JOHN Brain has kept faith with Worcester's weekend heroes for the promotion showdown at Rotherham on Saturday (2pm).

The Sixways head coach has named the same side that comprehensively beat Henley Hawks 66-17 last Saturday -- despite a return to fitness of a number of senior players.

Skipper Kingsley Jones, Ben Clarke and Chris Yates are all left out of the starting 15 with Brain set to make a late decision on the make-up of the bench.

It means that relatively inexperienced players Richard Nias at flanker and Gary Trueman are given the nod while Duncan Roke will be handed another chance at full back.

"We've decided to stick with the players who did it last weekend," said Brain. "We know that without players such as Kingsley and Ben Clarke we are short of some experience but we must reward good performances. I was pleased with the Henley display and with Gary and Richard.

"I've looked closely at the performances and the message to them is 'same again'."

Jones, who is still feeling the after-effects of scrum pox, looks unlikely to be named in the squad with Nathan Carter preferred on the bench but Clarke and Yates could yet figure as replacements after neck and back injuries respectively.

Brain has, somewhat unusually, taken the decision to name the team early this week ahead of what most perceive as Worcester's make or break game.

"We felt we would announce it early because the players needed certainty about selection."

"We accept that if we lose the game, the title is there for Rotherham to lose not ours to win," he said.

"Therefore that makes it a very important game. The main thing for us to focus on, however, is the performance. There is no point in thinking too much about the significance of the game, after all's said and done -- it's just a game of rugby -- and what we need to do is go out there and give the supporters something to be proud of.

"The league table doesn't lie, however. They are top, three points clear with a game in hand so at the moment, you would have to say -- they are the better team.

"We are nobody's favourites to go up there and beat them -- people have been rubbishing us all year. This is one game where you can say that we are underdogs."

Worcester: Roke; Tuipulotu, Hinshelwood, Trueman, Murdoch; Chal-mers, Smith; Windo, Ross, Moreno, Zaltzman, Morgan, Evans, Nias, Jenner.