BURTON have an enforced rest tomorrow as they have been left without a fixture in Midlands One West.
The Crofters, unbeaten in seven matches, will instead lick their wounds and rest ahead of a tough clash with highflying Old Halesonians next week.
Rugby will still be played at Peel Croft tomorrow, though, with a combined B and Vets XV facing Newcastle on the old ground, kick-off 2.15pm.
Remaining players will face Melbourne on the Ox-Hay, kick-off also 2.15pm.
The A XV, meanwhile, visit local rivals Lichfield.
The rest gives the club chance to take stock of their progress in Midlands One after a dire start saw them lose four of their first five matches.
Last week’s 25-19 victory over bottom side Kenilworth may not have hit the heights of the 73-point thrashing of Dunlop, but the result was never really in doubt.
However, scrum-half Jake Manning suffered a nasty knee injury after 30 minutes and will be out for at least several weeks, further hitting the club’s resources in a problem position.
On the plus side, centre Lawrence Betty returns from injury and will gain match fitness in the A XV.
An 18-man squad has been selected to face Lichfield, while a 40-man combined squad will play in the two B matches.
Head coach Steve Smith said: “With the first XV without a league fixture and with some players away on holiday or injured we’ve decided to give some of the lads a hard-earned rest after going undefeated for the past seven games.
“There are a couple of exceptions. We’ve given Ken Archer, who has been on the bench for a few weeks, the chance to have 80 minutes and also Kev Birt, who has been playing prop, a chance to play in the hooker position for the A team.
“Loz Betty also re-enters the fray having been injured for four weeks, and he will also gain valuable match time in the centres.
“We’ve had a tough time coming up with the various teams for the weekend.
“Selectors will be watching all the teams with a view of seeing how players perform.
“As head coach I will be with the B team, who are playing on the Croft and have several players who are likely to be pushing for A team and possibly even firstteam squad places next week.
“I look forward to a great weekend of rugby and hopefully with the players we have at our disposal we will record three good senior victories and I am sure the colts will continue to build on their recent excellent wins.”
THE club’s mini section raised more than £1,200 last Friday evening with their Children in Need event.
In the third successive year they again raised £1000 or more for the charity.
