The legendary tight-head prop made his debut as a 17-year-old way back in 2005, but is still going strong enough to secure a place in last season’s National One Team of the Season and will reach yet another milestone when entering from the bench at Shaftesbury Park.
There are two changes to the starting line-up from the side which produced an outstanding 40-29 victory at Rosslyn Park last time out.
Lomas and Duda return to starting line-up
Ryan Lomas returns in the front row to sandwich captain Max Hayman alongside ever-present matchday regular Paddy Harris, a first-time try-scorer at The Rock six days ago.
One of the players of the season, Harry Stone, switches to the engine room alongside Liam Elston as Mikey Duda returns at open-side flanker.
This means Aaron Tull switches to the other side of the scrum against his former loan club, No. 8 Willo Bicknell rounding out the pack.
Backs unchanged for Crusaders challenge
Ollie Hodgson and the only player to start every game this season, stand-off Mike Cooke, are the half-backs.
Rowan Grundy scored his first try of the campaign at Rosslyn Park and remains in situ in an unchanged midfield with Swedish ace Axel Kalling-Smith.
And the back three also remains the same, wings Oli Rhoads – with six tries in his past four games – and Henry Bartlett joined by the current National One Player of the Week, full-back Zach Clow.
Teenager Jackson on the bench
Baker is joined as prop cover by the more youthful Max Marshall, while former Millfield School student Paddy Jackson is back in the squad following his debut at Leicester Lions last month.
Royal Air Force captain Sam Boxhall will look to bring energy at scrum-half, with the versatile Ellis Jones covering the rest of the three-quarters as he closes in on a century of appearances.
Young hooker Harry Bicknell, fresh from scoring for the Under 23s in their victory against Chinnor on Wednesday, heads to Bristol as a travelling reserve.
Rams Team @ Dings Crusaders
(15-9, 1-8) Clow, Bartlett, Kalling-Smith, Grundy, Rhoads, Cooke, Hodgson; Harris, Hayman ©, Lomas, Stone, Elston, Tull, Duda, W Bicknell
Replacements: Marshall, Baker, Jackson, Jones, Boxhall
Travelling Reserve: H Bicknell
