Pre-season preparations are in full swing at Middlesbrough Rugby Club, as the team gears up for a second year in Regional 1 North East. Coach, Ollie Hodgson says the club is ready to consolidate its well-earned place in the league.
Champions of Regional North 2 during the 24/25 season, Middlesbrough was promoted to Regional 1 last year. The season proved to be a tough one, with the team fighting to stave off relegation right until the end. Hodgson, who also plays in the back row, attributed the team’s survival to the hard work of the players, ‘The step up in standard was significant, but the players showed great resilience and commitment throughout the season. We ultimately secured our place in the league by winning a play-off against York, which was a fantastic achievement and showed the character within the group.’
Going into his third year as first team coach, Hodgson said the experience has given the club a much better understanding of what is required at this level, providing a strong foundation to build on. ‘Our ambition this season is to establish ourselves at Regional 1 level and show that we belong in the league. We know the standard will be higher and that every match will present a significant challenge, so our focus will be on building consistency, competing physically and continuing to develop our game.’
The first friendly of pre-season saw Boro travel to Darlington to go head-to-head with Mowden Park, who play in the league above. Whilst it ended in a 20-0 defeat, Hodgson maintains the game provided valuable insights on the way forward. ‘It was a really physical test and gave us a good indication of where we are. There were plenty of positives, but also some clear areas for us to work on, particularly around our accuracy and decision-making when the intensity goes up.’ Another pre-season friendly is scheduled for September 19th away to Pocklington.
The summer drought throughout the UK led to England Rugby announcing a delay to the start of the season, giving teams around the country time to adequately prepare struggling pitches. This means that Boro’s first game of the season is now an away fixture against Sandal on September 26th. Hodgson believes the delay has given Middlesbrough additional space to prepare and make sure plans are executed, ‘The next couple of weeks are about sharpening everything up — increasing the intensity, getting combinations right, giving everyone opportunities to put their hand up and making sure we’re ready to go when the league starts.’
