Old Albanians ended their pre-season programme with a 40-22 defeat at National Two South side Chinoor.

But coach Gavin Hogg was keen to look at the positives after a hard-fought battle against a strong opponent.

He said: “We were missing two props and non less than seven second-row players, so the performance of those selected was a revelation.

“They really stood up and were counted against a much bigger pack and I’m proud of them.

“We knew Chinnor were going to play from one set-piecce to the next, so our job was to control possession in between. For much of the afternoon we achieved this but at other times we kicked away good possession and made handling mistakes.”

The defence stood up to the task, while the lineout performed well, and there was some good play at the breakdown and in the backs.

But Albanians will have to start quicker when they host Rosslyn Park at Woollams on Saturday (3pm).