By IC Birmingham
October 29 2005

After facing third placed Cornish Pirates at home, Pertemps Bees now have to play second placed Bedford away. After facing third placed Cornish Pirates at home, Pertemps Bees now have to play second placed Bedford away.

But at least a fear of an injury glut seems to have receded with serious damage reduced to knocks and bruises which are likely to have disappeared come liniment time tomorrow.

Director of rugby Phil Maynard said: "Dave Knight should be okay and Adam Billig should be fit."

Full-back Knight was hobbling at the end of the game against the Pirates with a calf strain while former Leicester and Bedford centre Billig took a bang to the head in a collision with Pirates centre Duncan Roke which saw both players taken off.

Maynard said: "Paul Knight (scrum-half) will be serving the last game of his suspension and Tu Tamarua (flanker) is still out with a rib injury from the Exeter game."

He is under no illusion about what his team faces. "Bedford are undefeated this year, they are on fire at the moment. They are a very experienced side and they are notoriously difficult to beat on their own patch.

"But you never know - you can never say never in this league. After tomorrow we will have played all the best teams in this division, it has been a tough run.

"We have not been thumped. Apart from Harlequins, which was a 20 point gap, all the rest have been 10-15 point margins, so we are not far away.

"We are a lost closer this season to what we want to be. We are missing a bit of cohesion, a little bit of killer instinct and a bit of patience but we are working very hard and we are getting there."

Maynard's switch to full-time director is not yet producing any real changes on the pitch.

"Apart from being able to review the videos more my job is not really on the pitch at the moment," he said.

"It is a lot of work away from the rugby, trying to underpin the playing budget, to grow the business."