Old Albanian head coach Andy Holloway has brought in six players to strength his side ahead of pre-season.

Scrum-halves Jack Daly from Cambridge and ex-London Scottish player Jordi Pasqualin will be vying for the position left by Lawrence Rayner, who has signed for Plymouth.

Former OA Nick Foster is returning to Woollams from the University of Nottingham and could also be in contention for the number nine shirt, although he is also comfortable at full-back.

Another pressing need for OAs has been fly-half. Stef Liebenberg owned the position last year but has rejoined Cambridge. In his place Holloway has signed Oaklands College student Elliot Reeder and Will Magie from Ealing Trailfinders. Magie can also play in the number 15 shirt while Reeder’s more likely position could be inside centre.

Michael Cade has also signedn from Peterborough. He can play loose or tighthead prop.

OAs have also been buoyed by the imminent return of Charlie Hughes. The prop left before the end of the season to go to Australia and was initially expected to rejoin the squad, if at all, in October but that has been brought forward to August.

The club also has a number of players trialing during pre-season, or who are set to join if trial periods with Championship clubs come don’t come to fruition. OAs will also profit from Saracens players on dual registration.

Pre-season starts on Friday, August 15, with an evening game at Bedford Blues. This is followed by an away trip to Cambridge the following week before the final warm-up game on August 30 at home to Canterbury.