Otto will be left behind after suffering a blow to the head against Bedford, and the Reds will seek to extend their unbeaten four-game streak in the Greene King IPA Championship with the same back-line that started the 20-20 draw with Rotherham earlier this month.
Forwards (1-8): Nacho Lancuba, Martin Garcia-Veiga, Harry Williams, Nick Campbell, Pierce Phillips, Alex Rae, Ryan Hodson, Michael Noone.
Backs (9-15): Sami Fisilau, Jonny Bentley, Mark McCrea, Lewis Robling, Drew Locke, Mark Foster, Aaron Penberthy.
Replacements: Sam Lockwood, Joe Buckle, Danny Herriot, Gary Graham, Dave Markham, Ryan Glynn, David Bishop.
After impressing on his debut at St Peter last week, Biljon admits that Otto will be missed, but with it now being apparent that long-term strategies are starting to click into place after a period of difficulty, the South African is full of praise for his whole squad as they attempt to mirror the 19-0 ‘shut-out’ league success achieved at home to Albion in November.
‘Injuries have not been great for us; we’ve had a fair few bumps and bruises, and Tua’s injury is just unlucky,’ said Biljon. ‘You could see some really good touches from him at the weekend, albeit not in conditions that suit him, and we will be looking forward to getting him back on the field pretty soon.
‘But our preparation has been good. We’ve had a tough four weeks in difficult conditions, and we have restricted our week in terms of load so that the players are as fresh as they can be.’
He continued: ‘We knew we were going to have a difficult patch, and I’ve got to commend the players because at no stage did they lose believe in what we were doing. We said at the start of the season that we were going to make mistakes being a new, young team playing a new style of rugby, but we also said we had to make sure these same mistakes wouldn’t happen in 12, 18, 24 months’ time. We are a bit ahead of schedule, and that proves to me that the team are learning.
| P | W | D | L | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 70 |
| Bristol | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 69 |
| London Scottish | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 48 |
| Nottingham | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 40 |
| Rotherham | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 34 |
| Jersey | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 32 |
| Bedford | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 31 |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 31 |
| Cornish Pirates | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 30 |
| Doncaster | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 25 |
| Moseley | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 23 |
| Plymouth Albion | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 16 |
‘It’s exciting to see the progression, but it means nothing unless we go away to Plymouth and back up the performances, we don’t want to be a team recognised for these four games of the season, we want to get better and better.’
As Plymouth continue their revival since announcing intentions to go under administration in January (the bottom club have won two and drawn one of their last five games), Biljon is indeed wary of what the Championship strugglers are capable of. And, with former England hooker Graham Dawe now among their coaching staff, he says it will be a challenging afternoon up front.
‘We’re going to be up against a very emotionally charged Plymouth team that have got very good results over last few weeks,’ Biljon added. ‘They’ve beaten Moseley, beaten Rotherham and drawn with London Scottish and they’re fighting for their lives. We know what that’s like and we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be very tough.
‘With Graham Dawe there there’s going to be a huge emphasis on the scrum and lineout … we will be tested in those areas, make no mistake about that.’
With consolidation of sixth place the focus, Nacho Lancuba comes in for Sam Lockwood at loose-head prop while Michael Noone replaces the unavailable Paula Kaho at 8 – behind Nick Campbell and Pierce Phillips. And there is once again room for Jonny Bentley among the half-backs as Lewis Robling shifts to inside-centre.
