Winger James Druce travelled with Wharfedale to Redruth for the first National League One match of the season but was badly injured in the warm-up.

Now recovered, he has earned his berth with a prolific match for the Foresters at Huddersfield last Saturday, scoring five tries in the 67-0 rout.

Rob Baldwin returns to the pack for the home game against Blackheath, with Alastair Allen moving to lock in place of Oliver Renton (unavailable).

Six defeats in seven matches, including four in succession away from home, have led to Wharfedale dropping from fifth to 12th.

But the Greens’ head coach Tom McGee feels his side are not far away from turning the corner.

On the back of their 30-20 setback at Launceston last Saturday – the All Blacks’ first league win of the sea-son at the 11th attempt – the Scotsman said: “Barking apart, where we played very well, we have been in every game at half-time.

“But we just need to find a way of starting the second half better.

“On Saturday, we spent 90 per cent of the second half in our own third, and that is not where we want to be.

“We were in the game at half-time at 17-12 behind but we then conceded five penalties and also made some unforced errors.

“We were defending for 15 to 20 minutes deep in our own territory, and we have to find ways to begin the second half better. If we can do that, we will get into a better position on the field and score more tries and win more games.”

Wharfedale (home to Blackheath): A Whaites; J Druce, C Malherbe, A Hodgson, S Horsfall; T Davidson, P Woodhead; C Steel, I Larkin, B Hooper, R Brown, A Allen, R Baldwin, T Vaioleti, D Solomi. Replacements: M Chivers, S Graham, R Rhodes, D Hughes, C Black.