Carlo's scrummaging could be important against a College side which likes to run the ball, and which apparently makes a feature of soaking up pressure and scoring from lightning breaks.

The College's business plan is big on sport. Equestrian and football are also major draws for students, while their proximity to Gloucester, and their tie-in with that club. have catapulted them to the forefront of College rugby. They run first teams sides on Wednesday in the University competitions as well as their "club" side on Saturdays.

Like every other side in the league competition they can register only 70 odd players and must draw from them for cup games, as well as league games. Incidentally, this week Luton have been kicked out of this cup for fielding an ineligible player, allowing our old friends Dudley Kingswinford to go through. They'll travel to Portsmouth on March 7th.

Within their registered squad the college does have the flexibility to pick sides to win games. It appears to have only backfired once when they lost 9-6 a few weeks ago at lowly Thornbury in the Tribute West Counties North league. That's level 7 - the same level where Rovers and Horden currently feature.

Word is that they've gone for their strongest line-up to face us - including fly half Matt Evans who played for Canada last year against Ireland.

They will be more than eager to win their third Twickenham final in a row, having walked the two junior cup competitions, including beating Wheatley Hills in last year's final by 85-0. By rights they should have been in that same competition this year, until a perhaps slightly embarrassed RFU bumped them up to the Intermediate where they immediately became favourites.

Hartpury's arrival in "club rugby" has not gone down well in some circles. They are patently not a club side being an academy type vehicle for Gloucester, and a "bums on seats" vehicle for the College itself which has to make a living in the competitive world of education. They attract junior internationals, have superb facilities [Gloucester train there] and their players have the benefit of the latest sports science, coaching and sessions virtually every day.

Our own Gareth Eddy was fortunate to be given a place at Hartpury, after impressing Gloucester during his days when he packed down for West junior sides alongsides Tom Dixon.

You can see why clubs have reacted to their appearance in the league after Hartpury were forced to join the struture at the very bottom. Last week they put 110 points a small Gloucester club, and it must be disheartening starting the season knowing, without a shadow of doubt, who will win the league that season.

At the same time Team Northumbria are in the same position in the North East where there has been much less opposition - perhaps because they have not had the same runaway success as Hartpury.

So it won't be a game of club rugby but will be all the more interesting for that. There are more than one or two players in the West ranks who will have something to prove after their own time in the College and Academy system.

Hartpury College J Woodward, M Betty, M Evans, J May, P Jarvis, S Dimmick, S Lynn, M Weller, B Hunter, C Turner, W Waldron, A Pretorius (capt), A Rose, K Haarhoff, M Gilbert. Reps: R Durrance, A Price, R Cadman, B Field.

West: Iain Dixon, Gareth Kerr, Peter Hodgson, Paul Moss, Andrew Cheslin, Jamie Connolly, Darren Thomas, Anth Carr [Capt], Tim Sawyer, Carlo Robinson, Iain Robinson, Tom Dixon, Dan Boatman, Aaron Myers, Paul Vinnicombe. Reps: Colin Cheslin, Dominic Morrison, Chris Stewart [fr], Andrew Dixon [fr].