The pair served up two thrilling National One encounters last season and OEs scrum-half Ollie Claxton, who scored in the most recent clash at Well Hall (pictured), admits he loves the big match atmosphere of the South London showdown.

“Before joining OEs I’d never really played in a derby like this, and I’m a player who loves the big occasions so these are the games that I look forward to,” he said. “When you see how many fans turn up to Blackheath v OEs you can see how much it means to people, so it feels pretty special to have the chance to represent the blue and gold half of the crowd!

“But at the end of the day, it’s worth the same number of points as any other fixture, and the best teams and the most focused players will always be able to concentrate on these fundamentals and not get swept up in the circus of derby day. I’m sure Blackheath would say the same.”

Claxton insists OEs are in good shape heading into the contest but believes last season’s fixtures prove that when these two clubs meet, you should expect the unexpected!

“We showed last year that we were capable of winning in awful conditions at College Meadow, but then we were humbled by them at the end of last season,” he said. “So anything can happen. But we aren’t going into uncharted territory for this fixture by any stretch. Things do bode well with how well our forwards played at Rotherham on Saturday - which was where we came unstuck in April. So we’re definitely in a healthy position going into the game.

“If we perform to our ability and stick to our game plan there’s no reason why we can't win and win well. But we are certainly taking nothing for granted because Blackheath are an excellent side.”

Elthamians have hit the ground running at the start of the new National One campaign after a successful pre-season. But Claxton admits there is plenty of room for improvement to his own game, especially with increased competition for the No.9 shirt from Tom Parker, Will Luxford and the arrival of Wimbledon scrum-half Rhys Morgan during the close season.

“I’m definitely still not quite running at full capacity after the summer,” Claxton admitted, “but a game like this weekend’s will certainly provide the impetus to get me up there. I don’t mind the competition in the squad – I just try to perform the best I can and trust that the coaches will make the right choice to help the team. OEs have a few scrum-halves that each bring something unique to the make-up of the team so we’re in a great position to tailor our approach to each opponent.”

The former England Students No.9 believes the opening day victory at Rotherham was exactly the challenge Elthamians needed first up. “It was very positive overall,” he said. “I think that going into the first game of the season a win is all you need to get over the initial inertia of the new campaign, which is something we weren’t able to get last year.

“It was hugely physical, and there will have been lots of sore bodies come Monday morning, but that’s the type of game that we need to win if we’re going to achieve our ambitions. Despite what happened in the last ten minutes I never really thought we were going to lose – we’ve been in similar situations so many times and pulled through. Touch wood!”