Leading the charge up front are props Max Marshall – who mad his Level Three debut off the bench at Bishop’s Stortford 12 days ago – and George Breese, recent Colt Obi Nwachuku another option on the side of the scrum.
Hooker Harry Bicknell has been a prolific try-scorer in the past season-and-a-half, with Dan Hartman set for a debut.
Impressive teenager Paddy Jackson is likely to be joined in the engine room at various stages by Callum Pitfield and the Reading University duo of Phil Poppy and Barney Thomas, the latter duo equally adept in the back row.
Fierce competition in back row
A plethora of back row options feature Mikey Duda, Saturday’s first-team debutant Max Brown, two-time Colts’ league title-winning captain Aaron Preston and another Uni ace, Sam Kaminaris.
Olly Marsh was also a try-scorer against Chinnor, while Jacob Kite is set for a maiden appearance for the club.
Three scrum-halves are named in the squad with Royal Air Force man Sam Boxhall joined by youngsters Ollie Hodgson and Louis Pereira, all three having featured in National One this term.
Former Scotland Under 20s fly-half Harris Rutherford is fit again following a back issue at fly-half, with his fellow countryman Andrew Lamb and Uni student James Gilman also able to play at both stand-off or full-back.
Youth and experience in midfield
Teenage inside centre Jake Jackson has caught the eye with his direct running style in recent weeks, with Ellis Jones – not far away from a century of first-team caps – and the powerful youngster Isaac Tokura further options in midfield.
There is pace in abundance out wide, Alex Mannhardt scoring a sensational effort to help seal the deal against the RAF in the most recent Development XV outing, while Sam Bowen and Polish international Tomek Pozniak complete the squad – the latter with an impressive tries-per-game record for the first XV last term.
Development XV @ Cambridge University
Forwards: Bicknell*, Breese*, Brown, Duda, Hartman*, P Jackson, Kaminaris, Kite, Marsh, Marshall*, Nwachuku*, Pitfield, Poppy, Preston, Thomas
Backs: Boxhall, Bowen, Gilman, Hodgson, J Jackson, Jones, Lamb, Mannhardt, Pereira, Pozniak, Rutherford, Tokura
