Saturday the 8th of March looks set to be a scorcher of a day, with temperatures set to reach 14 degrees Celsius with clear skies and sun forecast in the Northeast all day long.

So, what better way to spend your day off than soaking up the rays at Sutherland Park with a glass of Guinness from the newly installed tap in the clubhouse bar!

Sun and beer aside, however, this fixture is set to be a cracker as well. The two sides head into the fixture after racking up a staggering 103 points between them last time they faced down by the coast. We head into the fixture snapping at the heels of Horden, desperate to grab ourselves a second-place finish in the league and set ourselves up nicely for a cup run. Our travelling opponents, however, will be searching for their first win of the season after coming agonizingly close to beating strong opposition in both Ponteland and Stockton in recent weeks. A nothing to lose mindset could prove them to be dangerous opponents on our home turf.

Various commitments mean our squad sees some changes from the side that took on Ryton last weekend, however, but change doesn't mean a drop in standards thanks to the depth our squad holds.

The front row remains the same with Tom Taylor and David Medjigbodo-Lawson packing down at both loosehead and tight head respectively. Their influence at scrum time was huge last week against a massive set of Ryton lads and will be looking to replicate that again tomorrow. Callum Todd, who made his debut last week from the bench will come into start in the hooker spot, the youngster has had real success playing for Northumbria University 1st XV and showed his talents last week in the second half.

Jeremy Hunt slides back into his more familiar position in the second row this week in the absence of Jonny Allton, after a great time out in the back row last week. He is joined by a young Jonny Cotterill on his return from North of England duty and the two will be great to see starting alongside each other for the first time in action tomorrow.

It is the back row that sees the most change, however, captain George Bambrick remains in his familiar 6 shirt as we welcome the return of both Simeon Archibald at 7 and Darren Kelly at 8 after some time away from the squad. Kelly replaces top try scorer Rob Baldwin this week, but his ball knowledge and work rate around the park will be more than enough to make up for the absence of our big number 8.

The half-backs see change for the first time in a long time this week, absence in both Merlane and Farley means Max Cook slides into the 9 shirt where he has thrived before, Lewis Chater also comes back into the side after some time away and will be looking for chances around the park in the 10 shirt, last season's top try scorer will be eager to put on a show in front of a home crowd tomorrow.

The glue in the middle of the park remains the same, (although some say both Searle and Jubb look like they run in that glue) and they will be looking to build on a solid performance last week and play ‘some’ running rugby at 15:00 tomorrow.

As for the back 3, as always, we look so dangerous. Adam Lambert scored his first 1st XV try last weekend and bagged himself an assist in the process, and the sheer pace of Sam Cleife is a dangerous thing when he really puts his head down and goes. Finally, though, Sam Busby sits at fullback, only two scores away from breaking the club's all-time try scoring record, a Hat-Trick against Rockcliffe last time out will surely put him in a pretty good position to achieve that tomorrow.

I believe that Ant McQuillin, Alex Douglas and Rhys Gibbons will make up the bench. A pretty great trio to have considering McQuillin’s impact at scrum time and in defense last week. Rhys Gibbons also provides a steady throw at lineout time and adds a touch of class to the handling around the fringes. Finally, Douglas can pretty much cover anywhere on the park in both the backs and forwards making him the perfect impact off of the bench.

1st XV Meet Time - 13:30
1st XV Kick Off Time - 15:00
2nd XV Leave Time From Novos - 12:30
2nd XV Kick Off Time - 15:00