Shrewsbury Rugby Club captain Mattie Morris will have a near full strength squad at his disposal as his side go in search of their first double of the season against Wolverhampton.
The Sundorne Castle side have endured a difficult first half of the season and lie in the bottom two in Midlands Three West (North).
But one of the three wins they have picked up was away to Wolverhampton, and Morris said it was crucial Shrewsbury won their last match before the Christmas break to stay in touch with the teams above them.
It’s the club’s first taste of league action since a disappointing 15-3 loss at bottom side Leek two weeks ago, and Morris said a win on Saturday would raise morale ahead of their battle to beat the drop in the New Year.
He added the team would have extra motivation to win on Saturday following the death of club chairman Chris Pittaway last week.
Morris said: “It’s a massive loss to both the club and Chris’s family, and it’s been a huge shock to everyone.
“Chris was a real character around the club for the last 40 years – a cracking player in his time and a really hard working president and chairman.
“He was involved with our plans for the future and refurbishing the clubhouse, and he really wanted to develop the club in future years.
“It’s given us extra motivation to win on Saturday to do it for Chris.”
Other than long term absentees James Plant at number eight and Paul Bolland at scrum half, Shrewsbury have a full squad available for Saturday’s match.
Morris said: “It’s a massive game. We beat Wolverhampton 5-3 earlier in the season and they will be looking for revenge, while we are looking for two vital league points.
“We need points after our disappointing defeat against Leek and we need to stay in touch with the teams above us.
“It’s a game we have to win, especially being at home, and we have to look at sides like Wolverhampton in the top half of the table and believe we can beat them.
“We have played really well against teams at the top of the table and been unlucky not to pick up results, but when we’ve played the teams around us we haven’t done well at all.
“We never seem to start the season well and we do have some long-term injuries, but we really want a win to lift morale going into Christmas.
“A win on Saturday could help us build up some momentum for the New Year.”
The match kicks off at Sundorne Castle at 2.15pm.
Shrewsbury (from): Mark Turner, Brian Jenkins, Nick Challenor, Tim Davies, Neil Williams, Steve Owen, Simon Crippen, Reece Hodnett, Sam Wycherley, Simon Evitts, Neil Davies, Mattie Morris, Will Jones, Jon Wareham, Jason Allibone, Jack Adams, Jim Pugh, Phil Wintle, Will Mottram.