Bedford Blues team manager Rob Crowle says the Championship side are out to restore some pride on Sunday afternoon in a mouth-watering league encounter against Leeds Carnegie at Headingley.
The Blues lost to the former Premiership outfit at Goldington Road in October but still sit second in the division. And with just a single point separating them from London Welsh and Cornish Pirates, Bedford know that they will have to be at their best to remain in the same spot following the round 19 fixtures.
After a free weekend Crowle welcomes No.8 Jonathon Fisher back to the squad after his lay-off with a foot fracture, but the game has come a little too soon for new signings Ben Cooper and Darren Fox who joined from Cambridge earlier in the week.
Winger Handre Schmidt (knee) and flanker Sacha Harding (neck) are the main injury absentees, but Bedford will also be without Billy Johnson who has joined Premiership champions Saracens on a short-term loan deal.
Looking ahead to the game, Crowle said: “It is certainly a long journey to make on a Sunday, but we are looking forward to the game and the opportunity to restore some pride following the defeat we suffered to Leeds back in October. We know that we underperformed on that occasion and we have the chance to put that right this weekend.
“The extra weekend has certainly been beneficial and the lads look to be in fantastic shape and have certainly been throwing themselves into training over the past fortnight.
"The boys have had the chance to recuperate a little while longer and welcoming Jon Fisher back is a real boost as is the introduction of Ben and Darren to the squad.
“It appears that everyone is on a high and raring to go but it won’t mean a great deal if we don’t put in the work on Sunday. It’s going to be tough but if we perform to the standard that we know we can, then we are in with a shot.”
Starting line-up:
15. James Pritchard (c)
14. Mark Kohler
13. Brendan Burke
12. Ian Vass
11. Josh Bassett
10. Jake Sharp
9. Stefan Liebenberg
1.Sam Walsh
2. Neil Cochrane
3. Phil Boulton
4. Mike Howard
5. Sean Tomes
6. Gregor Gillanders
7. Alex Rae
8. Paul Tupai
Replacements: 16. Chris Locke, 17. Nico Steenkamp, 18. Jonathon Fisher, 19. Don Barrell, 20. Darryl Veenendaal, 21. Jamie Lennard, 22. Ollie Dodge
