PASSION and commitment is the massive call from Huddersfield’s Director of Rugby Mark Sowerby ahead of tomorrow’s crunch match with in-form National II North leaders Macclesfield at Lockwood Park (3.00).

Sowerby was furious after last week’s dismal, disjointed and dispirited display against bottom club Hull Ionians which resulted in only Huddersfield’s second defeat of the season, 30-13.

“We got well and truly thumped in the scrum last week, which didn’t help. But the message to the players this week, is ‘let’s not get beaten by a team purely on desire,’ because that is what came over last Saturday,” said Sowerby.

“And as far as I’m concerned that is unacceptable.

“I still believe we have a good side, and we have won four out of our first six games, which I would have certainly taken at the start of the season, but we need to start stepping up to the challenge.

“In the two games we have lost this season, both at Leicester and again last week at Hull, the tone was set in the first 15 minutes, and we never recovered from flat and sluggish starts.

“Tomorrow were are up against the team at the top of the League, which after last week’s effort is perhaps not a bad thing, but we definitely need to be a lot more savvy and streetwise.”

Sowerby has made a couple of changes, but they are more down to injuries than a re-shuffle, with both centre Ben Paxman, winger Matt Clarke and prop Jack McPhail out with knocks.

Tony Stringwell, who missed last week’s debacle after his wife gave birth 48 hours earlier, returns to the front row, which certainly struggled in his absence, while Damian Clayton starts this week’s match after coming off the bench six days ago.

Full-back Donovan van Vuuren moves up to outside centre to cover for the injured Ben Paxman, Adam Sutcliffe takes over Clarke’s wing spot and young second teammer Tom Owen steps up to play at full-back.

Huddersfield had two good battles with Macclesfield last term, winning 19-18 at Lockwood Park with tries from Clayton and Alex Shaw (now at the YM) and three Chris Johnson penalties, while they went down by six, 29-23, in the reverse fixture in Cheshire.

Huddersfield: Owen; Sutcliffe, Paxman (L), van Vuuren, Ryder; Johnson, Clayton; Stringwell, Davies, Slater, Harris, Rhodes, Sharpe, Lewis, Hyde. Subs: Battye, Entressengle, Whitehead, Hinchliff, Hinchliffe.