London Scottish summer signing Errie Claassens has praised the exiles’ new coaching set-up ahead of their push for a top four finish in the Championship, writes Oli Shapley.

Scottish take on Saracens tonight at Allianz Park (kick-off 7.30pm) as the 32-year-old and his new clubmates continue to gel.

The coaching staff have been joined by ex-England scrum-half Peter Richards as backs coach, with Mike Friday stepping upstairs to become director of rugby and James Buckland continuing as head coach.

Claassens said: “The coaches are great and have played the game themselves, which is important.

“They can pass over their experience, and everyone is on the same page ahead of tonight’s game.

“Hopefully it will give us confidence to start off flying against Rotherham when the season starts.”

The South African will be playing in his first match in 17 months after a string of knee injuries cut short his time at Bristol.

But he believes there is no better place to get started than at Saracens.

He added: “I’m really looking forward to the game and getting back out there again.”