CAPTAIN Luke Yarranton hopes this is the year that Hereford finally gain promotion from Midlands 1 West.

The Wyesiders have fallen short for the past two seasons, with a lack of bonus points being their Achilles heel last season.

Hereford start their new campaign with a tricky trip to Stratford-upon-Avon this Saturday before hosting Sutton Coldfield the following weekend.

The latter match on September 10 [kick-off 3pm] will be part of a family day that will include a bounce castle and a barbecue.

"The league is the toughest it's ever been with more teams coming down, but there's no point playing to finish mid-table.

"We've got a new coach in [Luke Fisher], with the main focus being finishing off our chances.

"Luke has brought a fresh feel to the place.

"We now play a more advanced game, it's about doing the simple things better.

"Our defence is still strong, so if we have a strong defence and a good attack then we should score a lot of tries."

Brad Talbot has returned to Wyeside from Luctonians, while American prop James Gannon, who has represented the USA at under-20 level, has also come on board.

However, Yarranton admits Hereford are struggling with numbers.

"There are many good rugby players in Hereford, so if we can add a bit more depth to the team, then it will really benefit us," he said.

"The issue will be when we pick up injuries, so we do need more numbers.

"Hereford is in the middle of nowhere and people are going back to university and tend not to come back at weekends.

"We've also got a few farmers who are finishing their harvest, so it will be a struggle at Stratford.

"We will be really happy to get any points there before playing Sutton at home."

Hereford go into this Saturday's opener on the back of a 5-5 draw against Newent in their final pre-season friendly thanks to a try from Talbot,.

"There were some fine individual performances," said Hereford press officer Rob Davies,

"Two of the youngsters who had a baptism of fire at Bridgnorth last season, Josh Lawrence and Tom Starkey, were both able to build on that experience.

"Brad Talbot, Morgan Goodall, Nathan Boden and Gareth Jones all had good games and James Gannon impressed in his first game."