BOURNVILLE welcome back Kieran Henderson from injury and illness for Saturday’s top-of-the-table Regional Midlands One clash with Newport at Forton Road (2.15pm).
Henderson was concussed against Lichfield last month and his planned comeback against Banbury last week was scuppered by illness.
But he is now fully fit and returns on the blindside flank as one of five changes to the starting XV.
Chris Idehen, who was unavailable last week, returns at openside flanker with Callum Nicholls moving across the back row to number eight in place of Jono Fanning who has flu.
Ben Meakin comes back into the second row in place of Ollie Morris, who replaced Henderson against Banbury. Morris, who impressed on his first senior start, is named as a replacement this week alongside Jake Thompson, who returns to the squad having helped the Blues beat Coventry Welsh last week.
Scott Rudge returns at loosehead prop with one enforced change in the back division where Adam Collingwood starts on the right wing with Mikey Ho switching to the centre in place of Josh Bloomfield, who dislocated his right shoulder against Banbury.
Bournville head to Shropshire as league leaders but only by virtue of their superior points difference over Newport who have also won eight and lost two of their first ten league matches, their defeats coming at Newent in September and at home to Lutterworth.
This will be the first meeting between the club since February 2024 when Bourns ran out 57-17 at Avery Fields which avenged a disappointing 32-16 reverse at Newport earlier in the season.
Newport were relegated from National Two West at the end of the 2023/24 season and were placed in Regional One North West last season but have since been level-transferred back to the equivalent level in the Midlands.
Bournville | 15 Mauro Miller; 14 Adam Collingwood, 13 Mikey Ho, 12 Joe Jenkins, 11 Nathan Decalmer; 10 Jacob Fewtrell (C), 9 Reiss Price; 1 Scott Rudge, 2 Ben Rhodes, 3 Clarkson McLeod, 4 Harry Dawson, 5 Ben Meakin, 6 Kieran Henderson, 7 Chris Idehen, 8 Callum Nicholls.
Replacements | 16 Jamie Harding, 17 Jake Thompson, 18 Ollie Morris.
• Bournville Blues host Barkers’ Butts at Avery Fields on Saturday (3pm), looking for a hat-trick of wins in Counties Two Midlands West (East).
The Blues backed up a big win over Upton-on-Severn with another comfortable victory at Coventry Welsh last week to help them climb to ninth in the table.
Coach James Weaver is named as one of the replacements this week alongside George Bann, a Colt who has been included in the extended North Midlands Under-18s squad.
Bournville Blues | 15 Niall Demel; 14 Stephen Terera, 13 Eddie Wiggins, 12 Zayd Makorie, 11 Ben Fellows; 10 Alex Warner, 9 Chris Crutchley; 1 Johnson Otuonye, 2 Ben Harper, 3 Sean Kimberley, 4 George Jewell, 5 Harry Belcher, 6 Bhairaj Rai (C), 7 Piers Skeels-Caldwell, 8 Myles Hibbs.
Replacements | 16 James Weaver, 17 George Bann, 18 Jack Mitchell.
