COUGARS captain James Feather is relishing the prospect of running out at the Ricoh Arena to face Coventry Bears this weekend.

The Kingstone Press League One match has been switched from the Bears’ normal Butts Park Arena to the home of Wasps and Coventry City.

It will be the first time the 32,609-seater stadium has hosted rugby league and it will also stage a double-header on Saturday, November 5, with England taking on Scotland and Australia facing New Zealand in the 2016 Four Nations.

Feather is relishing Sunday’s showdown as Paul March’s promotion-chasing team chase a sixth straight win following last weekend’s iPro Sport Cup semi-final success at London Skolars.

Long-serving hooker Feather said: “I think every player in the squad wants to be involved in this one.

“Every now and then, these opportunities come up to play in some great stadiums but it’s not very often.

“No disrespect, but there is a massive difference between playing somewhere like London Skolars or Hemel Stags compared to the Ricoh Arena.

“It’s an occasion not to be missed and hopefully a few thousand will turn out and create a good atmosphere.

“Coventry have been promoting it for a while so hopefully it will be a good game of rugby league.”

Feather has played for Cougars in promotion finals but he admits Sunday’s venue could represent the biggest stage of his career yet.

He added: “I don’t think I’ve played anywhere as big as this before.

“I’ve played at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium a few times and playing at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane felt like a big occasion.

“It felt like the stadium was on top of you, it was that big, and that was one of those days that you never forget. I’m sure this weekend will be the same.”

March is expected to welcome Rikki Sheriffe back into the side after being rested last weekend, while Paul Handforth is also expected to return after missing the Skolars victory due to work commitments.

Andy Gabriel, Matthew Bailey and Ross Peltier will all be pushing for recalls too. John Oakes and Adam Brook are carrying hamstring tweaks but are expected to be fit.

Cougars head to the Midlands in buoyant mood after a hard-fought 31-22 victory over London Skolars on an emotion-filled occasion in the capital.

In their first visit to the New River Stadium since the death of Danny Jones at the same venue almost 12 months to the day, Cougars did enough to seal the victory.

Feather added: “We were never anywhere near our best and you could tell there was a lot of emotion surrounding the lads and the game given the significance of the occasion with Danny.

“We were quite poor with our completion rate, but we were never in any danger of losing the game.

“When they scored, we just upped the tempo and scored again ourselves.

“It was one of those games that passes you by really quickly, but you have been playing in your head for a couple of weeks beforehand.

“Once the game was over, everybody felt a sense of relief that we had honoured Danny Jones’ memory in the best way possible.”

Cougars are now on course to claim silverware in the iPro Sport Cup final against York City Knights at the Summer Bash in Blackpool on May 28.

Feather said: “We set some goals at the start of the season and one of them was to win promotion and the other was to reach the iPro Sport Cup final.

“We are there now and it shows we are building the right kind of spirit in the team and fighting for each other.”

Cougars were dumped out of the Challenge Cup by League One rivals York earlier this season and will be seeking revenge at Bloomfield Road later this month.

Feather said: “Along with ourselves and Toulouse, I’d say York are one of the best teams in our league.

“They are a good, well-drilled and fit side and we will have to be at our best to beat them.”