SWINDON St George captain Richard White wants his side to hit the ground running when they begin their West of England Division campaign away at Bristol Sonics today.

The Greenbridge Road side lost out in the play-offs last season, but have been busy recruiting to strengthen their squad ahead of what they hope will be a successful 2013.

St George put in a series of impressive displays during pre-season, and White now wants to take that form into their opening league fixture.

"Pre-season has gone very well and all the lads seem up for it,” he said.

“We are getting new players coming down to the club all the time, and we hope to hit the ground running this season starting away at Bristol,” he said.

“We are looking to have a strong campaign and to improve on last year’s play-off defeat, and I think keeping a 100 per cent home record will be key for hopefully making the play-offs.

“There has been a lot of work that has gone on behind the scenes to try to improve our club and push us in the right direction."

St George have added new players including Ben Stevens, Nick Warren, George Cowley, Mark Sharp and Brad Weston in a bid to bring power and pace to the pack, and the new recruits will offer valuable support to experienced forwards Ben Bridson and Phil Weigh.

Although Mike Thompson, the club’s top try scorer for the last two years, is unavailable this year, recruitment in the backs has also been very good with powerful centres Greig O'Brien and Ash Brown returning after a couple of years off while new recruit Liam Rowe will offer pace at full-back.

St George begin their home campaign next week against Somerset Vikings.

The Swindon St George wheelchair team also begin their campaign this weekend, as they first travel to face Newport today before hosting Bradford Bulls tomorrow afternoon at the Oakfield Project on Marlowe Avenue.