It was the start that Rosslyn Park fans could only dream of, but for outside left Scott Sneddon it was the stuff of nightmares.

Park kicked off their National League One campaign with a thumping 62-12 win over Henley at the Rock to pick up maximum points.

Tom Whitley bagged a hat-trick of tries, while Adam Field (two), Mark Kohler, Jack Gash, Dave Vincent and Hugo Ellis also crossed the whitewash.

However, Sneddon missed much of the action after being carried off with a broken leg after only 10 minutes.

Sneddon’s fibula has been confirmed as broken, and it could be even worse if a hair-line fracture of the tibia is also confirmed later this week.

The 29-year-old said: “I got a tackle from the side, and I heard a massive crack.

“I immediately knew something serious had happened, and of course there was a lot of pain.

“Chances are I will be out until the new year, but I hoping the scans later his week offer better news.

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“I’ll have a scan on Wednesday, and then see a specialist on Thursday.”

He added: “It’s frustrating, and there will be times I want to run on to the pitch to play, but it is one of those things in rugby.

“I have come back from worse, and I’ll just have to stay patient with this one. I was out for nine months after I chipped some bone off my hip while playing at university.

“I’ve also had a couple of operations on my shoulder, which has put me out of action for about six months.”

Park have finished as runners up for the past two seasons, missing out on promotion by the smallest of margins.

Despite the fine start, Sneddon, who has turned out for Cardiff Blues and Newport before settling at Rosslyn Park, knows there is no point in getting ahead of themselves.

“National League One is such a tough league to get out of, you really have to be on your game week in week out,” he said.

“You have to take each game on its own merits. Henley contained us for 40 minutes, they are a strong side - we just managed to get on top of them and then run away with it.

“We missed out on promotion two seasons ago by three points – that’s just bonus points, that is how tough and close competition is.”

He added: “It was a good start, but we need to take it to Plymouth this weekend.

“We have a very good squad with great strength in depth, and James [Buckland, new coach] has added a hard edge to us that was maybe missing before.

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“Alex [Codling, former coach] was excellent and really took the club forward, and now James is taking that on to the next level.

“With the extra edge, we should be able to still come out on top when our backs are against the wall.”

One thing that Sneddon and the club are getting excited about is the club’s new 4G pitch and the new match-day atmosphere it is bringing to the Rock.

Installed over the summer as part of a £1.5m redevelopment plan, the pitch has opened the club’s facilities to far more than the first team.

Sneddon said: “Prior to the Henley game there were something like two games on the pitch, which means the kids and families using it often stay around for the first team game – it creates a great atmosphere.

“You can play on the pitch all day long, and it also means that the minis and the juniors can use the pitch for training rather than going to Richmond Park.”

He added: “It has really helped enhance the club in the community, and that can only be a benefit.”

This weekend, Rosslyn Park travel to Plymouth Albion, who began their season with a 33-20 win over Richmond.