WHARFEDALE are expecting a fiery welcome when they kick off the new season at Cornish side Redruth tomorrow (writes Mike Crowther).

Promoted last season from National Three South via a play-off against Macclesfield, Redruth are something of an unknown quantity, but Dale coach John Lawn believes there will be a big and vociferous home crowd at a ground famous for its 'hell-fire corner'.

Lawn - who starts his first league game as the new head coach of the Greens - said: "It's a fabulous place to play. The crowd is always good and they are a club with a massive history. They've had crowds of two and three thousand. They will look to get on your back, but it always makes for a good atmosphere."

Hell-fire corner - the area into which the pitch slopes towards and where the most boisterous home support gather - is where many a visiting team have perished in the past and Lawn remembers coming a cropper there on Dale's last trip back in 1996-97.

As skipper he chose to play away from the corner in the second half but remembers being forever penned into it in the dying stages as Redruth won with a late penalty.

To quieten the crowd and negotiate hell-fire corner, Lawn believes the first step will be to win the physical battle.

He said: "I don't know much about them but I've spoken to Macclesfield and they said they pose a big physical challenge up front. Their backs are also meant to be very direct and strong."

With Lawn now directing things from the touchline, Gavin Hindle takes his place at hooker, while Oliver Renton gets the nod ahead of Anthony Capstick, who has missed some pre-season due to a slipped disc but is now fit and takes his place on the bench.

Stalwart Hedley Verity is missing from the back row as his knees cannot stand up to the hard ground at this time of the season. Gareth Lodge and Alistair Allen are the flankers with Rob Baldwin at No 8.

If the pack can win the battle up front, there is plenty of talent in an increasingly youthful looking back line to make the most of it.

Ex-North Ribb player Adam Whaites is one of the three backs who starred for Yorkshire under-20s last season.

John Newton starts at scrum half now that Sam Cotterell has joined another former Dale player, Tony Jackson, at Esher. Cotterell has moved down south due to work. Though Lawn said he expected Jonathan Davies to stay on for another season, Mark Bedworth makes his debut at full back, with Davies short of match fitness.

Along with Launceston, the 600-mile round trip to Redruth represents Dale's longest trip of the season. The team flew down to Launceston last year and the move paid dividends as the Greens kick-started their season with a comprehensive win.

But Lawn said peak summer-time flight prices meant flying down for this weekend's match was not financially viable. It means a long coach journey down to Taunton tonight followed by another morning journey.

"It's not ideal preparation, but it's not like we're going into it not knowing," he said.

Ahead of his first season in charge, Lawn is cautiously optimistic.

"As a squad, I think we are as fit as we have been for a couple of years. I'm not foolish enough to say we'll get promotion. We'll look to move towards a top four finish. The nature of the league we are in is that if you are sixth or seventh with four games to go, a top four finish is realistic."

Wharfedale: M Bedworth, S Horsfall, C Malherbe, A Baggett, J Hutchinson, A Whaites, J Newton; P Peel, G Hindle, N Dickinson, O Renton, D Lister, G Lodge, A Allen, R Baldwin; Reps: C Meehan, F Lovatt, C Ingram, A Capstick.

o North Ribblesdale open their Yorkshire Two campaign by entertaining newly-promoted West Leeds at Grove Park.

A combination of circumstances leaves the Settle outfit with stretched resources, particularly behind the scrum where the absentees include Stephen Cowperthwaite, John Hughes, Jonathan Richards, Gareth and Stuart Evans plus of course Adam Whaites, who now wears the green of Wharfedale.

But on the plus side, the team is bolstered by the return of centre Ben Topham. Michael Richards from Skipton gets the stand off's role after an impressive first season and Matt Dakin gets a first league start on the wing.

Another debutant is back row Matthew Pallas, who joined Ribb at the end of last season from Harrogate and he takes the place of Michael Carr, who is injured.

New skipper James Ogden and his pack will have an important part to play if the side is to overcome opponents who only lost four league games last season.

Ribb: A Simpson, S Spensley, B Topham, P Illingworth, M Dakin, M Richards, A Stubbs, J Thwaite, J Ogden, A Bradley, W Garth, D Stacey, R Kirkbride, R Howarth, M Pallas. Replacements: G Throup, J Dugdale.

o A host of new faces will be on show when Skipton visit Roundhegians for their opening league clash in Yorkshire Three.

New skipper Sam Boatwright has persuaded a number of players from Liverpool-St Helens, where he used to play whilst at university, to sign up. These are Chris Wibberley, Chris Sheehan and Vinny Murphy who all make their first team debuts at scrum half, hooker and No 8 respectively. Other new faces include wingers Steven Dawson, who used to captain Lancaster University and has played for Fylde Juniors and Fleetwood, and Richard Dillon, who has joined from Ilkley. His twin brother Jon also joined with him but has unfortunately already suffered a broken ankle.

Sean Kennedy returns at fly half after a year away from the club while James Wade and John Firth step up from the fringes.

Their match at Roundhegians, who were promotion candidates last time out, is a repeat of last season's opening day fixture which the Reds narrowly lost.

Skipton: G Litt, S Dawson, G Smithson, D Howson, R Dillon, S Kennedy, C Wibberley; N Tiffin, C Sheehan, J Firth, M Boatwright, M Willsher, S Boatwright, J Wade, V Murphy. Reps: D Roberts, N Fitzsimmonds, A Naylor.