After consecutive defeats to Hartpury and Richmond, Nottingham head to the capital on Saturday on the hunt for a win against one of the Greene King IPA Championship’s strongest sides.
Second-placed Ealing Trailfinders have enjoyed a strong season and are hot on the heels of London Irish while Neil Fowkes’ men have enjoyed a season of mixed fortune, sitting in sixth place after 18 games.
Last weekend’s loss to Richmond was a low point for the Green and Whites, who will be hoping to put in a stronger performance tomorrow than they showed at The Bay.
Nottingham have made a series of changes to their starting XV from their previous match. In the front row, Aniseko Sio, Ben Brownlie and Billy Walker start, while Seb Cecil replaces Llewelyn Jones at second Row. Jordan Coghlan moves back to his orthodox position at number 8 after covering at winger against Richmond.
In the back line, Darryl Veenendaal starts at scrum half and Sean Scanlon returns from injury to play at full back.
Despite winning the reverse fixture, Head Coach Neil Fowkes is well aware of threat Ealing pose. Speaking ahead of the match, he said: “Last weekend was bitterly disappointing for us, losing in the manner we did was unacceptable and we need to put right the wrongs from last week tomorrow.
“Regardless of the result, we need to put in a performance to be proud of and the lads know that’s the minimum we expect.”
Full team to face Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday 30 March:
15. Sean Scanlon
14. Jack Spittle
13. Luke Peters
12. Gearoid Lyons
11. Billy Robinson
10. Shane O’Leary
9. Darryl Veenendaal
1. Aniseko Sio
2. Ben Brownlie
3. Billy Walker
4. Tom Holmes (C)
5. Seb Cecil
6. Shane Buckley
7. Will Owen
8. Jordan Coghlan
Replacements:
16. Luke Cole
17. Jamie Jack
18. Oisin Heffernan
19. Llewelyn Jones
20. Josh Poullet
21. George Cox
22. Murray McConnell
Nottingham then make the trip to Coventry before their final home match of the season against Jersey Reds on Friday 19 April. Advance tickets can be purchased here.