Having applied for the position of England Counties South West Division U18s Honorary Assistant Coach - which requires a minimum 2-year tenure - Jamie Lakin, who is currently a Level 2 coach, did brilliantly to reach the final three from all coaches from across the region.

Despite the obvious disappointment, Jamie is determined to try again next time and has been offered the chance to further his development this season. During the South West programme, Jamie has been invited to attend the U18s training sessions and will get to deliver a session at the final assessment day.

Jamie said; “We’re blessed with a wealth of high-level coaches at Banbury Rugby Club and this is another example of opportunities to move ahead in the coming seasons. It was a very rewarding process to go through, really opening my eyes to what I bring to the table but also clearly highlights the requirements for all modern-day coaches to keep up with the RFU coach development programmes (CPDs), protocols, innovations and methodologies in our beautiful game. It was an honour to be considered and I congratulate Ricky Khan on his placement for the upcoming campaign.”