RUSSELL Lawrance said the attitude and pre-season performances of his Penryn players has given him a selection headache ahead of Saturday opening league game of 2014/15.

Borough start the Tribute Western Counties West campaign at home to Sidmouth, who were relegated from the league above last year.

Going into the game, Lawrance, who took over as head coach at the Memorial Stadium in June, admitted to the Packet he expects his first team selection to be tough as lots of players have played well since he took charge.

However, he added competition for places is something he welcomes at the club.

Lawrance said: “Since coming here I have really enjoyed it and the lads have taken up the rallying call and shown great commitment in training.

“I have a real challenge ahead of me in terms of which starting 15 and substitutes to pick for Saturday and this is a tremendous credit to the players as it shows how well I think they’ve done so far, but I have to pick the best players in their best positions.

“For those who are not selected for Saturday, what I want to see from them is how they respond to not playing.

“I am hoping those who don’t play look to step up their game even more and put pressure on the starters and this sort of competition for places can only improve things within the team as a whole.”

Among the players who Lawrance praised for their pre-season efforts was George Jones who he named as the first team’s skipper for the season.

Alongside the back-row forward, centre Andrew Seviour has been picked as the club’s vice captain.

“The reason I picked George to be the captain was because he optimises I have been looking for since I became coach,” Lawrance said.

“His whole attitude and willingness to absorb the new ideas and culture we are trying to install has been superb.

“The same can be said for Andrew and I think both have shown great leadership qualities and hopefully when we are under pressure, they can help keep the guys focused on the pitch.”

He went onto say he expects Saturday’s game to be tough as their opponents have spent time recently in a higher league.

Lawrance said: “If I’m honest I don’t have much of a clue about what Sidmouth are actually like as a team, but from my experience, sides who have been relegated go into a new season with a point to prove.

“There is a real buzz going around our club at the moment though as everyone is excited to be playing competitive rugby again and I am hoping this can transfer into our performance.”