This will be Fieldhouse’s second stint at the helm of Rovers having previously held the Head Coach position for three years from 2000 and in that time he oversaw their first ever victory over a professional side when they won 22-8 at Chorley Lynx in the Silk Cut Challenge Cup that landed them a dream tie against Warrington Wolves at Wilderspool Stadium in front of over 6,000 fans where Rovers put in a very creditable performance before losing out 48-6 to the full time side that was packed with Internationals.

Fieldhouse has had a very good 36 year professional career that started in 1977 at Warrington where he stayed for eight years before moving on to Widnes and then his switch to St Helens saw him make two Challenge Cup Final appearances at Wembley Stadium. His playing career also saw him play for Oldham, Halifax and South Wales before returning to Widnes and he then finished playing in 1999 where it all began at Warrington. He made seven appearances for Great Britain; the highlight being named Man of the Series v New Zealand in 1985; he was also runner up to Hull KR’s Gavin Miller in the Man of Steel Awards.

Following his first spell at Woolston he went in to have a successful time at Bank Quay Bulls were he won many trophies before moving to Leigh East where again he showed his quality by leading them to league and cup success over several seasons. He was Lancashire and Great Britain Coach and was in charge of the BARLA side on three tours - South Africa, the South Pacific and Australia.

At the end of 2011 Fieldhouse was appointed Assistant Coach at the newly formed North Wales Crusaders and he was instrumental in recruiting many top Amateur players to go and play for the Wrexham based side. They finished midway up the Championship One table in 2012 which was a great achievement for their first season and then in 2013 they claimed the Championship One title as well as winning the Northern Rail Bowl. He left Crusaders midway through the 2014 season.

Fieldhouse is excited at the challenge he faces at Woolston and can’t wait to get started. He said, “Woolston is a great name within the amateur ranks and it is a job that I am really looking forward to. I will be looking to pass on the experience I have gained over many years and hopefully that will allow us to move up the leagues once again. I will be meeting the players for the first time on Tuesday and will be outlining my plans to them. I will be there to encourage them and make them better Rugby players and if they can take the advice on board and put the hard work in on the training pitch and in matches then I am sure that we can have a successful season. We have some really good players down at the club and there will be opportunities for them to show their talent. The league season doesn’t start until March so there is plenty of time for me, along with the other excellent coaches we already have, to get the lads into the best possible condition for the forthcoming season.”

Woolston Rovers PRO Dave Whalley said, “We are delighted to have John on board for next season. He has plenty of experience over many years and has proved what a quality coach he is. We will be looking for some of that to rub off on the players as we embark on a new season. We have high hopes that our NCL side and NWML side can have very good seasons as we aim to get the club moving upwards at all levels. We have an Under 18s side this coming season that will come under the Open Age umbrella and they had a great year in 2014 as Under 16s going through the season unbeaten in the league and they also claimed the NWC Plate; we have a thriving Junior Section as well that is growing in numbers on a weekly basis so the future really does look bright for the club.”

Any old or new players who would like to be involved at Rovers please contact Club Secretary Nikki Whalley on 07889 170895 or e-mail woolstonroversrl@hotmail.co.uk for further details.