The Green and Whites are gearing up to face Bedford Blues at The Bay this coming Sunday as they look to bounce back after a recent defeat to Jersey Reds.

Head Coach Neil Fowkes has praised this team after a good week of training in tough, wet conditions and insists they’re ready to go.

He said: “The boys have trained really hard this week as they always do. This group are hard working men and they come to work every day ready to go.

“They’ve trained really hard in some difficult conditions; we’re hoping that the weather picks up going in to the weekend. They’re ready and raring to go.”

Focusing on the game coming up at The Bay this Sunday, Fowkes is aware of Bedford’s brand of rugby, and is hoping the weather holds off to encourage an attractive style of play.

He said: “Bedford play a really particular brand of Rugby. They’ve got a quick back three and a decent back-row so we’re hoping it will return to an open brand of rugby from both sides this week. That’s the game they (Bedford) want to play and the sort of game we enjoy playing in.

“Hopefully it doesn’t turn in to a kick-fest in the wet weather conditions so we can show some rugby at Lady Bay.”

Nottingham Rugby currently sit 7th in the Greene King IPA Championship table, one point behind the team above them, Ampthill. They’re currently five points behind 5th-placed Jersey Reds but Neil Fowkes isn’t looking at the standings just yet.

“It’s really early days to be looking at the league table,” said Fowkes. He added: “We’ve played Championship rugby in some of the worst November conditions that we’ve ever seen. Normally these are the sort of conditions we see at the end of December and January.

“It’s still early, but Pirates and Newcastle are the two top teams in the league in my opinion and I think they’re quite rightly at the top of the league. There’s still a lot of rugby to be played.”