The reason for this is that training at Gatehouse Lane has now started in earnest.

Every Tuesday and Thursday the benign or malevolent dictatorship of Chris Bird and Keith Ware, and your opinion will very much depend on whether you are watching or participating in training, are supervising the painful business of getting bodies into shape physically and mentally for the testing London NE4 season ahead.

There are no short cuts to fitness, so if you happen to be reading this article, and played for West Norfolk last season, then it is very important that you dig out your less than fresh training kit, and get over to the club.

Numbers at training are good, and unsurprisingly skipper Mike Skinner is already looking menacingly fit, but most of the players at training are the fittest anyway.

Without naming names, these players are the heart of the squad who will play all season and scarcely pick up an injury.

Is the fact that they are the fittest and their ability to avoid injury a coincidence or not?

A very important issue this coming season is the "Experimental Law Variations," known as ELV.

These laws will apply at all levels of rugby from Minis to Senior sides, and they are going to impact enormously on how West Norfolk plays this season.

One ELV that will help West is the fact that it will be legal to bring down a maul.

The fact that Mark Dawson has been doing it and getting away with it for years is now irrelevant!

To make all players aware of the ELV's, well-known senior club referee Kevin Edwards will be holding a clinic at Gatehouse Lane after training on Thursday.

This meeting is of critical importance to all.

Any players new to the area, or even contemplating a better standard of rugby than they are getting at the moment, are welcome at Gatehouse Lane.