THE rich potential at Witham Rugby Club has drawn former England and professional player Jack Kendall to become the new head coach at Spa Road and the new man at the helm is targeting an upward path.

For the past few seasons, Witham have been struggling after taking an ambitious step up into the Essex League from the Merit Table structure and some heavy defeats have masked the potential that the club has to be a bigger presence on the local rugby scene.

However, Kendall has looked beyond those results to become head coach at Spa Road and he believes there is a rich seam of talent to be tapped.

The new coach has more than 25 years of rugby knowledge, having played for England at under-18 and under-19 levels as well as professionally for London Irish and various other clubs.

He was also part of the England Deaf squad that whitewashed New Zealand Deaf in November 2017 and is now looking to bring his knowledge and experience to Witham.

Kendall said he believes the club have the set-up required to begin challenging some of the biggest clubs in the area and feels they can press for promotion to the London Leagues and even the National League.

The new head coach said: "Witham is a proud club with some great history and is a great-looking club.

"The land they own is in itself a huge positive as they do not have to engage in a tug-of-war with the council when it comes to who uses the land on which the club is on.

"I feel Witham has lost its way slightly by under-achieving when it comes to the senior teams and that has shown in the youth numbers slightly dwindling.

"But I have joined Witham because I see huge potential in the club and the teams.

"I have written up my own plan and programme to implicate into the club, which will see more players old and new - and all in between - return and join the club."

Kendall said his ambitious plans will be targeted towards success on the pitch throughout the club's teams, but he added that he is looking for new funding to help boost the chances of meeting his goals.

He added: "I really feel I can help re-build the club in order for us to compete for a higher league position and eventually gain promotion into the London Leagues then the National Leagues.

"There is no funding in place to do this, though, so I am going to need as much help as possible."

Witham's first team are due to be at home in Essex League Shield division action on Saturday, with Bancroft as the scheduled visitors to Spa Road (kick-off 2pm), while the seconds are also at home as they host Benfleet Vikings in Essex Merit Table division six east (kick-off 3pm).