"They will see us a big scalp and I expect them to throw everything at us in the first 20 minutes and we've got to be ready for that," said director of rugby, Lynn Howells.

The Welshman is keen tto see Knights hold on to the trophy that they won for the first time last season - in what is a repeat of last season's final - and end his first season in charge on a winning note, but has decided against playing all his big guns.

"I will be fielding a mixed side again," he told The Star. "They are the boys who have got us this far, and helped us beat two professional clubs, so it is only fair to stick by them.

"In any case I am confident that the team we put out tonight will be good enough to do the job.

"Having said that I am expecting it to be our toughest test so far. From what I hear the playing surface isn't the best and they have got a quite strong midfield and a pack which will cause us problems.

"I've not seen them play, and to be honest I normally like to go into games knowing more about the opposition than will be the case tonight.

"But we have prepared the best we could following Saturday's defeat against Exeter in our final National League One game."

What do you think? Post your comments below.

READ MORE

Football headlines.
More Blades.
More Owls.
More Spireites.
More Rovers.
More Reds.
More Millers.
More Ice Hockey.
More rugby.
More boxing.
Sports columnists.
All sport categories.