Having each lost their opening two games, both teams will be keen to seek victory, with the Pirates under no illusions that their hosts will provide nothing less than stern opposition at the Ellgia Fields, Grantchester Road, Newnham, Cambridge.

Making a raft of changes in their selection from the XV that started against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park, Matt McNab will partner Ioan Evans in the centre, and Dan John is named on the wing. Alex Schwarz will this week wear the ‘9’ shirt and, in the forwards, there are starting roles for front-rowers Jack Andrew, Rhys Williams and Fin Richardson, the second-row comprising Josh King and Josh Williams, and for flanker Harry Dugmore.

Named among the replacements are Hugh Bokenham and Tom Georgiou, each of whom will be keen to make their debuts for the club.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s encounter, Cornish Pirates’ joint head coach Alan Paver has said:

“Cambridge is a long old way, but we know how to travel and are used to it. They are obviously a bit of an unknown quantity but having done extremely well to gain promotion out of National One, which is notoriously difficult to do, we are expecting a stern old test.

“We have made several changes this week because some of the guys have put a good stint in and there is a whole crew looking for an opportunity. It is a fine balance between integration and performance, and we know that too many changes can sometimes disrupt performance. However, now is about the time to give chances to guys that come in and they equally need to put their hands up for selection.”

Alan added:

“Even though having had two useful games there is an awareness we have a lot to work on, and a lot to learn, and we ultimately just need to speed up that process.”