Sutton & Epsom RFC head coach Jeff Parsons, pictured, hopes that opening the new London Division One South at home will be the perfect tonic for a winning start.
Sutton, who won promotion from London Division Two South East last year, take on Dover on Saturday at Rugby Lane.
Parsons said: “It is nice to start off at home. We’ll have a big social event to start the season and hopefully a big crowd will come down and cheer us on.
“We hoped to have a more competitive pre-season than we have [a 19-12 win over CSRugby1862 and a 45-12 win at Crowborough] but we’ve worked on some combinations and things are going well in training.
“I am looking forward to getting going, I’m anxious, nervous, but above all excited.”
He added: “We won’t really know where we are until about five games into the season.”
This weekend, Parsons is without number eight Shaun Renwick, who has gone to South Africa, Mike Blakeburn, who is recovering from shingles, as well as David Cook, who has a foot injury.
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