Devoto to make the difference for Titans
National 2 West
TWO sides have dropped down from National One into the West meaning it would be hard to look past one of Cinderford or Taunton Titans bouncing straight back up.
Taunton have signed the league’s most high profile arrival as two-time England inter national Ollie Devoto, formerly of Bath and Exeter Chiefs, hopes to be a difference maker in their title pursuit.
Devoto, 30, accumulated 127 appearances and scored 21 tries for Exeter but while Luctonians head coach Ryan Watkins sees the value of the signing, he also stresses the importance of developing players internally and sending them the other way.
Watkins told The Rugby Paper: “It’s great for the league but we’ve got young talented players that aspire to get to those levels themselves. We had Archie Benson sign from us to Northampton Saints, so those guys coming down will be up against young, hungry players who will see the likes of Devoto as a challenge to showcase any credentials they might have.
“Our model is very different, we want to develop our own. I prefer young and hungry players, I feel you get a lot more out of them and they give a lot more to the club. We want to be around for a long time, so for the last few seasons, we’ve targeted 20/21-year-olds that might have missed the boat for an academy, been to a decent university programme and when they come out of that we hopefully provide them with a good environment to get better.
“There’s a lot of guys playing top flight rugby who have come through Luctonians’ ranks in the last few years. So, anyone who joins us knows we are providing a pathway directly to the Premiership champions. I’m excited for Taunton but we’ll keep on finding those little hidden gems.”
Taunton finished 13th and missed out on survival by just a point, while Cinderford ended up at the bottom of National One but only six points from safety. They still possess a devastating potent driving maul led by hooker Nathan Taylor who has been scoring tries regularly in the last two seasons.
Watkins said: “The two sides that have came down will be competitive. Clifton won’t be any pushovers, they’re always a decent test, we’ve got Hinckley first up at their place which is always a tough place to go. Their home record will get them up there competing. Old Reds finished the season pretty well, so it will be interesting to see if they can maintain that and carry on improving. So, there’s a cluster of teams that could be right up there. We’ll know more after the first 10 games.”
Luctonians finished runners-up after leading for the majority of the campaign but Dings Crusaders eventually toppled them to become champions. Despite their shortcomings, Watkins says going one better this time around isn’t high up on his agenda for the season.
He said: “It’s not the be-all and end-all as the league we’re in doesn’t define us as a club. We’ve always been focused on what we’re doing on and off the pitch, hoping to get better. We want to improve our performances but at the same time, there are things we can improve on in terms of our training, preparation, and off-field activities.
“We’re going to try and go for it this season but we know it’s going to be a tough task with two National One teams coming down. There’s some good teams around us so it will be a tough challenge but we just need to improve.”
Bournville, who finished 10th last season and received plaudits for their pack, start their campaign at home to newly promoted Devonport Services. The Regional 1 South West champions appear up against it operating without paying any players but may use the big money signings across the league to fuel their fire.
Fellow newcomers Macclesfield face a season of mammoth journeys from the north west down south and will endure a 645-mile round trip to meet Camborne on Saturday. Former performance analyst Matt Coleridge has taken over as director of rugby following Andy Appleyard’s departure, while fly-half Tom Morton is now involved as backs coach. Stephen Larkins’ Camborne finished an impressive sixth last term after winning promotion the year before.
Exeter University ended up in fifth with 11 wins but have lost instrumental fly-half Jack Park to Luctonians. They begin their campaign at home to Luke Cozens’ Clifton, who finished third last year.
Hinckley are renowned for their home form and Chris Campbell’s men host Luctonians, while Hornets flirted with relegation before pulling away from the drop and they entertain Redruth, who finished an underwhelming ninth last term.
Devoto could make his Taunton debut away at the league’s entertainers Loughborough Students, while last season’s fourth-place side Old Redcliffians are at home to Cinderford.
