FORMER Newcastle Falcons director of rugby, Rob Andrew, last week stated that the Championship season could be one of the most competitive yet, and Darlington Mowden Park will be hoping to be part of that league next year as they get their National League One campaign underway this weekend.

Mowden Park rounded off their pre-season campaign last Saturday with a comprehensive 36-12 victory over Old Albanians, making it two wins out of two for their pre-season.

Having suffered a double loss to Old Albanians last season, Mowden Park were eager to put things right and despite conceding an early try, Grant Connon, Ollie Hodgson and Bruno Bravo all crossed the try line to give the hosts a 17-5 half time lead.

In a mirror image of the first half, Old Albanians opened the scoring in the second half to bring themselves five points behind the hosts, only for tries from Tom Kill, George Wacokecoke and Portuguese newcomer Tomas Appleton to put the game out of sight and gave the hosts a resounding 36-12 win.

Mowden Park open their campaign with a trip to Gloucestershire to face Cinderford RFC, who finished 13th last season, one place and one point above the relegation zone.

Relegated Plymouth are likely to be the front-runners in National League One this year along with the usual suspects such as Rosslyn Park, Coventry and Flyde.

At the other end of the table, promoted sides Hull Ionians, Henley and Ampthill are likely to face a battle to stay in the division following promotion from their respective leagues.

As for Mowden Park, the team will be looking to build on last season’s ninth-placed finish, and with the summer recruitment seeing a host of players arrive that have already improved the squad there is a feeling that may happen.

With the season now only a few days away Mowden Park supporters who have yet to collect their 2015-16 membership cards can do so by calling in to the main Arena reception where they are available for collection.

Becoming a member of the Mowden Park family has a host of benefits - to check out these benefits or to purchase a Mowden membership, supporters can still pick up an application pack from the club or download one from the official club website.

Themed Match Day hospitality options will again be available on selected games throughout the season, which allow guests to enjoy the full Mowden Park Match Day experience before taking in the game from the comfort of private director seating in the centre stand.

With prices starting from £15pp, supporters can enjoy a range of two and three- course meals alongside various entertainment and pre-match build up, for full details and menu options then check the official Mowden Park website.

Don’t forget to follow the club on twitter @MowdenPark and give us a like on Facebook on mowdenparkrugby where there’ll be a host of announcements coming up over the next few weeks and months.