RICHARD Cannon is determined to make up for missing the last round of the National Junior Vase by leading Chipstead Rugby Club to another win on Saturday.

The Chipstead skipper was stuck in snow while visiting his dad in Wales when the Surrey League One club defeated Sussex League One leaders Crawley on January 2.

But he believes with home advantage and a good atmosphere the club have a good chance of defeating Uckfield, third in Sussex One.

One of the club's U7s team will lead out the side for the quarter-final of the London & South East areas, one of four sections nationally.

Last Saturday, Chips lost 17-0 in the league at home to Teddington, who are also still in the Vase and who beat them at this stage last year – but even that had upsides, said Cannon.

"We were talking to some of the Teddington boys after the game, who had played Uckfield," he revealed. "They gave us a heads up, but any side must be fairly decent to still be in it.

"The score against Teddington didn't do us justice. The first 30 minutes were fairly even and then we fell asleep and they scored three quick tries.

"In the second half it was all Chipstead and defeat was my fault because I kept kicking our penalties to the corners to try to get tries [via lineouts]."

Having missed the last round, he added: "I'm looking forward to making up for it. We've got everything we need to have a good run and we're trying to make it a big occasion."

That statement comes despite being missing several players for Saturday, including Jimmy Ferris, who has returned home to New Zealand.

But John Shelbourne, a Gloucester rugby coach, will be available to boost a forward line low on numbers and Cannon remains undeterred.

Usually, Chips would use the cups to experiment, said Cannon, a village resident who has seen a shift in attitude during the club's 50th year, his second there.

A survey carried out by director of rugby Carl Powley last summer showed that many players wanted to move up the divisions into the London leagues. Cannon said Powley and head coach Matt Kemp had made a difference not just by introducing half-time sweet intakes such as Jelly Babies, but instilled a more "professional" attitude, such as ensuring players turn up for training on time.

"Player for player I think we're as good as anybody in the league," said Cannon, a PE teacher. "The reason we're not quite so successful as we could be is that we don't have the training facilities. Teddington trained for three hours on New Year's Day."

Matters might improve after an RFU grant, announced on Tuesday, enabled them to buy a £1,500 scrum machine.

"As a club we're definitely ambitious. We've got talented guys coming through but we lose a lot of people to university."

Youngsters such as Ryan Dupe and Charlie Gossington are among the talents Chips want to keep. Some players from the seconds could feature on Saturday and as they don't have a game a good crowd is expected at The Meads.

Cannon hopes people will "make a day of it", with the match followed, as he put it, "by England beating Wales" on TV in the clubhouse.