New Canterbury Rugby Club vice-captain Frank Reynolds is targeting a top-four National League 2 East finish this season.

Matt Corker’s city side secured a seventh-placed finish last term. But fly-half Reynolds is confident there’s even more to come from Canterbury’s players.

The 27-year-old said: “We want to be looking to finish in the top four.

“At the back-end of last season, we were playing teams in the top four - and most of those games were pretty close.

“It’s just a matter of playing for the whole 80 minutes at a high level and not switching off.

“If we score a try, we can’t switch-off after that and we really need to keep our foot on the throttle.

“But a lot of the team have played together for two or three years now so we’re building some quite good experience in the team about playing with each other, how we manage the game and what we need to do.”

Seventh in the league for Canterbury was three places higher than where they had finished the campaign before.

“It was a successful season,” reflected Reynolds. “We finished higher in the league than we did the season before.

“But then, it wouldn’t have taken too much for us to finish higher up than where we were - it’s only a few games going your way and then you’re in the top four.

“Although it was a more successful season than the season before, it’s a bit frustrating because we could have been higher.

“With the team we have got - if we’re functioning in all games in the season - we have got the capability of finishing a lot higher.”

Canterbury have signed several players ahead of the start of the coming season.

The fresh faces are Ollie Frostick, Chad Thomas, Henry Kenny and Jack Cohen, together with Aaron Cooper and Harvey Young - two experienced former Canterbury RFC players, who are rejoining their senior squad.

The group will be further strengthened by Kent county forward Mo Pangarker. He missed last campaign through an injury he sustained in a pre-season game in August.

“We are delighted with the off-season signings we have brought in,” stated the club’s director of rugby Taff Gwilliams. “Each and every one of them are known to the coaching staff.

“They all add greater depth and competition for places in our matchday squad.

“Their characters fit in well to the culture within the existing squad and we look forward to driving up our standards to improve on-field performances.”

Cooper rejoins from Westcombe Park and adds to head coach Corker’s front-row options alongside Frostick. An experienced tighthead prop and Scotland under-20 cap, Frostick arrives from Henley Hawks.

Thomas - a utility forward who’s equally adept at No.6 or No.8 - has come across the
bridge from Wales while Young, equally comfortable at full-back or fly-half, rejoins from Blackheath.

Back-three player Cohen, originally from Thanet, joins from London Welsh.

He spent two seasons representing Kent at under-20 level in the National County Championship while studying at Brunel University.

Completing the list of summer signings is Kenny. He’s a strong-tackling, versatile forward, who can play both at lock and blind.

A former Medway player, who represented Kent at under-20 and senior level, Kenny has moved from Westcombe Park.

Canterbury, who will begin pre-season at home to reigning National League 2 East champions Esher on Saturday, August, 17, face Colchester at Merton Lane during their campaign-opening league match on Saturday, September 7.