NOTTINGHAM Rugby will field a near-full-strength side when they entertain Coventry at Meadow Lane tomorrow (3pm).

The match is the last of the regular season before the top eight teams embark on a battle for the ultimate prize, a place in the Guinness Premiership next weekend.

The Green and Whites smashed Coventry 43-17 in the B&I Cup game at Meadow Lane a couple of weeks ago and club skipper, Craig Hammond, is looking for an improved performance from the squad this time round.

Hammond has missed the last few weeks because of a niggling groin injury and is itching to get back into the fray against the visitors, who have struggled this campaign and are second-from-bottom in the Championship table.

"I'm back in the mix for this game," said the big New Zealander. "It might not appear a big game but, for us, it is huge.

"We need to build into the top eight. We will probably have the best starting 15 we can play tomorrow and we need to build into the Exeter game the following weekend.

"If we don't, we will be going into the Exeter game with doubts in our minds.

"If we play with the same intensity as we did against Coventry a couple of weeks ago, we know we can carry it over to Exeter.

"It's a very big game for us because we are building hard towards those play-offs and we need to be in good form going into those games."

Hammond insists the players are trying to concentrate on what's happening on the pitch rather than off it, with the announcement this week that the club has been put up for sale.

He said: "If you talk to the boys, they are just trying to make sure we get things right on the pitch.

"There has been a lot of positives at Meadow Lane in the last few weeks and that has helped because we love playing at Meadow Lane.

"It's great that we know we will be playing there for the next seven years, but that is more for the board and the marketing guys.

"For us, we love playing there and we have to keep on performing. If we have a good top eight, who knows what might happen.

"If we can play well as a team and I can lead from the front and get our guys winning games, then people will want to get involved with the club and they will want to come down and watch us.

"It's a great opportunity. In the past you got to this time of the year and you were not going to get relegated or promoted. You were just playing games for the sake of it, whereas now, we've got a great chance to get a bit of a run going and maybe a place in the Premiership.

"We have six games, three at home and three away, and a huge chance to make the semi-finals.

"But we've got to get our act together for tomorrow against Coventry. Then anything is possible."