JAMES Tincknell makes his first start since returning from a wrist injury as Wharfedale, who face Harrogate on Saturday in a derby, chase a seventh successive home win in National League Two North.

Tincknell, who has been used as a replacement in the last two matches, comes in at centre as Jamie Guy switches to fly half to replace the unavailable Tom Barrett.

Guy switched to the half-backs successfully late on in last Saturday’s convincing 27-3 victory over Tynedale at The Avenue.

Josh Prell, who impressed for the Foresters in their Northern Pilot League win over Tynedale last week, returns to first-team duties on the bench.

It is 28-year-old Tincknell's fourth spell at The Avenue.

He left the Greens for Leeds Carnegie, after scoring 15 tries for Wharfedale in 2009-10 and earned Yorkshire and England Counties honours, but his career was set back by a serious car crash in February 2011.

Tincknell, who was at Old Otliensians before joining the Dalesmen, was in a medically-induced coma for a month after the accident on the A66.

Upon recovering, however, he received the Blyth Spirit Award from the Rugby Players’ Association for outstanding courage in the face of adversity.

Seven months after the accident, Tincknell was back on loan at Wharfedale and playing for the Foresters.

At the end of that season, Leeds Carnegie released the centre and he joined Doncaster but was again loaned back to Wharfedale during the 2012-13 campaign.

The Leicester-born back, who was 12th man for England’s cricket team when they played South Africa at Lord’s in 2008 and went on as a replacement fielder, has also played rugby for Cornish Pirates on a short-term contract, London Welsh, when they were in the Championship and Premiership, and Coventry.

Wharfedale would love to avenge the 20-17 defeat they suffered at Harrogate earlier in the season in a clash of the bottom two.

However, Wharfedale are now 11th and Harrogate 12th, while Otley, who are tenth, are only five points better off than the Dalesmen.

Otley are at home to South Leicester on Saturday.

Wharfedale (home to Harrogate): H Bullough; R Davidson, T Davidson, J Tincknell, S Jordan; J Guy, P Woodhead; A Howard, D Stockdale, T Asejevs, G Hedgley, R Rhodes, R Baldwin, J Burridge, L Wilson. Replacements: J Poole, I Larkin, J Huck, J Kitching, J Prell.