Stubbs and Paul Burgon organised the Rome trip before taking over the reins ...and not becaue they'd heard about the dismal first meeting of the season at Norton.
On that day precious little rugby was played and the signs of the dressing room rift was plain to see. The coaches were shouting their set of instructions from one touchline with two senior players offering their own advice from the other. No wonder the team was confused ... it gave Stockton their first win of the season by the margin of 9-6.
Sadly for our neighbours they haven't gone on to build on those points and are staring relegation in the face - if there is any come the end of the season.
Perhaps ominously they have yet to win away this season and, given the fact that they have beaten us at the last three times of asking, it does not bode well for the fatalists among our ranks.
But they will find a different West this time around. Confidence is high after a string of good performances with the backs finally coming into their own, showing pace and skill and running in tries in the last quarter of the game - a period where Stockton have proved vulnerable despite some heroic defence against the top sides in the first hour.
Panda's return follows the decision that Chris Lambert should travel to Birmingham with the Colts for the important national cup game. Danny Weegram will be on the other wing after another impressive display last week.
We suddenly find ourselves with a quartet of wingers who are fast, good finishers and strong in defence. Martin Todd is in the best form of his senior career but is still away on a course.
There will be a couple of changes on the bench with Carl Miller now over his ankle injury and Mark Cholmondeley as front row replacement. However, Chummer would point to his early try for the Stags the other week [when he outpaced the cover to go in at the corner] to make the case that he can also play in the backs!
Anth Carr didn't start last week, and won't figure at all this week, after the club's disciplinary committee received the referee's report from his sending off at Beverley. Comments attributed to the London referee after the game, that gouging had been involved, were not included in his report in any way. If they had been they would have been strenuously contested by the club. Carr was undoubtedly involved in a scuffle and, because of the red card, the club have acted in advance of an RFU hearing next week.
Stockton will field a similar side to the one which won the first game. They have a pack which likes to hustle and bustle and retain the bal,l while fly half Jeremy Good remains an excellent territorial and goal kicker.
But if Chocky and co. keep winning good ball there should be no reason why the backs cannot continue to run in a few scores.
West Thomas, Hare, Edwards, Hodgson, Weegram, Moss, Tighe [capt], Cullinane, Sawyer, Robinson, Rudd, Davies, D Boatman, Tones, J Boatman. Reps: Wal;lis, C Miller, Cholmondeley.
Stockton : Owain Jenkins, Ritchie Brown, Tom Armstrong, Steve Thornton, Tom Jeffery, Jeremy Good, Peter Armstrong, Dan Muirhead, Glyn Delmar, Simon Brown, Mark Skirving, Keith Ethrington, Brett Wildridge, Wayne Brown, Sam Toulson. Reps: Dan Taylor, Dave Moulder, Matt Austen.
Refereee: Peter Ashman, Durham Society.