SEVEN of Henley Hawks’s National League 2 South-winning side will start against Welsh Premier champions Pontypridd at Dry Leas on Saturday (4).

Hawks began pre-season with a 72-21 defeat at Bedwas last weekend in a match split into four periods of 20 minutes.

This weekend’s fixture will be a full 80-minute match and the first meeting between the two sides.

Captain Dave Clements starts in the second row and is joined in the forwards by familiar faces Dave Manning, Tom Hall and Robbie Stapley.

New signings Tom Emery (hooker) Ant Brennan (tight-head), Jake Albon (second row) and Julian Watkins (blind-side flanker) all start.

In the backs, fly half James Comben, centre Tom Allen and winger Xavier Andre remain from last year’s title-winning side.

There are starts for scrum half Will Beynon, full back Elliott Cox, winger Liam O’Neill and centre Jack Bradford.

Theo Brophy Clews and Johnny Williams are unavailable, as they have been selected for London Irish to play in the Premier Clubs Sevens.

Hawks’s match will follow Henley Bulls’s fixture against Marlow, which is a 2pm kick-off.

Henley: Cox, Andre, Allen, Bradford, O’Neill, Comben, Beynon, Manning, Emery, Brennan, Clements, Albon, Watkins, Hall, Stapley. Reps: Sandys, Langdon, Davey, Richardson, Woodward, Davies, Gardner, Pierrepoint.

CHINNOR beat Birmingham & Solihull 57-19 on Saturday, while Witney overcame Cheltenham 43-17 and Bicester went down 17-7 to Southam.