Having played only one side in the current top six so far this season – which saw them defeated 31-16 at London welsh – Doncaster will face their stiffest test yet in the East Midlands.

Nottingham – along with Leeds Carnegie and Exeter Chiefs regarded as the front-runners for promotion at the beginning of the season – have, over the course of the past two seasons, developed a relatively settled squad.

This summer, however, saw major changes at Castle Park with Howells bringing in around 20 new faces, most of which have had an opportunity – albeit limited in some cases – to show what they can do.

After an opening month which has seen Howells chop and change his starting line-up, the Knights' coach is now looking to enjoy a more settled approach to games.

Tomorrow sees him still without the services of hooker Smon Jenkins (shoulder), winger Andy Wright (calf) and second rower Boumedienne Allam, all of who are expected to be out for a further two weeks.

"We've got to go into this game and see it as an opportunity to see where we are in comparison to some of the top teams in this division," said Howells.

"Nottingham are a very settled side, whereas we have had a big turnover of players during the summer."

Rotherham will look to build on last week's comprehensive 59-32 win at Esher when they welcome seventh-placed Moseley to Clifton Lane.

Hooker Nigel Convoy said: "we know that if we play well we can beat anyone.

"The away support was great last week but we want to get going at home and put in a performance for the supporters at Clifton Lane."

Otley will look to build on the positive performance during last week's 36-26 defeat at Moseley when they take on Plymouth Albion at Cross Green.