Bradley steps up at Derby
MARK Bradley is returning for a second spell as Derby head coach as Roxy Fearon steps down.
Fearon is still involved as part of a coaching reshuffle at the club, featuring in a team behind Bradley that includes John Widdowson, John Collins, Ryan Manning, Phil Maddox and Phil Jepson.
Full-back Andy Brown is the new 1st XV captain.
“I’ve had a really good run and it’s nice to be stepping down under my own steam!” said Fearon.
“But I will still be involved, helping Mark with the coaching.
“We just felt it was time for a change and Mark has a great rapport with the players, it seems a natural thing to do.”
During the pandemic Derby are following guidance from the RFU, who announced a national roadmap for a return to community rugby activity. The roadmap consisted of six stages, with stage A relating to individual training with one other person, while stage F will be when competitive matches between teams return. The RFU are currently at stage D.
Derby were due to play a touch rugby game against Lichfield at Haslams Lane today, with a return game planned for November 7.
But Lichfield had to call off today’s game as they were unable to raise a team, with Covid-19 restrictions in their area also a factor.
“The plan was to play a 10-man touch rugby game against Lichfield and see if that could be a way of offering some kind of competition,” Fearon added.
“But the most important thing is to make sure that everybody is safe and we will see if something can be arranged in the weeks ahead.
“We did manage to hold an intraclub touch tournament in September involving the senior, women, colts and mixed ability teams, which worked out well.”