STRATFORD RFC kick off their new Midlands 1 West season with a home game against Lichfield at Pearcecroft on Saturday, writes Mick Clewes.

The Black-and-Whites have appointed a new captain in second row forward Chris Knight (pictured right), who takes over from Drew Pritchard this season. Pritchard will take on the vice-captaincy role when he becomes available.

For Knight, this will be his first experience of captaincy at any level of rugby, but the 29-year-old can’t wait to get started in his new role. He told the Herald: “It’s a great challenge and one that I am taking very seriously. I’ve never even done vice-captaincy before but I thought that it was now time to step up to the plate.

“All the lads are behind me and we are really well prepared after one hell of a pre-season. We have put in a serious amount of hard work on the training ground which was reflected in the great win that we had when we went up to Newcastle to play Northern RFC, who are a respected, established club.”

Stratford have named their team for Saturday’s game which sees the return of former skipper Rich Pepperell in a potentially explosive centre pairing with the powerful Dez White. Pepperell is still commuting from his southern base but hopes to return to the Stratford area soon.

Youngster Matt Cook is included at prop while Will Francis replaces the unavailable Pritchard at No.9. Skipper Knight is partnered in the second row by the ever-reliable Frenchman Flo Vialan.

And Knight is enthusiastic about Saturday’s line-up. “Young Matt Cook is a big, strong lad who has shown a lot of ability in pre-season so we thought we would throw him in for this one. He has got loads of potential and is definitely one for the future,” he said.

“Will Francis is in for Drew at scrum-half but he is rapid and will be pushing Drew for a place this season. And it’s great to have Rich [Pepperell] back. With Dez White alongside him those two will be a real handful for any side.”

Stratford will be up against newly promoted opposition when Lichfield arrive in town on Saturday. The Myrtle Greens completed the double last season when they won the Midlands 2 West (North) championship as well as the Midlands Cup. Under coach Nick Sporcic they have had pre-season wins over Droitwich and Ilkeston and drew with Midlands 1 East outfit Derby.

Stratford team for Saturday: 1 Matthew Cook, 2 Ian Hibberd, 3 Jonathan Joy, 4 Florent Vialan, 5 Chris Knight (captain), 6 Mike Hanlon, 7 James Richardson, 8 Dave Pritchard, 9 Will Francis, 10 Jake White, 11 James Kennedy, 12 Rich Pepperell, 13 Dez White, 14 Callum Cook, 15 Will Franklin. Replacements: 16 James Hancock, 17 Gareth Rees, 18 Daniel Whitby.

Posted at 10am on 2nd September