PAUL Doran-Jones has been warned it won't be easy for him to nail down a first team place at Harlequins.

The former London Welsh and Gloucester prop was signed from Northampton as a replacement for Saracens-bound James Johnston.

But not only will Mark Lambert be stiff competition for a place alongside Joe Marler in the scrum, but the likes of Will Collier and Kyle Sinckler will be after a shirt too, according to Quins head coach John Kingston.

He said: “Much as we are said to see JJ leave, I am really looking forward to working with Paul Doran-Jones. He's got he bit between his teeth and wants to prove a few points as things didn't really work out for him at the last club he was at.

“Paul will be looking to play regular rugby again, but Will Collier will be looking at it expecting to start at tight head prop, while Kyle Sinckler will be wanting to give Will a run for his money too.

“You only have to look at how quickly Joe Marler evolved into a first choice loose head prop to see how quickly one of these youngsters can nail a position. You couldn't see him breaking through as Ceri Jones was embedded there.

“That gives you a massive indicator, and it won't be just Will and Kyle fancying their chances this season. You look at the impact Harry Sloan and Jack Clifford has with the England U20s, which was absolutely fantastic.

“Charlie Matthews, Sam Twomey and George Merrick have all stuck their heads above the parapet, while others like Daryl Marfo have gone out on loan and served their dues. If we didn't think they could do it, they wouldn't be here.”

Also out of the exit door with Johnston goes Chris Brooker, who has joined Worcester after recovering from a long-term knee injury.

Kingston added: “I worked with Chris for years, and I really hope things work out for him at Worcester, who gave him longer term security than we could offer. He had got into the side ahead of Joe Gray and Rob Buchanan, so the injury came at a really bad time for him.”

Kingston also reckons it will be an important season for Tom Casson, as then young centre bids to stay injury-free and fulfil his obvious potential.

He added: “Tom will be in contention along with Jordan Turner-Hall and Matt Hopper, but they can put 12 or 13 on their backs, just like Ben Botica is a 10 but can play at 12 too. He's a fine player who has developed very well, but he picked up a few niggles last year, so and injury-free season would do him well.”