Lewis agrees to lead Field again for next season
HEAD coach Gareth Lewis and five members of his Huddersfield RUFC squad have committed themselves to the club for next season.
Field will be playing in National 2 North when the new campaign gets underway after the RFU calculated the final positions in the table having called a halt to the season due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Now Lewis has pledged to lead the side again for an eighth season, with Dickie Piper remaining as captain for a third successive campaign.
Former skipper Nick Sharpe, experienced back Tom Hodson, prop Callum Thompson and winger Kian Stewart have also committed to next season.
Lewis, who led the side to their highest finish in 2018/19 season, said: “I’ve been proud to coach my hometown club for seven years and we’ve created some unbelievable memories.
“Now we open the next chapter and get ready to make some more.”
And for Stewart, the fact Lewis is staying to lead to side is an important step for him and the club.
He said: “The support off each player, coach and member of the club has been fantastic for me over the past two seasons, one of the main reasons why my love for the club has built up so much.
“The culture and the way that we are such a tight group had made my time at the club a lot easier, which is why I’ve decided to stay next season.
“It always helps my decision that we are also a class team.”
Huddersfield spent most of last season trying to move clear of the relegation zone, and were out of the bottom three when the league was called off.
However, they didn’t know they were safe until the RFU had concluded their calculations for the final league positions which involved taking the league points gained for home games and dividing it by the home games played by that club then multiplied by the number of home matches they had left to play.
That was repeated for away games and the two totals added to the league points gained during the season. It left Field in 12th place on 68.17 points. Caldy have been promoted as champions with Scunthorpe, Preston Grasshoppers and Otley going down.
Meanwhile, the club, who have had to furlough staff during the lockdown, have set up a fund-raising appeal which stands at just short of £16,000, with Lewis raising £2,627 with a burpee challenge and the senior squad donating £1,000.
“As you would expect, this situation is causing significant financial difficulties for our club. We are working hard to try and minimise any immediate impact and longterm liabilities,” said chairman Mark Birch on the club’s website.