London Scottish Director of Rugby Simon Amor says competition for places is heating up as his side heads into this weekend’s final friendly of pre-season.
With just over a fortnight to go until the Greene King IPA Championship kicks off for Scottish with a game against Ealing Trailfinders at Allianz Park, players are now well aware how important it is to excel in Saturday's home clash with Esher.
They impressed during in a 45-5 win over Richmond last week at the Athletic Ground and Amor feels the squad are in good shape ahead of the meeting with the National One outfit.
He said: “This weekend against Esher is the last opportunity for guys to really stake a claim for the Scottish jersey before Ealing.”
“A step up from the Richmond game is what we are looking for.
“We have effectively finished pre-season and that has enabled the boys to recover a bit more, bring short, sharper sessions into things and add a bit more intensity to our rugby.
“There is good competiton for places at the moment and that is driving standards in training which is what we want.”
He continued: “Against Richmond I was very pleased with the boys up front and our set piece went well.
“I was also pleased how our defence went against a Richmond team who were very abrasive and in difficult weather conditons we attacked with good intent.”
Esher should pose an altogether different threat at the Athletic Ground this Saturday and, if the weather's set fair, Amor expects a free-flowing game of rugby.
He added: “Esher still have a number of players in their squad that were with them in the Championship and they play an exciting brand of rugby.
“They will test us a lot particuarly if the weather stays dry, unlike last weekend.
“They have targeted getting back up this year from National One into the Championship so it will be a tough, stern test. It's another local derby, a big one for the boys.”
– London Scottish is offering a special family ticket deal for this weekend's friendly. Two adults and up to three children can get into the Athletic Ground for just £10 if they download a voucher from the Club website and present it at the ticket desk. Kick-off is 3pm.
To book tickets for Saturday’s clash or our league opener against Ealing, click here.
– Listen to Simon Amor's full audio interview here
London Scottish team v Esher:
1, Mark Irish; 2, Ted Stagg; 3, Lewis Thiede; 4, Alex Karonias; 5, David Lyons; 6, Chevvy Pennycook; 7, Neil Best; 8, Mark Bright (c); 9, Jamie Stevenson; 10, Lee Millar; 11, Miles Mantella; 12, Andy Reay; 13, Oli Grove; 14, Mike Doneghan; 15, Jim Thompson.
Replacements: Ben Russell, Joe Trayfoot, PJ Gidlow, Peter Homan, Harry Allen, Eric Fry, Tyler Hotson, Jordi Pasqualin, Dan Newton, James Love, Tom Howe, George Hunter.
