KENT'S rugby team will be handicapped by the success of some of their sides for their County Championship Plate opener against Pool 3 opponents Berkshire.

Coach Danny Vaughan will draw heavily on his own club Canterbury for players and said he still expects to be able to field a strong line up at Sidcup on Saturday.

Westcombe Park and Thanet Wanderers will both feature in end promotion play-offs, while at Charlton Park the following day, the Kent Under-20 side take on Yorkshire in the National Under-20 Championship semi-final.

"We’d been heavily reliant on Combe, Thanet are in a play-off as well, Blackheath are still going in National Two and we won’t be able to touch any of the Under-20s either," said Vaughan.

"The side we select will be heavily based on Canterbury. We will be looking at some of the junior clubs and some of last year’s Under-20s, so it’ll be a mixture of experience and youth.

"A lot of players were involved last year, so we’ll still be competitive and more players from those other clubs will be available for the rest of the competition."

Berkshire are regarded as less dangerous than Kent’s next two opponents Eastern Counties and East Midlands, who defeated Kent 38-35 in last year’s Plate semi-finals.

Two of the newcomers who could get the chance to impress are Gravesend wing Gary Gray and Deal/Betteshanger fly-half Tom Best who have both been described as "talented young players."