LAUNCESTON have named their team for tomorrow’s Regional One South West opener at home to newly-promoted Topsham (3pm).

The All Blacks have finished fifth in the last two years, but need to put an end to a dismal run of form last season which saw them lose their final eight games to fall out of the promotion race.

Barnstaple eventually edged Brixham for the title and while the Blacks are unlikely to be in the race this time due to a high turnover of players, they will be hoping to be in the top half at the very least, particularly if they rediscover their usually fine form at Polson Bridge.

From last year’s squad, several are unavailable for various reasons.

Scrum-half George Hillson (Plymouth Albion), versatile back Jose Luis Juarez (Exmouth) and lock Dan Goldsmith (Redruth) have moved on, prop Ethan Pearce-Cowley has moved away, flanker Dom Ellery is focusing on university and Tom Bottoms is a long-term absentee with a serious achilles injury.

There have, however, been incomings. Hooker Rory Mead has arrived from Bude, as has versatile back-rower Ben Hancock who will start in an unfamiliar role in the second-row, while the biggest signing could be that of flanker George Harris who has made dozens of appearances at National League level for Worthing.

Centre Morgan Woods has arrived from Okehampton but lines up in the seconds at Liskeard-Looe, while scrum-half Corey Jenkinson provides cover in the absence of fellow nine Charlie Attwood, who is in the Navy and set to feature in the coming weeks.

Two of the biggest bits of news are the returns of George Bone and Charlie Tummon.

Bone returns after a season off, while Tummon is back from university and travelling. They both start in a side which has no recognised second-rows.

The rest of the side has a familiar look to it, including skipper Tom Sandercock who is fit again after suffering a knee injury at St Austell in March. He lines up at scrum-half with James Tucker next to him as they look to build on Saturday’s impressive showing against Okehampton which they won 43-7 to retain the Border Cup.

Topsham arrive in North Cornwall having enjoyed the season of their dreams last time out.

Not only did they secure the Regional Two South West crown, they also won the Regional Two Papa Johns Trophy final at Twickenham.

Being based just outside of Exeter, they have managed to put together an impressive squad and are backed to be up towards the top.

But a trip to Polson is never easy, although going there in September is far more fun that in the depths of winter.

Reflecting on pre-season and looking ahead to the game, Launceston joint head coach Ian Goldsmith said: “Topsham had a wonderful season last year and it looks like they’ve continued that momentum into pre-season judging by their results.

“For us it’s about as tough as it gets bar maybe an away trip to Brixham or Devonport, but it’s a game to look forward to.

“If the weather is good they’ll look to play a running game, so it’s up to us to deal with that.”

So what are the expectations?

He said: “Although we’ve been fifth the last two seasons we’ve had a bit of an overhaul with seven or eight unavailable from last year for various reasons.

“Alot of it will depend on how quickly the new players adapt to the level of rugby, and as coaches it’s up to us to put things in place to try and give the boys the best chance of playing well and ultimately, getting more points on a Saturday afternoon than the opposition.”

Goldsmith continued: “I think it’ll be a lot tighter than last year as it doesn’t look like there will be an Ivybridge who really struggled last year.

“But like last year I think everyone will beat everyone and it’ll come to what happens on the day and who copes best with injuries and unavailability.”

Launceston are focusing on themselves and have been working on their defence which leaked in the final weeks.

He said: “We’ve been looking at resetting a few things with a real focus on our defence, but also we play in our own half between the 22 and the halfway line. We need to be better in that area of the field.

“The other thing we’ve had to consider is the amount of quality we’ve got in the back-row and make sure we play to our strengths accordingly.

“We’re really looking forward to getting started and anyone at a loose end we’d love to see down at polson to watch some energetic, high-paced rugby.”

The second team secured promotion into Counties Two Cornwall and the new league will see them pit their wits against multiple first teams and their Camborne, Wadebridge and St Austell counterparts.

Goldsmith added: “The Castles being promoted is a great thing for the club and the squad. For them it’ll be about looking to consolidate but it’ll also be great for the boys to be exposed to a decent level of rugby and reduce the gap in standard.”

LAUNCESTON v Topsham: Ben Bryant; Billy Martin, Callum Smith, Cam Fogden, Ollie Bebbington; James Tucker, Tom Sandercock (capt); Levent Bulut, Rory Mead, Mitch Hawken; Ben Hancock, George Bone; Charlie Tummon, George Harris, Brandon Rowley. Replacements: Charlie Short, Alex Bartlett, Morgan Woods.

LAUNCESTON CASTLES at Liskeard-Looe (3pm): Mitch Acres; Kuda Chisango, James Maciver-Redwood, Rich Jasper, Cohen Larson; Ollie Tomkies, Mark Knight; Oli Martin, Luke Howe, Simon Burden (capt), Cian Baker, Ben Greene; Tyler Westlake, Fin Styles, Chris Hall. Replacements: Harvey Basford, Tom Walton, Callum Johns, George Mills.