Colchester get their Regional 1 South East league season underway with a trip to familiar rivals Shelford on Saturday after a busy summer on and off the pitch.

A new coaching set-up and strength and conditioning coach, an impressive group of players recruited and a new first team captain add up to something of a fresh start, as the team aims for a quick return to National League rugby.

It’s no surprise to hear that head coach Mike Haywood has hardly had a break since the end of the last campaign in April.

It’s been pretty hectic too for new captain Cameron Kerr – but for rather different reasons.

On the day of Colchester’s first pre-season friendly, Cam married Danni in a ceremony at Great Bardfield before the couple dashed off for a week’s honeymoon.

Four days after their return, Cam was skippering the side in their final pre-season match against Westcombe Park and two days later he was back at work as a PE teacher at Sible Hedingham school.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” said Cam, with some understatement.

“I’ve never captained a team before, not even through the age groups, so it’s going to be an interesting experience, but we’ve got a great leadership team here and that will make my life easier.”

Cam certainly has big boots to fill following on from club legend Danny Whiteman, who stood down following his second stint as captain at the end of last season.

“I’m really glad Danny is still sticking around. When he first said he was stepping down as captain my biggest worry was that he wasn’t going to go on playing. Having him as part of the team is a massive help for me. He’s a great leader and big shoes to fill.”

Given Cam’s tireless work in the back row of the scrum last season – during which he was the team’s only ever-present in all 26 Nat 2 league matches – it’s no surprise to hear him say he wants to lead by example.

“I don’t think I’m quite the ‘Pickett-esque’ captain, shouting and screaming,” said Cam, making reference to one of his more vocal recent predecessors. “My main goal will be to lead from the front.”

Shelford finished last season in eighth place but will certainly be tough first-up opponents on Saturday (3pm kick-off). When the teams last met at the Davey Field in Colchester’s promotion season of 2023/24, The Blacks squeaked home by just two points.

For Haywood, one of the biggest challenges will be picking 18 players for the match from what is now a pretty big pool of players.

“We’ve had new guys come in who’ve done a fantastic job and that makes selection a bit tougher for me,” said the boss.

“Last season we didn’t have the numbers and essentially the team picked itself whereas this season from my point of view there’re going to be some tough conversations.

“But it’s exciting what the season looks like, it’s exciting what this group can potentially do. And for us, if we can get promoted again that would be amazing.

“The biggest thing for us is we want to perform week-in, week-out. If we put our best performance on the pitch that will allow us to win games.”

In a busy start to the new season, three other Colchester teams are in action at Raven Park on Saturday.

The Ravens open their Counties One Eastern Counties league season with a match against Shelford 2s (kick-off 3pm), keen to build on what was a highly promising first season at this level.

The As entertain Maldon 2s in a friendly while the Cavaliers play Ipswich 3s in Eastern Counties Greene King division two south (both matches 3pm).