Wimbledon captain Neil Hallett may have been on the losing side in his team’s opening pre-season friendly, but he was still pleased with how the new signings performed.

Hallett and his team-mates went down by a solitary point in a 35-36 defeat against London Division One South side Guildford last weekend at Beverley Meads.

Tries from new fly half Harvey Young, Dan Laventura, Ben Brookes, Sam Codling and Rob Clarke were not quite enough to get Wimbledon over the line.

Hallett said: “The result in a way was irrelevant. We just wanted to make our mark on the game.

“Lots of new guys were in the team and every one of them stood up to the plate. We were very pleased with the attacking flare and the ambition they showed during the game.”

Wimbledon have bought in some overseas players this summer, with second row Jamie Norman and prop Roy Godfrey coming from New Zealand.

The Dons have also recruited ex New Zealand international and Harlequins player Nick Evans to the coaching staff as a replacement for Tim Payne, who has joined London Scottish.

Evans joins his Quins clubmate Nick Easter, who, along with Payne, guided the Dons to the London Division One South title last season.

Fans will be hoping having internationally experienced coaches will help them with the step up that a new league will bring.

Hallett said: “They have given us the structure and the technical knowledge to help improve our game for the new season and hopefully this will help throughout the team.

“We are constantly trying to tweak areas that can be improved on from last season.”

He added: “Something we need to work on is set pieces, as we expect them to be tougher and of a higher standard.”

The club will be hoping to repeat their successful league campaign last term, which saw them lose just four league games all season.

Wimbledon have their last friendly tomorrow at home against Barnes, before kicking off their London & SE Division National League Three campaign on September 5 with a home game against Shelford.