Weybridge Vandals head coach George Pickersgill says his returning stars have it all to do to displace the men in possession of a starting shirt.

The Brownacres outfit, beset by injuries in recent weeks, have started the campaign strongly with Saturday's 54-31 triumph over Winchester delivering a glimpse of the strength in depth at the club's disposal.

A long list of forwards - featuring captain James Gulliver, Adam Bullett, Tom Frewin, Callum Hennessy, Josh Thomas, Richie Crabb, and Michael Mason - were either injured or unavailable for Saturday's statement win.

Despite the shortages, a collective effort upfront - including standout performances from six-try hooker Cameron Edgar, auxiliary openside Sam Hall and number eight Rory Taylor - made light of the situation.

Men in possession: Auxiliary openside Sam Hall, left,and Ben Josse will be difficult to displace in Vandals' starting XV

Vandals, who blew Winchester away in the opening 20 minutes last week, are up to third in the Regional Two South Central standings leaving some difficult conversations to be had this week.

But Pickersgill, who expects to welcome back a number of last season's regulars back into the fold soon, says he wouldn't want it any other way.

"One thing we’ve always been clear on is we’ll pick the best team to represent the club, and the only way players can earn that is through their performances, both in training and on matchdays," said the head coach.

"We’ve had a number of boys who’ve trained exceptionally well throughout pre-season, taken their opportunities when they’ve come, and really made those positions their own.

"As a result, there are players who were regular first-team starters last season who are now having to work extremely hard to get back into the side.

"For me, that’s exactly what you want. A good squad is a competitive squad, and that competition can only drive standards higher.

"The challenge for myself and the other coaches is managing those expectations, treating each player as an individual and making sure everyone understands their role and the opportunities available to them."

Touchdown: Hooker Cam Edgar scores the third of his six tries in Saturday's win

Edgar, playing at hooker rather than number eight, claimed the headlines against Winchester with six tries to take his season's tally to 10 in three games.

Coupled with the contributions of Hall and Taylor, his efforts laid the foundation for a win that left a sizeable crowd on Desborough Island purring.

"To score six tries in a game is something pretty special, and Cam Edgar is a special player who has been hugely important to us for a long time," added Pickersgill.

"What impressed me most about Cam on Saturday, above everything else, was his leadership on the pitch. I thought he was outstanding in that respect.

"Sam was absolutely exceptional as well. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of starting at seven due to injuries and unavailability, and I had absolutely no doubts about his ability to step into that role.

"I was speaking to a supporter after the game who commented on how impressive his speed across the pitch was, and I couldn’t agree more.

"His speed to the breakdown, his work rate and his ability to think quickly and make good decisions were outstanding."

Stiff talking to: Head coach George Pickersgill laid down the law on discipline in the post-match huddle on Saturday

Pickersgill was delighted with his side's first half performance last week and will be even happier once his men iron out the disciplinary issues that once again brought a flurry of yellow cards.

Nevertheless, Vandals will not be taking a backward step when unbeaten Tottonians visit tomorrow.

"I was absolutely over the moon with some of the rugby we played last week, particularly early in the game as that is something we’ve worked really hard on over the last couple of weeks," he said.

"We got the ball into the wide channels, our forward pods were identifying and attacking space, and we played with the kind of ambition and intensity that we want to be known for. That’s absolutely the blueprint for how we want to play.

"However, as good as some of that rugby was, if we can’t improve our discipline and keep 15 players on the pitch for 80 minutes, we’re going to struggle. That’s something we have to address.

"I’ve said from the start that I genuinely believe we can beat any team in this league - I’ve got that much confidence in this group of players.

"But to do that consistently, we need to combine the attacking rugby we've shown with greater discipline and control throughout the game."

Team v Tottonians: Thomas, Edgar, Hempstead, Thornley, Taylor, Bullett S, Hall, Howard; Josse, Wellden (c), Reed, O'Mara, Weatherall, Brander, Krikorian. Subs: Caines, Keefe, Versavel.