Weybridge Vandals will bring a 'cup final' mentality to every Regional Two South Central encounter this term, head coach George Pickersgill has vowed.

Vandals, who enjoyed a memorable campaign last season, kick-off the delayed 2026/27 campaign when they entertain Surrey rivals Guildford on Saturday.

Visiting director of rugby Aidan Turns, a former head coach at Brownacres, saw his men narrowly avoid the drop last term by virtue of a relegation play-off triumph over Reeds Weybridge.

Guildford conceded an average of 40 points per game - including a 92-12 defeated to Old Tiffinians and an 80-38 reverse to Havant 2s - on their way to finishing third from bottom in the final standings.

By contrast, Vandals secured promotion but just missed out on the Counties One Surrey/Sussex title thanks to a 26-21 title-decider defeat to eventual champions Cobham.

But they have not faced Guildford since a 31-7 defeat on home soil in 2014 and Pickersgill says a big game approach will stand his side in good stead.

"One of our big work-ons is how we deal with pressure in important games and we're treating every fixture as a big one this season," he said.

"I'm expecting Guildford to be very physical. That is going to be one of the challenges at this level because some of our boys won't necessarily be used to the physicality week in, week out.

"We've worked on that throughout pre-season and I thought we showed against Cobham [in pre-season] just how physical we can be.

He added: "We can't underestimate any team in this league and we're approaching every game almost like a cup final."

Finishing touches: Vandals were put through their paces by assistant coach Joe Spencer during a pre-season training session on the first team pitch at Brownacres over the weekend

Vandals will play at Step Six of the RFU rugby pyramid for the first time in the club's history this season.

And Pickersgill, who launched a season-long Coaching Development Programme at Vandals earlier this month, is keen to build on every aspect of last season's success, club-wide.

"A successful season this year is about continuing the progress we made last year, "he said.

"On the pitch I want us to have a really defined style in attack and defence. We want to score lots of tries, but equally be one of the hardest teams in the league to attack against.

"We're really proud of our attacking and defensive records last season and there is no reason why we cannot carry those standards into the new league.

He continued: "Off the pitch, it is about continuing to showcase what the Vandals community is all about and building the club into a real centre of excellence for grassroots, junior and minis rugby."