EBBW VALE will be ready to fire with all guns blazing on Saturday despite a horrendous end-of-season week which will have seen them play three games in eight days.

The Steelmen could be forgiven if they were feeling the pace after going to Neath and suffering a 50-point defeat last Saturday, flying up and down to Edinburgh for Tuesday's loss to the Gunners and then facing the other Scottish outfit Glasgow at Eugene Cross Park on Saturday.

But scrum-half Kevin Ellis said the management have realised how tough it would be, especially at the end of a long campaign, and have given the players plenty of time to recuperate between games.

Ellis said: "The boys are in good spirits, especially after Edinburgh which was a massive team performance.

"Having three games in a week is the problem with the fixtures in Welsh rugby but we have to deal with it.

"We had a lay-in on Sunday and a rest day, another lay-in and a light training session on Monday and then flew up at 7pm that evening from Bristol Airport.

"Then we had all day on Tuesday to rest before our game at Meadowbank Stadium before flying back yesterday."

Win or lose their last two games, Vale cannot finish on the bottom of the Welsh-Scottish League nor climb up from the last-but-one place.

However, Ellis said coach Mike Ruddock has told his players that these games against the clubs either side of them, Glasgow and Caerphilly, are important if only to finish the season off on a high.

The scrum-half added: "Obviously you target every game to win but we are really going for these last two matches as must-win."

On paper, Vale's campaign may not look too good in the league, but Ellis reckons they have got the foundations to build for the future.

"We need to finish on what Mike sees as not a bad season given that we have reached the quarter-finals of the Parker Pen Shield, the Principality Cup semi-finals and beaten some top teams like Cardiff and Neath along the way."

Prop Mike Worsley has been ruled out of the London Irish side for Saturday's Parker Pen European Shield semi-final clash against Pontypridd.

Worsley, a strong candidate to make England's tour of Argentina this summer, misses the game through injury.

He will be replaced in the Irish front-row by Neal Hatley as one of three changes following last Saturday's stunning Powergen Cup final victory over Northampton. The other switches are also up-front - both on rotation - with hooker Richard Kirke taking over from South African Naka Drotske and Simon Halford handed tighthead prop duties instead of Rob Hardwick.

Jonathan Humphreys, the former Cardiff and Wales hooker and captain, has signed a two-year deal with Bath.