In the back division, Mel Deane misses out due to the injury he sustained against Connacht. His place in the centre goes to Chris Bell. In the pack, Ceri Jones starts at loose head prop and Kai Horstmann starts at number eight after a number of outstanding performances in the Zurich A League just recently. They replace Mike Worsley and Tony Diprose respectively.

Apart from Deane, other players unavailable due to injury are Jason Leonard, Ace Tiatia, Pat Sanderson and James Hayter. Of these, Deane, Sanderson and Hayter should all be fit for the second leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final against Connacht next weekend (Sunday 25th April).

"We know that we will face another tough game when we play Rotherham Titans on Friday evening," said NEC Harlequins Chief Executive Mark Evans. "Rotherham have improved as the year has gone on, and in recent matches against both London Wasps and Gloucester they have had big leads which they have failed to hold onto."

"They are very similar in style to Connacht; a big pack, good set-piece and they are playing some good rugby. It will be a tough game for us but it is one that we have to produce a good performance in if we are to get the four points we need to maintain our challenge for fifth place in the Zurich Premiership."

The full team is as follows:

15. Gavin Duffy
14. George Harder
13. Will Greenwood
12. Chris Bell
11. Ugo Monye
10. Paul Burke
9. Simon Keogh
1. Ceri Jones
2. Tani Fuga
3. Jon Dawson
4. Simon Miall
5. Jim Evans
6. Roy Winters
7. Andre Vos (Capt.)
8. Kai Horstmann

Replacements:
16. Cameron Dott
17. Mike Worsley
18. Laurent Gomez
19. Karl Rudzki
20. Luke Sherriff
21. Ben Willis
22. Andy Dunne