New Panteg set to climb off the bottom (From Free Press Series)

New Panteg set to climb off the bottom

8:40am Friday 10th July 2009

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NEW head coach Nigel Barry is aiming to lift New Panteg RFC off the bottom of the Welsh rugby pyramid.

Since their senior team was established only a few years ago New Panteg have twice finished rock bottom of Division Six East. This year, Barry hopes things will slowly improve.

He said: "We’re trying to progress out of this division, by building on our junior set up for the future. The youngsters have often done well but there were problems with the way the club was being run.

"It’s been like several different teams just playing under the same name."

He explained: "I coached the under-16s last year and what I want now is to provide a better link throughout the club so we can bring those players on. We’ve a new rugby committee and we agree that’s the way forward."

Barry admits that the club’s failures on the pitch prompted several senior members to look elsewhere but he has pleaded with many of them to return and was delighted with the 20 or so who arrived back for the first session of pre-season training.

"I’ve explained to them my ideas and what the aspirations of the club are," he added.

"We know next year the WRU might split the division into North and South so there may not be any promotion to aim for this year. But last year we struggled just to get 15 players on the pitch so this year we’re looking for real consolidation."

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