That was Matt Salter’s thoughts on the look ahead this week as his side travel to Shaftesbury Park this Saturday to face a Dings side who saw of Luctonians last Saturday.

“It’s so early in the season that there isn’t really any form to go on; Dings finished so strong last year, they were one of the best performing sides at the end of last season and obviously they secured the win over us at our patch and have looked to build on that. It’s going to be a great spectacle, it always is.”

“We didn’t quite get to where we wanted to be last week against Loughborough, when we did hit our straps we really put the pressure on Loughborough - but we switched off, slipped our tackles and gave away far too many penalties . We’ve worked hard on those areas all week - made some personnel changes and looked how we want to impose our game on them. Field position and set piece is vital, as well as managing our game.”

Bertie Stretch makes his first start at Hooker following his impressive performance off the bench last week and he is joined by a new front row pairing in Ricky Cano and Alex Giltrow. Freddie Myatt makes his first start alongside Max Murphy in the second row, with Tom Wilson captaining the side from 6, max Woodward at 7 and Bear’s Mackenzie Duncan at 8.

Owing to a late change, Danny Openshaw starts at 9, alongside Luke Cozens, with Marcus Nel recalled to the centre to form a powerful centre pairing with Will Owen. The back 3 also sees the return of Alex Howman at 15, with Alex Kilbane and Fin Sharp on the wings.

The bench sees Rhys Charalamblous join fellow Bear Sam Worsley, Zak Hamid and there are returns to the 1st XV for Dan Wells and David Wheeler, both having rejoined Clifton this season.

Clifton Rugby v Dings Crusaders | Saturday 10th September 2022 | National League 2W Round 1 | Shaftesbury Park | Kick Off 15:00

1. Ricky Cano 2. Bertie Stretch 3. Alex Giltrow b]4[/b]. Max Murphy 5. Freddie Myatt 6. Tom Wilson (c) 7. Max Woodward 8. Mackenzie Duncan 9. Danny Openshaw 10. Luke Cozens 11. Fin Sharp 12. Will Owen (vc) 13. Marcus Nel 14. Alex Kilbane 15. Alex Howman

16. Rhys Charalambous 17. Dave Wheeler 18. Dan Wells 19. Zak Hamid 20. Sam Worsley