Chinnor head into their National League 2 South campaign, confident of improving on last season’s sixth place finish. Director of rugby Matt Williams set up testing friendlies against Coventry and Rosslyn, from the league above, but believes it has given his side ideal preparation for their trip to Southend.
He said: “We are looking to improve on last year and if we do that we will be pushing at the top end of the table.
“I think we are in a strong place going into the first league game.
“Southend away is the perfect start for us because it is one of the hardest places to go in the league as they proved last year."
Andy and Mark Darlington are set to make their debuts in the front row, while Andy Berry is at tight-head after rejoining the club in the summer.
Tom Burns, Joe Vandermolen and Matt Tibbatts are also in line to make their first appearances in the pack, with Tiploma Kivalu waiting in the wings on the bench. In the backs, Greg Goodfellow, Mark Davies, Jack Adams and Adam Dehaty will all pull on a Chinnor jersey for the first time.