Newport are all set for a fresh start in north west

A trip to Merseyside to tackle Birkenhead Park is first up for the Old Showground outfit following a summer of change.

After relegation from the National League, Bob Adams stepped down as director of rugby and head coach, with Steve Dolphin and Craig Ingram taking on those respective roles.

A positive pre-season has seen a huge turnout for training across the club’s various sides, while the first team’s preparations for the new season have seen them end with a perfect record following friendly victories against Bridgnorth, Dudley Kingswinford and Penrath.

And now director of rugby Dolphin is hoping that momentum and feel-good factor will continue.

“It’s a new chapter and we are trying to create an atmosphere and culture where the players feel at ease,” said Dolphin.

“We took three teams to Cardiff to play Penrath last weekend and it was great to see the players gelling on and off the pitch.

“All the games were very competitive and we managed to pick up three wins.

“Pre-season has gone well and I think we are in a good position as a club. We are feeling confident and ready for the challenge. And we have really good numbers for this Saturday.

“We are putting four senior sides out and there have been some fantastic headaches for the selectors.”

Having been placed in the North West division, Newport will have little information about the sides they will be facing.

“We have played a few of the sides over the years, but we don’t know too much about them. But then they don’t know much about us either,” added Dolphin. “Our focus is on our rugby and controlling what we can control. We can’t wait for the challenge.”

Dolphin, who is expecting a tough test on Saturday against a side that stormed to the Regional Two North West title, is refusing to look too far ahead.

“We have said to the players that we will target one week at a time, we feel that’s better than setting overall targets,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tom Tench admits a touch of patience may be required following a summer of change at Ludlow.

Tench has taken on the head coach role following Mikey Jones’s decision to step down following a successful spell, while the club have also seen a number of players depart. Ludlow start their Regional Two Midlands West campaign at Malvern on Saturday, and Tench is eager to get going as he takes on his first coaching role following a number of years working as an analyst at the elite level of the game.

“It’s really exciting and quite daunting as well,” said Tench. “I worked as an analyst in elite rugby for a long time but this is my first season as a head coach.

“There have been a lot of changes and the players are having to adapt. But they are working well together and there is a good bond between them. Mikey was here for a long time, so things will be slightly different tactics wise and the players need to adapt. It’s a learning curve for me as well, moving from analysis to coaching.”

Ludlow picked up two wins from three games during pre-season and have been boosted by the return of Will Hodnet and Charlie Doyle.

“Things have gone really well pre-season and there has been progression in each of the games” added Tench.

“We have lost a few players who have gone to play at a higher level, but that has created opportunities for some of the younger players who were around the group last year.

“When you lose leaders, it’s up to the other players to step up and fill those slots.”