THE Malvern U17s Pirates open their league season with a tough match against Worcester U17s at Spring Lane this Sunday.

The Pirates have been strengthened by the arrival of a number of new players over the summer break to fill key positions where cover was thin. The squad has trained with the senior club players throughout the summer break and already a number of the players have caught the attention of David Robins, the director of rugby and Liam Middleton, the coach.

The Pirates' head coach, Gary Tolley believes that all of the squad can put up a very creditable run in the North Midlands U17 league despite having to come up against some very useful outfits.

He said: "I am confident that we can deliver the goods each week because the players we have in the squad are very keen show their worth against the likes of Worcester and Hereford. We lost a large number of players before the summer break due to work and college commitments, but the players who have joined since are of the highest quality and this has boosted everyone's morale."

The match against Worcester will kick-off at 11am.