‘Mr Versatile’ Collingwood set for first start at preferred scrum-half role for Bournville

ADAM Collingwood will make his first start at scrum-half for Bournville in Saturday’s Regional One Midlands match against Lichfield at Cooke Fields (2.15pm).

Collingwood arrived at Avery Fields from Kenilworth during the summer and has become Bourns’ Mr Versatile having made all his 12 starts to date either on the wing or in the centre and even playing part of one match in the back row.

But he gets the chance to play in his preferred position for the first time this week because Reiss Price, who has started in all 17 matches to date, has been ruled out having taken a knock in training.

Collingwood switches from the right wing to replace Price in a reshuffled back division with Mauro Miller moving from full-back to the left wing and Joe Jenkins from centre to full-back.

Rhys Williams Goldman, who came off the bench in last week’s 29-0 win at Drybrook, starts this weekend as centre partner for Sam Grimshaw but wing Nathan Decalmer is again ruled out by a knee injury.

There are three more changes of personnel in the pack with Jake Thompson, who was unavailable last week, returning at tighthead prop and Jamie Harding, a replacement last week, starting at hooker in a swap with Ben Rhodes.

Harry Dawson also starts, resuming his second-row pairing with captain Ben Meakin, with Kieran Henderson switching to the blindside flank and Callum Nicholls from there to number eight.

Prop Clarkson McLeod returns to the squad as a replacement having returned from a trip back to his native New Zealand.

Bournville head to Lichfield having opened up a five points lead over Newport at the top of the table with five games to go.

Bourns were 47-17 winners when Lichfield visited Avery Fields in November but the contest was closer than the scoreline might suggest and Lichfield have been beaten just twice at home in the league this season, the last time 54-47 by Newport in mid-October.

Having won promotion as Regional Two Midlands North champions last season, Lichfield have won nine and drawn one of their 17 matches at the higher level and have amassed 16 bonus points – the same as Bournville – including six losing bonus points from their seven defeats, the most in the league.

This will be Bournville’s first visit to Cooke Fields in seven years with  28-22 victory there in February 2019 completing a Midlands Premier double over Lichfield following a 49-27 success at Avery Fields earlier in the campaign.

• Poland Under-20s prop Kuba Kijak, who featured strongly in the first XV’s win at Drybrook, will start for Bournville Blues in their Counties Two Midlands West (East) match against Southam at Avery Fields on Saturday (2pm).

Kijak put in a long shift by playing the full 80 minutes against Drybrook in his first start for the first team in almost three years.

George Jewell, who played in the centre in the Blues’ defeat by Bromsgrove IIs two weeks ago starts in a more familiar position at number eight this week.