THE experienced Matt Kvesic switches across the back row when in-form Coventry Rugby entertain London Scottish on Friday evening (Butts Park Arena, 8pm kick off).
With Tiki Nayalo away preparing for the inter-services competition in which he hopes to again feature for the British Army, the former England international wears Cov’s no.8 shirt while Tom Ball and Obi Nkwocha are named on the flanks.
Elsewhere in the pack head coach Alex Rae selects a same-again front row where club captain Jordon Poole seeks to add to the 11 tries already registered during a prolific season.
Nkwocha’s move to the no.6 shirt gives Rhys Anstey the opportunity to partner James Tyas in the second row.
Behind the scrum, retirement-bound Will Chudley makes his final home league appearance and 41st overall since joining Cov following the collapse of Worcester Warriors early last season.
In the absence of Pat Pellegrini who has failed to recover in time from a leg infection, Chudley partners Evan Mitchell who switches back to fly half following a number of recent appearances at full back.
With Tom Hitchcock precluded from playing under the terms of his loan deal Ollie Betteridge gets a fourth start of the season in Cov’s midfield alongside the in-form Will Wand.
The Championship’s leading try-scorer Jimmy Martin combines with last-time-out hat-trick hero Ryan Hutler on the wings with Tobi Wilson at full back.
Among the replacements USA-bound Paddy Ryan will also make his final league appearance at the BPA while pacy winger David Opoku gets another chance to impress and young fly half Theo Mannion is in line to make his league debut.
Cov’s January win over Scottish was a heart-stopping affair in which they scraped home 38-40 when Conor Slevin’s last-gasp penalty drifted narrowly wide of the blue-and-whites’ posts.
Rae therefore warned his side to expect a thorough examination in a round 19 Championship clash from which an eighth successive bonus-point win would take Cov back to the top of the table until at least 5pm on Saturday.
Rae said: “We’ll be tested by London Scottish who have scored over 30 points regularly and claimed quite a few bonus points.”
“If we allow them into the game and let them stamp their game on us we could face a really tough night so we have to be right on it.”
Coventry’s line-up
Coventry Rugby: Wilson; Hutler, Wand, Betteridge, Martin; Mitchell, Chudley; Trinder, Poole, Nicol; Tyas, Anstey; Nkwocha Ball, Kvesic.
Replacements: Ma’asi, Nairau, Salt, Owen, Ryan, Lane, Mannion, Opoku.
