CHINNOR have signed the vice-captain of England’s police team.

Jack Snowden joins the National League 1 club alongside fellow centre Kris Ford, having both trained with the first XV since last summer.

Snowden is vice-skipper for England Police RUFC and Great Britain Police RLFC, with his background in rugby league.

He spent five years as a professional for Super League outfit Hull Kingston Rovers, while he had spells at Hull Dockers and West Hull.

The police officer, who is captain of Yorkshire Police RUFC, also has four years’ experience with union side Hullensians.

Snowden, 30, can play multiple positions across the back division and hopes to be involved in next month’s friendlies with Rams.

He said: “The club’s ambition is really exciting and I want to help Chinnor progress and push on again after the enforced Covid break.

“I’ve been training here since last summer and I’ve really enjoyed it – the boys have been great and so welcoming.

“The training sessions are fantastic and we’ve been having a lot of fun mixed in with plenty of hard work getting ourselves back up to speed and quickly becoming game ready for our fixtures against Rams.

“The coaching staff Richard (Thorpe) has assembled here are fantastic and when you have people of that quality you just have to listen, train hard, learn as much as you can and do your best out on the pitch.”

Ford switched codes to play for Oxford RL earlier in his career, before returning to union with Newbury Blues.

The back has been recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but is back in full training and ready to make up for lost time.

He said: “Signing for Chinnor is a huge positive for me during what has been a hard time, with Covid interrupting rehab following an ACL surgery.

“Training at first was difficult being isolated from the squad while I continued rehab with Becky (Osborn, sport rehabilitator), but now I’m finally back to full training I’m looking forward to ripping in and testing myself at this level.

“The standard the lads have set for themselves is something that has really stood out to me.

“The prospect of playing some games in the near future is very exciting and I can’t wait to pull on the Chinnor shirt for the first time.”

Director of rugby Thorpe said: “Jack has been a huge character for us on and off the field, and I am looking forward to seeing him play in May.

“Kris unfortunately spent the first half of the season managing an injury, but he has since impressed in training.

“He is a big ball carrier in the 12 channel, but couples this well with his skill set.”