RUGBY returns this weekend, with five Oxfordshire clubs beginning their new campaigns on Saturday. We catch up with Chinnor, Henley Hawks, Banbury, Witney and Oxford Harlequins ahead of the 2018/19 season.

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  • Fly half Caolan Ryan has signed for Chinnor Picture: Simon Cooper 

CHINNOR

Director of rugby: Matt Williams

Captain: Danny Barnes

2017/18 position: 2nd National League 2 South

Players in: Tom Burns, Caolan Ryan, Ben Thomas, Joe Dancer, Craig Holland, Greg King

Players out: Jonny Bentley, Luke Hibberd, Rory Mason, Alex Bradley

One to watch: Caolan Ryan

WHEN Chinnor walk out at Plymouth Albion on Saturday they will be stepping into the unknown.

Last season’s play-off final victory saw the Thame-based club reach National League 1 – the third tier of English rugby – for the first time in their history.

Chinnor are the youngest club to play at the level and, despite a 100 per cent record in pre-season, head to Devon with uncertainty.

Having retained 20 members of the squad which won promotion from National League 2 South, director of rugby Matt Williams has bolstered his side with six new faces.

Captain Danny Barnes is among those to stay and is confident Chinnor can establish themselves at a higher level.

He said: “It will be a tough year. The bulk of our squad is similar to what we had last year.

“We’ve brought in some tidy players from the Championship and National 1, but it’s interesting.

“It’s a big step up and a new level for a lot of the boys and the whole club in general – history will be made on Saturday.”

Barnes added: “With the group we have and the ambition of the boys, we all want to do well and it will be more than just about staying up.

“I could not tell you an exact position, but we would like to think we won’t be pushovers.”

New signings Caolan Ryan and Craig Holland have impressed in pre-season, with Chinnor securing victories over Old Albanians, Richmond, Esher, London Irish Wild Geese and Ebbw Vale.

But Barnes is wary of reading too much into the results.

He said: “You always have to take pre-season with a pinch of salt, no matter who you’ve been playing.

“The opposition we’ve played have not been as high as the teams we will come up against.

“We’ve been scoring some really good tries, playing well, sticking to our shape, which has been good, but it’s hard to gage where we’re at.

“We’ll find out on Saturday exactly how good it has been.”

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  • Former Henley Hawks skipper Dave Clements has retired

HENLEY HAWKS

Director of rugby: Nigel Dudding

Head coach: Luke Allen

Captain: Sam Lunnon

2017/18 position: 9th National League 2 South

Players in: Sam Lunnon, Rory Mason, Alex Bradley, Ross Parkin

Players out: Dave Clements

One to watch: Sam Lunnon

NEW head coach Luke Allen expects Henley Hawks to be a work in progress after a busy summer at Dry Leas.

The former back row forward has replaced Pete Davies in the role, who stepped down after a successful eight years at the club, which included two promotions to National League 1.

Allen is by no means new to the Hawks set-up, having joined as a player in 2013 and then been an integral part of the coaching staff at the south Oxfordshire side.

Now in charge of the National League 2 South club, he has been busy making changes behind the scenes to move Henley forward.

Ex-Old Albanians skipper Sam Lunnon has joined and been named captain following Dave Clements’ retirement at the end of last season.

He is set to start at Bury St Edmunds on Saturday and Allen, who has signed four players in total, is looking forward to seeing how his side progress.

“It’s been a bit of a baptism of fire, but it’s been exciting,” he said.

“I think there were things that needed to be changed, we needed to freshen a few things up.

“We’ve tried to make sure we had a thriving and bigger squad to ensure players are pushing each other for places and that has happened.”

Allen added: “We want to keep the enthusiasm that Pete Davies implemented over the years as well as having really good strong players across the board.

“We want a really good, fit, mobile pack which can last the 80 minutes.

“And we want to have an imposing and aggressive side, which can defend well and attack when needed.

“It’s not going to happen overnight.

“It’s a tough first game against Bury St Edmunds and we want to go there with a bit of confidence.”

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  • Dan Brady scores a try for Banbury against Witney last season - the sides meet on the opening day of the new campaign Picture: Simon Grieve

BANBURY

Head coach: Matt Goode

Captain: Ian Isham

2017/18 position: 2nd South West 1 East

Players in: George Bentley, Ben Dickson, Ed Berridge, Saope Soko, Josh Harris, Justin Parker

Players out: Freddie Cracknell, George Grieve

One to watch: Tommy Gray

MATT Goode is calling on his Banbury side to get used to being one of the title favourites in South West 1 East.

Bulls finished second in 2017/18 and were beaten in the play-off final after an excellent campaign.

They are expected to be among the front-runners for promotion this season when they kick-off at Witney on Saturday.

And while Goode would rather go under the radar, the head coach is fully aware Banbury will need to earn the right to challenge again.

He said: “It’s something we definitely have to deal with.

“It would be lovely to ignore it, but we know people will be trying to step up and beat us.

“That’s the tough thing about just missing out on promotion and being that top team.

“We’ve got to get ourselves right. We can’t rest on our position from last year, we have to work.”

Banbury have added to their squad with the signings of George Bentley, Ben Dickson, Ed Berridge, Saope Soko, Josh Harris and Justin Parker.

They have only lost one member of the side which ended last season, with Freddie Cracknell leaving after finishing his degree.

Goode has been busy adding to Banbury’s tactical artillery over the summer and is hoping his side will be able to meet any challenge.

He said: “Last year we knew we could play in wet weather and throw the ball around.

“In dry weather, hopefully we’ll have another game plan if people have cottoned on to the way we’ve played – we’ll surprise them in other ways.

“We’re not so much a new Banbury, but there will be other styles of play that we can adapt to.”

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  • Rhys Morgan scored nine tries for Witney in 2017/18

WITNEY

Director of rugby: Tug Wilson

Head coach: Richie Craig

Captain: Matt Clarke

2017/18 position: 8th South West 1 East

Players in: Luke Manning, Allie Walker

Players out: None

One to watch: Jack Birks

WITNEY are preparing themselves for a tough campaign, but Tug Wilson believes the club’s youngsters will rise to the challenge.

The west Oxfordshire outfit endured a mixed season in 2017/18, finishing eighth in South West 1 East.

It has been a summer of change at Hailey Road, with Wilson becoming director of rugby and Richie Craig filling his boots as head coach.

Centre Matt Clarke has also taken over as captain from scrum half Gareth Campbell, while experienced heads Henry Lamb and Carl Campbell will both play and coach the 2nd XV.

Witney have bolstered their squad with the signings of Luke Manning, who is due to make his debut against Banbury on Saturday, and Allie Walker.

Wilson is confident the club’s young guns will step up.

He said: “Our target is to be competitive and to make sure we’re blooding that younger generation.

“We have some young players we blooded last year in a couple of games and to be able to do that and get the points on the board, that’s got to be the ambition of the club.

“But it’s a difficult league again – there’s no easy game.

“A mid-table finish has got to be the aim, but towards the top of that, we don’t want to get into a dogfight to avoid relegation.”

Hosting Banbury in the opening game is a tough start for Witney, but Wilson says his players are looking forward to the test.

He added: “We know all about them.

“It’s going to be a difficult game, they’ve got some good players, but hopefully the systems we have will cause them problems.”

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  • Joe Nalewabau has rejoined Oxford Harlequins after being unavailable for most of last season due to work comittments

OXFORD HARLEQUINS

Head coach: Andy Boyle

Captain: James Stacey

2017/18 position: 4th South West 1 East

Players in: Freddie Myatt, Max Valevou, Joe Nalewabau, Pete Alston, Ralph Jones, Rory Garrett, Antonio Turetta

Players out: Sam Watkinson, Charlie Craig

One to watch: Rory Garrett

THERE is an air of excitement around Oxford Harlequins ahead of Saturday’s season opener at Royal Wootton Bassett.

With the artificial pitch laid at their new Horspath Sports Ground home, the club are viewing the 2018/19 campaign as a fresh start.

The facilities have helped to attract six players, including former Swansea University fly half Rory Garrett.

And head coach Andy Boyle is in a buoyant mood as he eyes an improvement on last season’s fourth place finish in South West 1 East.

He said: “We always want to get better.

“I was anxious this time last year and I’m not arrogant, but I’m feeling much more upbeat going into this season.

“That is because of the squad and facility we’ve got and the boys have looked good on a quick surface.”

However, Quins have had to make late changes to their backroom staff.

Assistant coach Douglas Gordon and player/coach Jack Wiggins are due to move away from the area later next month.

But former Henley Hawks head coach and Quins player Pete Davies has agreed to assist Boyle.

The move from Marston Ferry Road to Horspath has resulted in a summer of hard work.

But Boyle is looking forward to a bright future after a period of uncertainty, which included a failed merger with Oxford.

He said: “It’s really exciting.

“I’m waiting for something to go wrong and I mean that in a nice and innocent way.

“We don’t always seem to get the rub of the green with things.

“The merger didn’t go to plan and we were back at Marston Ferry Road.

"But it looks great and it’s exciting.”