Carnegie enter French tournament

Key (l) and head coach Neil Back won promotion in their first season together

Leeds Carnegie are to take part in the Issoire Tournament in France as part of their pre-season preparations.

They will play two games in four days as they take on Aurillac on 4 August and then Montauban on 7 August.

Director of rugby Andy Key said: "To take part in this tournament will form a vital part of our preparations for returning to the Premiership."

Leeds will conclude their pre-season with a home game against as yet un-named opposition on Sunday, 23 August.

It will be the second time Leeds that have taken part in French pre-season competition having lost to Clermont Auvergne and Gloucester in 2005.

Aurillac play in the second tier of French rugby, the Pro2, while Montauban finished eighth in the Top 14 last season.

Key added: "Aurillac in our first game can not be underestimated but we face a huge test on the Friday against Montauban.

"That will be a good game for us to test ourselves in the middle stage of our pre-season as they will in their final preparations for the start of their own competition.

Three games is a good yardstick for us of our ability and a test of what we are practising in pre-season

Key

"Training camps are essential parts of pre-season and it gives the players an opportunity to get together especially those players who are new to the squad.

"It is also an intense five days and we will do as much work off the field as on it, as we look to get an understanding as a group of the style of play we want to produce next season."

The West Yorkshire club will also take part in the Middlesex Charity Sevens at Twickenham on Saturday, 15 August.

"We are looking to finish with a home fixture on Sunday 23 August at Headingley Carnegie and our aim is for that to be against testing opposition. That will give us two weeks to fine tune athletically and tactically before our first game back in the Guinness Premiership.

"Three games is a good yardstick for us of our ability and a test of what we are practising in pre-season.

"We will also be ensuring that we are as self critical as we need to be in training to make sure that we get the little things right that make a big difference come the start of the real stuff on 5 September," added Key.

Meanwhile Carnegie props Mike MacDonald and Juan Gomez will literally go head-to-head on Thursday morning as the USA take on Argentina Jaguars in the Churchill Cup.

MacDonald will start at loose-head for the United States, while Gomez has been named as the Jaguars' tight-head as the two nations clash at Infinity Park, Denver, at 0200 BST.