COACH Simon Edwards has rung the changes for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) clash with struggling Keynsham to ensure his team continue in the right direction after their first league win on Saturday.
Maids went to Gloucester Old Boys with a depleted team, and on the back of four consecutive South West 1 defeats, but stuck to a gameplan and came home 16-11 winners.
Tomorrow, they entertain Keynsham who have lost all their six league matches so far this season, but as Edwards explains, nothing will be taken for granted.
He said: “It’s nice to get a win under our belts.
“Winning at Gloucester Old Boys is tough enough if you’re unbeaten, let alone after a poor start to the campaign.
“However, we played well, but we must be up for a new challenge against Keynsham (at Braywick, kick-off 3pm).
“They will target this as a must-win fixture to help try to turn their season around.
“They are a young side and will throw everything they have at us.
“That is always a worry, because I know what young teams are capable of.”
He added: “For us it is also a must-win match.”
In response to different opponents, and with home advantage, Edwards has made changes to his winning side.
He said: “Winger Dave Knight and full-back Rob Hawkins (despite scoring 11 points at Gloucester) have been dropped.
“Mark Ruddick is back from injury and will play at No.10 and Dan Martin will move to No.15. He is an elusive runner in the Jason Robinson mould.
“Dan Walton moves out to the wing, while centre Jonny Hammond is back.
“Jacques Botha has returned from injury and will be on the bench.”
However, Edwards is used to shuffling his players, as Saturday’s clash at Gloucester Old Boys proved.
With 12 first team players unavailable, Edwards managed to produce a team which produced a telling performance at a difficult place to get a result.
Edwards commented: “The conditions were horrendous, but we know them and their pitch and had a gameplan.
“To their credit our players fronted-up and stuck to it. I was pleased with them all.”
He added: “We played the sloping pitch better than they did and dominated play after the break which was important.
“Our half-backs (Gareth Edwards and Dan Martin) played like old pros and as a coach it was a pleasure to see.
“While those we brought in such as George Blackwell and Piers Morgan showed their experience.”