Intensity & energy are the buzz words being used by Ray Smart ahead of his Vikings side maiden fixture against Fareham Heathens, in the newly formed Counties 3 Hampshire.

Stepping back into the RFU league pyramid at level 9, the Vikings begin a 22 game campaign where we hope to be very competitive, although the coach is giving nothing away in terms of where he hopes his side might finish up come the end of the season.

Speaking ahead of the first match Ray Smart said;

‘We are really excited to be playing our first game in the main English league structure this weekend. The players have worked really hard during preseason and with good numbers at training, selecting a squad for this weekend was tough.’

‘As we are entering an unknown league this season, we have just focussed on how we want to play. If we can set the tone and play our game with energy and intensity I am confident it will lead to us performing well at this level.’

‘We have set some targets amongst ourselves for what we want to achieve this season. The ability to achieve those targets will largely come from us all sticking to our processes and the standards we have set for ourselves on and off the pitch.’

‘I am really looking forward to seeing how we get on this week.’ added Smart.

The Vikings have managed to hold on to most of our squad from last season, and we will again be led by Matt Lomas for this campaign. Pleasingly the squad has been boosted by the addition of over six Guernsey Academy Colts, with more expected to join through the season.

With several other new faces joining up with the squad, including the return of Rory Jones, the brother of former professional & now Raiders coach Luke Jones, the squad is in healthy shape.

One of the biggest challenges facing Ray Smart is selecting a squad of only 18 players. Versatility amongst his squad is going to be very important, and for this weekend he has been able to select an experienced group.

There is one new face in the team, as former Colt Keiran Williamson makes his debut. A towering figure for a young man, he packs down in the second row with Tom Creed, in what will form a powerful engine room for the Vikings.

James Burger, who is regularly a part of Jordan Reynolds National Two squad’s, will add some firepower to the Vikings back-row this week, joining two mainstays in Mitch Smith and Chris Croft.

Alex Lock is in line to make his first start at hooker, having now added this position to his back-row abilities. He is joined by Michael Smith and James Mroch.

In the backs, Dale Rutledge will add his usual quality at scrum-half. He is undoubtedly one of the most important cogs in the Vikings machine, and last seasons player of the season is likely to have a big say in our performance.

Matt Lomas will steer the ship from fly-half, with the big carrying Lucas Barker outside of him in the centres. Taylor Quate is one of the Vikings x-factor players, and he joins Barker to create an exciting midfield duo.

The back three is made up of Cam Le Prevost, who returns to the side after undergoing shoulder surgery last season and Joe Le Roux who is always consistent in a Vikings shirt. Gearoid Lee completes the line-up at fullback, where he will offer a significant attacking threat to the Heathens, and will double up as the Vikings second playmaker.

It’s a big season for the Vikings, let’s hope we can get off to a good start.

Kick-off is 2pm in Fareham, you can follow live scores on our Instagram & Facebook stories.