TAUNTON
With a great young side that are hungry and desperate to
impress on and off the field, the team are working very
hard together to get the best out of the players. The future
of the Taunton Titans is looking very bright.”
The coaches are excited at what they see at Hyde Park,
and want to build a club environment in which local rugby
talent is fostered, and offer a path through to the higher
echelons of championship and premiership rugby through
our established contacts.
In terms of coaching, Brown is quick to point out that
the current crop of players have a promising future due
to their coachability. “They are a great group to work
with and have a fantastic work ethic. Allied to that, the
industrious nature of the club and management make it
an exciting environment to be in.”
Taunton’s attacking and open style of play has been
noted by many and has brought a real buzz to the
Somerset club, with an undefeated home record during
last season. Head coach Yapp commented “It is very
much a year-on-year progression, slowly putting strong
foundations in place on which to build the team. Last
year we set ourselves the target of winning more home
games and finishing in the top half of the table and
we were very pleased to achieve both of those goals.
To play an exciting, high tempo game and to still go
undefeated at home, especially at national league level,
is a real credit to the players’ efforts and commitment”.
So where next for the Titans? Yapp is very keen that the
vision for the club is one of long term success. “We are
not in it for a quick fix; we are very happy to slowly keep
building something on and off the field that will last and
that people will be proud of, but as everyone knows that
takes time.
On the sponsorship front, a 5-year deal was secured with
telecoms specialist Commsplus Ltd, whose managing
director Steve Collard liked what he saw and bought into
our vision. Steve was impressed with the facilities but
thought the scoreboard could do with updating. Three 3
years ago, with the future in mind, and together with highly
respected local businesses George Bros Builders Ltd and
Taunton Fabrications Ltd, Steve bought and built a stateof-the-art electronic scoreboard, and ran power and fibre
optic cable to the far side of the ground.
The following year the same three companies provided
a purpose-built video platform which made the unsightly
scaffolding tower redundant. During this summer these
sponsors also designed and built 2 new player dug-outs
and a fourth official’s station, and complemented this by
laying astroturf in front of the dugouts and over the run-on
area of the pitch.
It is testament to their belief in the Taunton Rugby vision that
these three sponsors have invested heavily in our cause,
and the club are hugely indebted to Steve Collard, Steve
Wilson (MD, George Bros) and Jason Rigby (Director,
Taunton Fabrications).
Taunton Rugby Club are also very fortunate to have a
group called “The Friends of The Titans” who organise
and run regular fund raising events and pre-match lunches
specifically to raise money for the benefit of 1st team rugby.
Chairman of The Friends, Dick Macey, stated that demand
for places at the lunches is growing, with everyone enjoying
the Titans match day experience. Many new faces are
regularly seen, which augurs well for the future.
The future is looking solid at Taunton Rugby Club, with a
strong management team chaired by local businessman
John Wrelton, a firm hand on the accounts in Treasurer
Kevin McCarthey, secretary and businessman Ben
Goddard and President Jack Matthews. The remaining
members of the management committee are experienced,
dedicated and determined to take the club forward in a
structured manner.
Taunton Rugby Club’s youth section has just under 300
players, and 31 dedicated and enthusiastic qualified
coaches, from level 1 through to level 3. We run teams at
every age group level from U7 to U16, and Colts. Every
child matters at Taunton, and we seek to instil the core
values of rugby in all of our players and develop them to
their maximum potential. We offer a pathway to elite rugby
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ISSUE 49