CRAIG Hammond believes experience will play a huge part in Nottingham Rugby's challenge for honours this season.

The Green and Whites skipper, who is well on the way back to full fitness after a shoulder operation at the end of last season, has welcomed the new signings director of rugby, Glenn Delaney, has made during the close season.

The whole squad is now back on the training pitch. Scrum-half Tim Usasz, who spent a lot of the summer playing international rugby for the USA and new fly half, James Arlidge, who only just flew into the country last Monday after playing for Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup, have joined them at Lady Bay.

Hammond is not yet fit enough himself for any physical stuff for at least another month.

He has been a standing dish for the Green and Whites since 2001. In fact, he has been the heartbeat of Nottingham Rugby during the last nine years.

He is the man who former coach Simon Beatham built his team around and, over the last five years, his successor, Delaney, has continued the same process.

Now Hammond is eagerly looking forward to the new campaign with his club-mates, old and new.

He said: "We lacked experience in certain positions last season and it caught up with us.

"Glenn has tried to put that right and he has been making some good signings in the last couple of months.

"I'm sure we're going to have another good squad for this season.

"The Spanish boy (Cesar Sempere Padilla), and James Arlidge, our new fly half, look very useful acquisitions.

"Cesar looks very fast and nippy on his feet and is a Spanish international.

"I played with James back in New Zealand, he's a great fly-half.

"When we lost Timmy Taylor from that position last season, we knew we were in trouble and that's what Glenn needed to bring in.

"James has got lots of experience and is a very good rugby player. That's what we need as we've still got a lot of young guys, get Jonno (Ben Johnston) fit and we will have a really good team.

"I'm not yet able to take part in training properly but I'll be fit and raring to go in the first game in September."

Nottingham easily qualified for the Championship play-offs last season but, apart from their magnificent victory over champions Exeter Chiefs at Meadow Lane, failed to make an impression and did not make the semi-finals.

Hammond believes that was down to the lack of strength in depth in the squad.

"That's what it's about, having a good squad," he said. "That's what it's all about at this level, having a decent, big squad and being able to rotate.

"If I can't play one week, then one of the young guys who comes up should be able to just slot in without changing the system. That's what the plan is for the new season.

"We've got through the tough year and I'm quite excited about how we go over the next nine months."