Poland Under-20s international prop Kuba Kijak will start for Bournville in Saturday’s twice-postponed Regional One Midlands match against Drybrook at the Mannings Ground.
Kijak has spent the last two months on loan at Old Halesonians playing regular first team rugby in Regional Two Midlands West.
Bournville have now recalled Kijak, whose home town is Oswiecim – Auschwitz, from his loan spell and he comes straight into the starting XV for the club’s first-ever visit to Drybrook.
Kijak is one of three changes to the starting XV from last week’s narrow defeat at Newent with Chris Idehen starting at openside flanker and Callum Nicholls returning at number eight. Idehen impressed when he came off the bench last week and now starts in place of Adam Shaw who dislocated a shoulder at Newent. Nicholls comes in for Jonjo Fanning.
Bourns make a second successive visit to the Forest of Dean hoping to return to winning ways and to complete a double over Drybrook at Avery Fields in early October.
Having started the season brightly, Drybrook have since won just two of their last 11 games – both against the sides below them, Nuneaton and Dudley Kingswinford – and they were beaten 69-14 at Bromsgrove in their most recent outing.
But Drybrook are coached by the wily Chris Fortey and he will no doubt be relishing a match-up with his Bournville counterpart and former Worcester Warriors team-mate Alex Grove.
This is Bournville’s game in hand on league leaders Newport who have taken advantage of the two postponements at Drybrook to open up a four points gap at the top of the table.
Bournville | 15 Mauro Miller; 14 Adam Collingwood, 13 Sam Grimshaw, 12 Rhys Williams Goldman, 11 Nathan Decalmer; 10 Jacob Fewtrell, 9 Reiss Price; 1 Kuba Kijak, 2 Jamie Harding, 3 Jake Thompson, 4 Ben Meakin (C), 5 Harry Dawson, 6 Kieran Henderson, 7 Chris Idehen, 8 Callum Nicholls.
Replacements | TBC
