Ilkley Rugby club announce new coach

Following on from their successful 2007-2008 league campaign which resulted in promotion to North league two Ilkley Rugby club bade goodbye to Head coach Robin Kay who is retiring after many successful years coaching rugby. Chairman Richard Scargill expressed his thanks and best wishes to “coach Kay” and said that he hoped he would keep in contact with the club and its players.

The club has not delayed filling the vacant post and are pleased to announce that the new Head Coach will be Hamish Pratt. Pratt has recently been playing with Huddersfield RUFC and has played through three promotions (and one relegation!) taking them into National league Three North last season.

He is hanging up his boots as player but is looking forward to a new challenge with Ilkley. He will be assisted by Chairman of Rugby, Development Officer Dave Duxbury and Chris Steele both of whom were part of Kay’s team last season. They will be supplemented by new coaching assistant Steve Quinn who joins the team from Cleckheaton.

Duxbury commented that Hamish will bring fresh and innovative ideas and would have the experience to address the playing issues and challenges of the new league status.

He added “Ilkley have never been this high in the league system so an asset like Hamish will be vital to continue the progress.”

Pratt is a New Zealander by birth. He is now married and settled in the UK with two young children. He  lives in Cullingworth after, moving there in December. His rugby career began in the South Island of New Zealand in the province of Otago and in particular Clutha RUFC where he played through the age groups and representative rugby. The final eight seasons were with Huddersfield where, what was originally intended to be a brief playing holiday, culminated in marriage, children and a job with the Rugby Football Union. His day job is Regional Development Officer for the RFU and whilst he is adamant that the position with the club is totally separate, the rugby nous he brings to the Ilkley club will be an important factor.

Pratt said that he was happy to be coming to a club enjoying success on the field and hoped that he could build on the strong foundations laid by Kay, and before him Mark Luffman and Richard Midgley.

He added, “Ilkley is a well run club with ambitious community oriented plans. It is recognised at Twickenham as a “beacon” club and that must be good for the whole community of Ilkley and area. I look forward to being a small part of it”.

Whilst he recognised that Ilkley were committed to playing amateur rugby at the highest possible level, there was no reason that the professional attitude taken to all aspects of running the club should not allow the club to consolidate its first and second fifteens in their respective leagues and that the third fifteen should also compete in a merit table for the first time. He is committed to providing a training programme to attract all levels of player and within which the young talent the club has nurtured through junior and youth rugby should be allowed to flourish.

The players will have a couple of months to repair and tired bodies before training for the new season commences on Tuesday 1^st July 2008.

The club sincerely hope to keep their successful squad together whilst recognising that some players may be considering rugby at an even higher level, Chairman Scargill said that he hoped the “Ilkley experience” and close knit family atmosphere would persuade players to see what could be achieved one league up the system. He went on to say that he recognised that the new league would bring new challenges but that the commitment shown by the players last season would stand them in good stead this coming season. “We will have to organise ourselves better for the longer away trips and be sympathetic to the extra demands that will put on players. However that is for us to manage and there is no doubt that manage it we will. I have tremendous admiration for the players and their dedication. We will strive for continued success.

The club welcomes new players in all positions and is anxious to maintain its strong ties to local Higher Education establishments – the two Universities in Leeds and that in Bradford being in close proximity and within easy reach by public transport. Development Officer Dave Duxbury is Rugby Union Student Liaison officer for Bradford University and the club provides facilities for training and playing to students at Bradford.