MATT Williams says his players are chomping at the bit to return to game action when Chinnor host Ebbw Vale at Kingsey Road on Saturday.

The National League 2 South club take on the Welsh Premier Division outfit in an 80-minute friendly split into three periods.

Chinnor have been busy bolstering their squad over the summer and 30 players will get the opportunity to impress at the weekend.

But Daz Oliver, Roddy Giles and Bertie Hopkin are injured, while the game comes too soon for Oscar Heath.

Jack Ramshaw and Charlie Broughton are both unavailable.

Director of rugby Williams said: “There’s a definite excitement coming into this week with the first game of pre-season.

“Even though it is only a friendly, we have a competitive squad that are all wanting to put their hands up for a start on September 2 (against Clifton).

“Training has been good, very competitive the last week when we’ve introduced a bit of contact which has exposed a few areas that we need to work on.

“You can run amazing lines against bags and players and it looks great, but until you bring in real physical contact you don’t really know where you’re at.”

Henley Hawks are also in pre-season action, hosting National League 1 club Ampthill at Dry Leas.

Fourteen of the starting XV for Saturday played in the final game of the National League 2 South campaign last season.

Head coach Pete Davies is delighted with the continuity of his squad and hopes this weekend will prove a test.

He said: “We’ve been focusing really hard on our defence and our structures.

“Ampthill came third last year, they’re a highly experienced, very talented, big squad that is coached well.

“They will come here with confidence, so our defence will have to be very good.”