THE Railwaymen have a new face at the helm.

Andy Daw has taken over the coaching duties at York RI and is in charge for the first time when the Yorkshire Four side visit Leeds Corinthians tomorrow.

Daw has arrived at New Lane having last year coached at RI’s Yorkshire Four rivals Garforth.

He takes over a team which has been struggling with injuries and indifferent form for a couple of seasons, but club spokesman Nigel Lowrey said the committee was confident Daw could make progress with the side.

“We are glad to have him on board,” he said.

“We think he will be able to do a bit with the pack and get the backs going as well. We’ve been playing well, we’ve just not been getting the breaks.

“We are looking forward to working with Andy. He has been given a free rein to look after the coaching side.”

Speedy winger Rob Kama makes a rare appearance for York in their crunch derby match at Malton and Norton in Yorkshire One.

The Fijian soldier, who helped Great Britain win the Combined Services Rugby League World Cup in Australia in November, is part of a much-changed side which takes on their derby rivals. Nic Ventress is on the bench, while Sam Arkle is missing in the centres.

Kama, who will also be playing rugby league in the select side which takes on York City Knights in the Lee McTigue memorial match at Huntington Stadium a week on Sunday, is now stationed in Newcastle but said: “I’ll still come back and play rugby union for York, though I’ve been focusing mainly on rugby league to get into the Combined Services team.”

“I’ve not played rugby union since before the World Cup and I’m quite nervous about getting the rules right for a start.

“As far as I’ve been told, I’ll be starting on Saturday, although, because I don’t train and am stuck up in Newcastle with work, I’m happy to be benched. It’s hard on the guys who train week in week out if I was to just come straight in.”

Elsewhere, Craig Ventress continues at fly-half and the important back-row trio of Andy Kay, Stu Davies and Kiwi skipper Jon Sharpe may prove crucial against an improving Malton side.

They only went down 22-12 to North 2 East Driffield at The Gannock with the result in the balance almost until the final whistle.

Pocklington had an enforced rest last weekend in Yorkshire Two after going to Beverley, where the conditions were touch and go and the referee called the game off.

Tomorrow they are scheduled to face a long trip to Settle to meet North Ribblesdale, a team they have a good record against in recent years.

Shane Sellers’ injury on Boxing Day has proved more serious than first thought, but Dave Birch comes back in at hooker. In the backs, Henry Mitchell switches to scrum-half, where he played most of his early rugby, to cover for Ben Rees.

Selby are at Keighley in Yorkshire One.