Tamara Taylor planning on successful season with England and Jarrovians

The second row, who has won 73 caps for her country, should be included in the squad for August’s World Cup in France where England will be one of the favourites.

But before and after that she is targeting a better year for her Jarrovians RUFC team.

It was not the best year results wise for the Lukes Lane based outfit who finished rock bottom of the Durham Northumberland Division Three table.

However Taylor, who joined the club as coach last October and has agreed to carry on her role for the upcoming year, believes they could surprise a few people this time around.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to having a full season with the boys. They have come on so much over the last 6 months since I joined the club. The future is definitely bright.

“Preseason is going to be the key for us this summer. We've got a really varied programme that should keep the boys interested with functional fitness and core skills.

“It’s a great opportunity for some positional and game understanding work, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the boys progress. There's a lot of potential here yet to be realised.”

To help her this season she has assembled a new backup team with Dave Winthrop, Davie Wilson, George Taylor and skipper Martin Flett all helping with the coaching schedule.

Flett and Charlie Wilson will both continue in their roles as captain and vice-captain and Flett is in full agreement with Taylor.

He said: “We are hoping and expecting to bring a competitive team to the league this year and chalk up some good victories from the start. It should display the hard work and effort that has been put in from both players and coaching staff.

“There are some very exciting times ahead for this club. We have a lot of youth coming into the senior side this season adding competition for positions. There will also be a number of fresh faces hopefully coming into the side and morale is very high amongst the team.”

Club chairman Brian Berry knows the upcoming months will be tough but he was also keen to point out the positive mood in the club.

He said: “With the new season fixtures being released this week they really do whet the appetite and will provide the squad with real drive and purpose during the next few months.

“We’ve got high expectations of the young colts joining the senior ranks. New second team captain Darren Pargeter is looking forward to developing these guys into future first team players and he will be ably supported by both William Nelson and Bob Wynn in bringing these talented lads through.

“The future looks bright and with positive attitude of the players we can expect different things next season.”

Berry is also hard at work behind the scenes to help build the club up.

He added: “We are currently in discussion with our current sponsors as well as two additional sponsors who will help raise the profile of the club during the next season.

“Recruitment is also looking positive and with some stalwarts returning next season it bodes well for two stronger squads. But we have not stopped yet and if there is anyone who wants to join they will be more than welcome.”

Pre-season training starts at 6.30pm on Tuesday June 3rd at Lukes Lane. Anyone seeking more information should ring 07974 786483.