LAUNCESTON Rugby Club’s joint head coach, Ryan Westren, admits he’s been delighted with the application shown by the players in pre-season as they prepare take on Fullerians in their first friendly on Saturday (3pm).

The Watford-based club ply their trade in London One (North) which is at Level Six (same as Launceston), and finished ninth in the 14-team division in 2017/18.

Westren, who will continue to play this term as an outside centre, expects them to provide a good test before the All Blacks head to relegated Tribute South West Premier side Barnstaple next Saturday before entertaining Tribute Cornwall and Devon League side Penryn on the 25th ahead of their Tribute South West One (West) opener at Lydney on September 1.

He said: “We don’t know too much about them which is often a good thing, apart from the fact they play at the same level as us! We could play Okehampton and it’s a different game due to the rivalry but from this we’ll find out exactly where we’re at.

“Then with the other two we can approach them and focus on what we did wrong as well as making sure we re-establish the things we did right so we can do them all the time.”

Many clubs’ pre-season outings start with easier fixtures on paper before taking on a team around the same level, however Westren wanted to have all avenues covered.

He said: “We thought we wanted to play someone who is higher to learn, someone who is at our level to see where we’re at and then someone in the leagues below.

“Penryn are an up and coming side and brought in a lot of players so they might play to a higher standard than their league suggests.

“We wanted to cover all bases. Some won’t be available for certain games and we wanted a broad spectrum of opposition and then we can fit the players in and around that.

“It’s not as easy as just having three games and everyone’s going to be available for them.

“However if you’re unavailable in the league then the chances are, is that if someone comes in and takes the shirt and does as well or better than you, then you will lose your shirt!”

“We’ll see after training how we’re going to approach the game but come half-time at Barnstaple we want most people to have played as at the end of the day, September 1 is the focus and we’re geared towards that. But if people don’t take their opportunity you may not play. We have a squad of about 35 at the moment although hopefully we’ll only have to use around 25 in the season.

“For the last pre-season game we may only use a squad of about 22 so it’s up to the players to take their chance in the first two games to be in the frame for selection for the final friendly and the first league game!”

With plenty of players fighting it out to make the starting 15, Westren admits training has been spot on.

He said: “I haven’t come away from a session yet thinking that was a bit flat or that wasn’t at the level it needs to be.

“We’ve been introducing some more breakdown work, etc, as well as continuing with the conditioning games and the training has slowly become more game-related and very intense as the more intense you are in training the better it’ll be in games.

“This week and last week we’ve got them more hardened for Saturday. It’s a long time we’ve played any games and taken knocks and you need to get reaccustomed to it in training so they’re ready for the games.

“Last year was a transitional year where we implemented a lot of stuff mid-season but this time we’ve been able to hit the ground running, revisiting stuff from last year and familiarising ourselves with it and I can’t fault the intensity. It’s not something you can coach. For example, if someone keeps dropping the ball you can make them better but if someone doesn’t want to work they don’t want to work. You can’t do much about it!

“It’ll be tough in the pre-season matches as we’ll have a lot of changes but intensity wise I expect the boys to give everything as they’re fighting for their shirts, even if all the patterns and team shape won’t be quite there yet as it’s the first game and with a squad of 30 odd you’re not going to get that flow and cohesion.”

One of those players who’ll be looking to impress is Andy Knight.

The giant prop missed much of last season due to work commitments, but is available more often this term.

Westren said: “Andy had to take a step back from rugby last year due to work but his schedule has changed a bit and he’s a very good player to have when available.

“He’s a big bloke, a leader and a big personality and we’ve missed his presence in the squad.

“Sam Snell has rejoined again from Saltash and has made a positional move to the back-row from the wing. It’ll be interesting to see how that transition goes.”

Despite plenty of options at their disposal, Westren admits he and Ian Goldsmith are open-minded when it comes to new recruits.

He said: “We’re always on the lookout but we’re happy with our backs. We could do with another prop but I’m more than happy with what we’ve got if push comes to shove.”