London Scottish backs coach Mike Friday has demanded players put ‘pride back in the shirts’ on Saturday when Scottish host Plymouth Albion at the Athletic Ground, 2.30pm kick-off.
The Richmond outfit are still smarting from last week's 15-3 defeat to Nottingham Rugby at Meadow Lane which saw them slip to fifth in the Greene King IPA Championship.
Friday wants a response from the side tomorrow against Albion ahead of two tough away fixtures against Rotherham Titans and Leeds Carnegie.
“We have got to put in a performance that warrants the spirit and values of London Scottish,” Friday said.
“We didn’t do that last week at Nottingham.
“We had a very frank and honest discussion on Monday.
“You cannot take London Scottish for granted and you can't take the fact you are a professional rugby player for granted.
“We have a saying here ‘you do everything, all of the time, every time.’
“We expect a full-on performance this weekend to put pride back in the shirt and make our supporters and the board proud of us.”
London Scottish make five changes, one positional for the visit of Plymouth Albion.
Mike Doneghan and PJ Gidlow form a new centre partnership with James Love taking Doneghan's place on the wing.
Andy Reay drops to the bench whilst Oli Grove remains sidelined due to illness.
Irish international flanker Neil Best returns to the starting line-up with Adam Kwasnicki preferred to Tom Dunn at hooker.
“We look at PJ to give us that little bit more of a physical edge,” Friday said of the new three-quarter pairing.
“That’s not to take anything away from Andy Reay who is doing a wonderful job, but they do share the workload.
“Doneghan has shown up very well when he has played at centre and this is his opportunity to stake a claim there, a position he is keen to be considered for in the future.
“James Love brings a lot to us and we know he is a Premiership standard goal kicker.
“His kicking stats are fantastic and any opposition know if they give a penalty away there is every likelihood he’ll make them pay for it.
“Besty (Neil Best) has felt his way back into rugby after a six week lay-off and is ready to go now.
“He is feeling comfortable and back in the groove and we are expecting a full-blooded performance from him. He will lead from the front.”
Plymouth Albion come into the game on the back of a highly impressive victory over London Welsh last time out and Friday expects the visitors to be full of confidence this weekend.
He added: “They are on a high having done a proper job on London Welsh.
“It was a fantastic performance by Plymouth.
“They will be full of confidence and we are going to have to pay them the upmost respect.”
London Scottish squad to play Plymouth Albion on Saturday, February 8th at Richmond Athletic Ground, 2.30pm kick-off:
15, Jim Thompson; 14, James Love; 13, Mike Doneghan; 12, PJ Gidlow; 11, Miles Mantella; 10, Dan Newton; 9, Jordi Pasqualin; 1, Eric Fry; 2, Adam Kwasnicki; 3, Tom Francis; 4, Tyler Hotson; 5, David Lyons; 6, Neil Best; 7, Chevvy Pennycook; 8, Mark Bright (c).
Replacements: 16, Tom Dunn; 17, Mark Irish; 18, Paul Spivey; 19, Joe Trayfoot; 20, Lee Millar; 21, Andy Reay; 22, Peter Homan.
