Former Scotland international Alex Grove will make his first appearance of the season for Bournville in Friday’s National Two West match at Loughborough Students (7.45pm).
The former Worcester Warriors centre, who is now Bournville’s backs coach, will make his season debut in place of Joe Jenkins who suffered a dead leg in last week’s gripping 50-43 victory over Taunton Titans.
Although this will be Grove’s first National League outing of the season he did start for Bournville Blues in their Counties Three Midlands West (South) match at Old Yardleians before Christmas and has been an unused replacement for them twice in recent weeks.
Grove’s inclusion is one of three changes to the starting XV at Loughborough with James Burgoyne, who made such a huge impact when he came off the bench last week, named at loosehead prop in a swap with Clarkson McLeod.
Jasper Smith, who has initially been named as a replacement, will now start at number eight in place of Jonjo Fanning who has been ruled out by a back spasm.
Reiss Price continues at scrum-half with Freddie Morgan at full-back where he proved so effective last week. Morgan scored a try – his sixth of the season – and kicked 13 points to take his season’s tally to 172, one more than Camborne’s Kyle Moyle, at the top of the league’s points-scoring table.
Mikey Ho returns to the squad as one of three back replacements along with Dan Rundle and James Mann.
Bournville head to Loughborough seeking a first away win of the season and also their first victory at Loughborough although all three of their previous visits have ended in narrow defeats – 19-16 in 2021/22, 39-36 in 2022/23 and 31-27 last season.
Bournville’s 43-24 win at Avery Fields earlier this season was the largest winning margin in the seven meetings between the sides which included a 38-38 draw at Avery Fields in 2021/22.
Bournville | 15 Freddie Morgan; 14 Alex Evans, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Rob Knox, 11 Nathan Decalmer; 10 Jacob Fewtrell, 9 Reiss Price; 1 James Burgoyne, 2 Ben Rhodes, 3 Stef Thorp, 4 Harry Dawson, 5 Ben Meakin (C), Louis Mifsud, 7 Adam Shaw, 8 Jasper Smith.
Replacements | 16 James Weaver, 17 Clarkson McLeod, 18 Dan Rundle, 19 James Mann, 20 Mikey Ho.