Chinnor complete their pre-season preparations with an exciting home double-header on Saturday.
National League 2 South side Old Albanian and Welsh Premier Division outfit Carmarthen Quins visit Thame, where supporters will have their first glimpse of this season’s squad in full flow at Kingsey Road.
Chinnor began pre-season 11 weeks ago and the latest warm-up games are an opportunity for the players to stake their final claims for a starting place against Blackheath on September 7.
There have been a lot of positives in the friendlies, which have included dominant wins over Rams and Bournemouth as well as last week’s 17-5 defeat at London Scottish.
Head coach Dan George admitted Chinnor were left disappointed in the latter, but take heart from the way they challenged their Championship hosts in two of the three sessions.
He is now hoping the players will kick on as the National League 1 season fast approaches.
George said: “We would like to see some progression from last Saturday.
“Having gone back over the video and referenced it with the boys, we actually played a lot better than we thought we did.
“It was a bit doom and gloom on Saturday, but we created a lot of opportunities that we just didn’t take.
“So it’s the recognition of how we take those opportunities and how we move the ball into the right zones.”
George added: “We’ve had a long pre-season.
“It’s a big last push for boys to stick their hands up for selection.
“I think there’s about six or seven spots available, so it’s going to be an interesting one on Saturday and I imagine they will be very hotly contested games.”
Hooker Nick Selway will be among several new faces playing at Kingsey Road for the first time.
The former Jersey Reds forward was involved in an accidental clash of heads against Scottish but, after having seven stitches to his right eye, is ready to go again.
Selway said: “It’s good we’ve got two home games.
“We’ve trained a hell of a lot at Kingsey Road, so it will be nice to run out in front of a home crowd.”
Entry is free, with the Old Albanian fixture kicking-off at 1pm, before the Carmarthen Quins friendly begins at 3pm.
