Ipswich Rugby Club are delighted to announce that John Reynolds and Paul Hollis have been appointed to head up Colts Rugby at Humber Doucy Lane as Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach respectively, on an exciting five year programme that will secure the future of home grown talent at Ipswich Rugby Club going forward.

The colts is the pinnacle of the Ipswich Rugby Academy player pathway, building on the great work delivered by earlier age grade coaches and Rugby Development Director Marcus Tobin. They will be supported by their existing coaching and backroom team who have been outstanding in helping their current U16 age group flourish over the last four seasons at the Lane. Their remit will include U17 to U23 rugby and they will all now work closely with Senior Head Coach Jim Clark, Assistant Tim Mann and the senior coaching and backroom team to create a first class environment for all of our young players as they transition into Senior rugby. Current Colts Coach Reuben Bolton provides continuity for the current colts players who will remain in the U18 age group next season.

Over many years and across multiple age groups, John and his team have built a high quality rugby development environment, rooted in a player and team focused culture that has seen them compete successfully at the highest level nationally, whilst also catering for all abilities. The current U16 squad has over 40 players, training and matches are player led and all-inclusive with very exciting fixture cards that will continue to be developed into the Colts set up moving forward. Unbeaten in their last season, the plan is to finish the current Covid hit season as U16s and then hit the ground running as a combined Colts squad with pre-season over the summer. The current colts group are also finishing their season and looking forward to fixtures in May against Bury St Edmunds RFC and Old Brentwoods RFC.

Following the appointment, John said: “After getting involved at Ipswich four seasons ago and getting to know the club and senior players, Paul and I are extremely excited to be heading up the Colts section from next season and would like to thank the committee for the opportunity.

We are fortunate to have a very talented group of Colts age players and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve as individual players and as a squad, both on and off the park. We will compete on a National Level, whilst focusing on continued skills development, player welfare and of course nurturing a love of the game that have been the cornerstones of our coaching philosophy for a long time.

Our fundamental aim is to ensure that the players become the best that they can be and we hope that a successful colts, youth and junior section at Ipswich rugby club will produce high performing senior teams for many years to come. We have a very passionate group of players, coaches, parents and supporters throughout the youth and junior section here at Ipswich Rugby Club and we are excited by the potential of this Colts group in particular, as well as the age groups that will follow them.”

Henry Gaskin, Chair of Playing said “The commitment and professionalism that John, Paul and their team bring to the development of players is excellent and they are a great choice to lead this extremely important part of the club structure. We are hugely excited to be able to boast a very strong colts section going forward, which is a key part of our future development plans as a club. We look forward to seeing them continue to develop their rugby journey on the pitch and as young men off the pitch, and are delighted to be supporting this through our Ipswich Rugby Academy.”

There will be training days at the Club for all season 21/22 Colts age-grade players (i.e. current U16s and U17s) at Ipswich Rugby Club on Friday 16th April and Sunday 18th April 2021 to look ahead to next season. New players very welcome and we look forward to seeing old faces too!

Details will be sent to existing players, or please contact John Reynolds john@jrstt.co.uk for more details.