CRAIG Burrows says he has been surprised by the level of commitment after taking over as Grove’s head coach.

Burrows joined the Cane Lane club this summer after spending two years gaining coaching experience with Oxford Harlequins and Oxfordshire.

“It was the natural next stage,” said Burrows, whose side top Southern Counties North after winning their first three matches.

“I knew there were a lot of talented players here.

“I always knew there would be a good base of players to work with, but it surprised me how many people were committed to what I was doing.

“We are getting 30-35 players training. I was expecting a squad of 18, but we have got competition for most positions.

“The commitment has really impressed me.

“There is a great base here. They are all local boys and are desperate to get success for the club.”

Former Chinnor lock Burrows, who is assisted by Nathan Brooks, has looked to tighten Grove up this season and so far seems to have succeeded.

He said: “We are always going to score points, but fitness and defence were the two main things we did in pre season.

“We are fitter than a lot of teams in the last 20 minutes and our defence is good.”

One bonus Burrows didn’t expect was to have wing Harry Carr re-sign after a brief spell at Chinnor.

“We were very glad to have Harry back,” said Burrows. “He was straight back into our starting line-up.

“I think it will do him good to have another season here. He will score tries all season because of his pace.”

Meanwhile, Wallingford’s new coaching team are going back to basics as they look to arrest last season’s slide.

Joint coaches Henry Pooler and Stuart Mount took over following Wallingford’s relegation from South West 1 East.

Pooler said: “We are just trying to get the lads to enjoy playing again.

“Our broken play is pretty decent. It is getting the structure around that and getting the guys to believe.”

Mount added: “This year is a massive rebuilding year for us. It feels like we have lost a lot of players.

“We’ll learn more from losing than winning as we did to Grove.

“We have got a week off now and are really targeting the Wootton Bassett game as the match to come back with a bang.”