Hull take on the Midlands side Bournville this weekend knowing that they have to keep up their winning sequence to keep the gap between them and the two nearest sides to them in this league. Last week’s victory against Sedgley Park was as vital as it was enjoyable, but all focus will now be on Bournville who have had some interesting results.
Last time out, they went down heavily away to Stourbridge, but they have drawn at home to Rotherham and only lost by two points to them earlier in the season. They have an all-weather pitch and like to play an open style of rugby and whilst they are well down the table, they command some respect on their results against Rotherham alone.
Hull will be looking to impose themselves early on and get a tight grip on the game as Bournville thrive on games that are more open in nature. They came back at Hull in the second half in the rearranged game a few weeks ago, and Hull will be keen to make sue that there is no scope for such a revival this time out.
Hull will be without winger winger Keane Naylor, but they will welcome back off-half Simon Humberstone. Duell Trueman will come in at centre with Iosefo Taraga moving onto the wing. Sam Crane returns at scrum-half giving Harvey Harding a well earned breather as he takes his place on the subs bench.
In the forwards, Hull will have their usual powerful front five with strength among the substitutes. The back row is a strong unit with Laurence Cowen, Greg Jones and Will Hall in the starting line up.
It looks a tough fixture for Bournville and Hull should have enough power and experience to come away with a win, but Rotherham thought that when they drew here earlier this year so Hull will need to respect their opponents. If they can play as they have done for so much of this season, they should still have that cushion at the top of the league come the final whistle on Saturday.
Richard Gore
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 