Hornets have a new coach as Stuart Eades checks in

The Hornets had been on the lookout for a coach following the departure of Zach Baker in December.

Eades arrives at Hornets with plenty of know-how having previously coached Redditch, Kidderminster, Droitwich and Cheltenham.

He will take charge of training tonight and Thursday but will have to wait a while for his first match-day appointment with Hornets inactive this weekend.

It’s been a trying season for Hornets following last season’s promotion from Midlands 3 West (North) with their first points of the season arriving a week last Saturday when they beat Stafford.

They went down 76-7 to promotion-chasing Tamworth on Saturday but first team manager Roger Bates is hoping the arrival of Eades will help steady the ship and put things into place for next season.

“We are pleased that Stuart has agreed to join us,” said Bates.

“He has been around the local scene and has plenty of knowledge and experience and coached clubs at a higher level than us.

“And he is also a regional development officer for the RFU.

“He watched us beat Stafford and he thinks there are a few things we can do quite quickly to help us improve.

“But the important things is to set the tone for next season.”

Saturday’s trip to Tamworth saw a depleted Hornets well beaten in the end but they put in a spirited display.

“We had nine players unavailable from the previous week’s win, and it was always going to be a hard act to follow,” said Bates.

“But we put in a good first-half performance and despite the scoreline we managed to put Tamworth under pressure on a number of occasions.

“Our willingness to take the game to Tamworth in the second half left us open to the counter-attack with gaps appearing in defence that were not so apparent in the first half. Tamworth exploited those and ran out worthy winners.”

Telford’s try came following a lineout and drive with George Whitaker peeling off the back of the ruck to score. Ben Lewis added the conversion.