The black-and-yellows had a tough opening weekend of the new campaign going down 3-17 against a good Richmond Norman’s side, battling treacherous weather conditions and some obvious rustiness, as they played their first competitive game in nineteen months.

Whilst disappointed to see his side lose on the opening weekend, Vikings head coach Ray Smart is optimistic of his team showing improvements ahead of this weekends clash with Bracknell.

“Last weekend we took a little while to get going, particularly in some areas of our defence and at the breakdown. The second half against Richmond was an improvement, but battling against the wind made it a tough job and we know we can perform much better.”

“This week, we have reviewed the Richmond footage and identified where we need to sharpen up, and the boys have applied themselves really well in training to help us tackle those work-on’s. Hopefully that will show on Saturday, and give us the impetus to go forwards and play they way we want to play.” said Smart.

With predicted bright skies and minimal wind in Berkshire on Saturday, this should hopefully allow the Vikings to play a more attacking game than last week and get on the front foot.

Bracknell are a side that St Jacques have played twice previously, with both games being close affairs and each side picking up the spoils once. On the opening weekend Bracknell secured a good away victory over Henley II’s, and will no doubt be another good test for the Vikings.

Mitch Smith returns to bolster the Vikings pack, as they make several changes from last weekend. Tom Creed is required as cover for the Raiders, whilst Dan Morgan and Phil Le Noury drop out through injuries and illness. Nick Merrien is also missing for the trip as he is unavailable.

Smith will start at number 8, and is part of a dynamic back row that includes Tor Ritchie-Bandy on the blind-side and Alex Lock, who enjoyed a good game last week on the open-side.

Jacob Smith will move forward from the number 8 shirt he has vacated to his brother, and starts in the second row with the very experienced Dave Harvey who makes his first appearance of the season.

Up front James Mroch moves from prop to hooker, and is joined by regular props Barney Paul and Tom Bray.

The Vikings back-line has one change from last week, with Lucas Barker switching to scrum-half in exchange for Dale Rutledge and Taylor Quate coming into the centres. Quate just missed out last weekend but is now fit to make his return in the traditional St Jacques black-and-yellow colours, and is hoped to make an impact in the midfield.

Vikings Captain Matt Lomas is once again at fullback, with Joe Le Roux and Reece de Jersey on the wings and Callum Gladstone joining Quate in the centres, making up a powerful but skilful backline with plenty of speed out wide.

The Vikings will be hoping that they can secure their first victory of the season on Saturday, and kickstart their campaign.