Ampthill Ladies travel to Towcester today for the latest league match. Towcester Ladies have a reduced squad available today so they will be under pressure without the luxury of fresh legs later in the game.

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Ampthill make four changes to the starting line-up and three on the bench for the first visit of the Knights to Dillingham Park.

Matt Collins comes in at tighthead and Shay Kerry returns in the second row. Kevin Barrett takes over the nine jersey in a rotation of the scrum-half pool with Serafin Bordoli returning to the starting fifteen at inside centre.

On the bench, Syd Blackmore and Will Allman are among the forwards replacements with Will Foster covering the back three.

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Ampthill 1881s welcome Richmond Saxons (3rd XV) to Dillingham Park today for the latest round of the Raging Bull Division 1.

Ampthill current sit at 5th position in the league, slap bang in the middle of Richmond’s two teams in this league (Vikings at the top and Saxons at 9th). Ampthill have managed this feat however after playing only 11 matches so far whereas most of the teams above them have played an additional 4 to 6 games. With this situation taken into account, Ampthill could easily be placed second in the league.

Richmond Saxons have had a disappointing start to the season this year and a number of postponed matches too. In the last few matches however, Richmond Saxons have managed to turn things around and won their last 3 matches.

Despite the wet weather all week the sun has decided to put in an appearance today and the Ampthill Pitch is well known for good drainage. This match should prove an interesting game with both teams looking to gain maximum points.

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Ampthill make just one change from the side that won at Goldington Road against Bedford on Boxing Day with Kevin Barrett replacing Leon Fukofuka.

Ampthill are pleased to be able to welcome one of the most senior officials in the country, with International and Premiership referee Matthew Carley being given the whistle for the afternoon on his first visit to Dillingham Park.

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Ampthill Ladies kick off 2020 with a tough trip to Hitchin Ladies. Debuts for Georgina Page and Charlie Austin and a few other players shuffled around from their normal positions gives a changed squad for this match.

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Ampthill 1881s welcome Wimbledon 2nd XV to Dillingham Park today for the latest round of the Raging Bull Division 1. Ampthill current head up the table with Wimbledon quite a way farther down the table. Wimbledon have had a run of promotions in the previous seasons to find themselves in the top division of the Zoo Shield Cup. Whilst Ampthill should be confident of the final outcome there have been unexpected outcomes before in this competition.

The biggest concern today for rugby fans though will be the current closure of the M1 motorway between junctions 12 and 13, plenty of warning has been given on this though so this shouldn’t affect the match unduly.

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Ampthill make the short trip to Goldington Road on Boxing Day in the Greene King IPA Championship in our final game of 2019 and what has been a fantastic year for the club.

Bedford Blues have already announced that Goldington Road is sold out for this game so if you don’t already have tickets don’t travel to Bedford as you will be disappointed.

Ampthill’s line-up sees a few changes from the cup team with Serafin Bordoli replacing Sam Hanks at inside centre and Tongan international Leon Fukofuka starting at scrum-half this week. In the forwards, Soane Tonga’uiha starts against his old club alongside Syd Blackmore, with Billy Johnson partnering Shay Kerry in the second row whilst Jac Arthur retains the 6 shirt after an impressive debut two weeks ago.

Match Gallery: 20191226 Bedford vs Ampthill

When the Championship fixtures were announced in July, the first one the Mob supporters looked for was the Blues at home. Ampthill now face them twice in 12 days, starting with the final round of the Championship Cup, before heading to Goldington Road in the Greene King IPA Championship on Boxing Day.

Excitement for this game at Dillingham Park has been building during the past few weeks, and expectations are for the biggest crowd of the year if not ever. In contrast, the smallest crowd of the season witnessed the best performance at Level 2 last week in a narrow defeat to Ealing Trailfinders. Momentum is key in sport and the boys will look to build on that performance tomorrow.

Ampthill’s line-up sees a few changes from last week’s side with German international Jörn Schroder making his debut at loosehead; Shay Kerry returns to partner Carl Burgess in the second row and Jac Arthur makes his debut for Ampthill at 6. In the backs, Kevin Barrett takes the 9 jersey, captain Louis Grimoldby shifts to fly-half and Spencer Sutherland replaces Josh Gillespie on the wing.

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Ampthill Ladies have played Harpenden already this season (way back in September). Since then the Ampthill side have settled down and started to understand what is required of them on the pitch. For a team only formed a few weeks prior to the season (many never having played the game before) Ampthill Ladies have come a long way and show real promise.

With some notable personalities starting to shine on the pitch for Ampthill their biggest concern is managing to balance physical engagement with tactical results. Previous matches have seen over or under engagement on the pitch resulting in a few injuries and missed opportunities.

If Ampthill can manage to improve their consistency in defence whilst harnessing their attack, then their natural instincts for team play should show them real returns on their efforts.

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