Taunton
Rugby Club Magazine recently
caught up with their Head Coach Tony Yapp.
RC: How long have you been involved and what first
attracted you here and kept you here?
TY: I’ve just finished my 9th season, I started
out as a player/coach before taking over
as Head Coach. What attracted me? We
have a great facility and pitches; it was
also obvious that the club were very
ambitious, once I’d spoken to a few
people around the club it was clear
it was going to be a great club to be
involved with and so it has proved.
RC: What are the most challenging and
rewarding aspects of your role?
TY: As any coach will tell you it’s likely to
be getting everyone enough games to keep everyone
happy, we have worked hard at the club to create a strong
second team with competitive games each week, I’d like
to think this year we have achieved that with the Warriors
(second team) also winning the Somerset cup.
This year the Wanderers (third team) won their league
and next year there are plans for a fourth team so hopefully
we can provide rugby for everyone of any ability. In terms
of rewarding aspects, it has to be players coming to the
club from the leagues below helping improve their game
and then seeing them move on to play at a higher level.
Over the last nine seasons we’ve had twenty-seven
players go on to play at a higher level which is a great
achievement for a club like Taunton. A few of those include
Sam Skinner, Exeter Chiefs/Scotland - Jake Woolmore
Bristol and Jack Owlett, Exeter Chiefs and now Wasps.
RC: How’s the general mood down at the club at the
moment? And how has the 18/19 season gone for the
club?
TY: The mood at the club is great and has been very
positive all year, we’ve consistently had good numbers
to training and there is a real buzz around the club on
training nights and games. I think if you fall into the trap
of just judging the club on the fact the Titans missed out
on the top two places in their league, then you may say it’s
not been completely successful.
If you look a little deeper then as a whole club you’ll
notice that the Titans cracked 100 league points again
which shows real consistency from them. The Warriors
won the Somerset Cup competing against other first teams
in the county which shows their quality, the Wanderers
won their league, the colts and most of the youth section
have made county cup finals and players who have come
to see what rugby is like here at Taunton have stayed with
us and had great seasons so overall as a club it’s been very
positive.
RC: What are your plans for the off season?
TY: I think the main thing is to let the boys get away,
recover and spend some time away from rugby so they
come back fresh and ready for next season. It’s looking
very positive regarding guys signing for next season again
which is great.
For me personally it is a case of wrapping
up last season and obviously going through
areas on and off the field that we can look
to improve for next season. There will
also be lots of conversations with our
own players and potential new players
too. In between, I’ll look to spend as
much time with family as possible
which usually involves a couple of
weeks away with the phone switched
off (but even then it’s hard to switch off
completely). Once I get back there will be
around a month to get everything sorted and
planned out for preseason.
RC: How does the club ensure that young players enjoy
a smooth transition into the senior game?
TY: We have a great relationship with the colts that are
transitioning into senior rugby; some of the senior Colts
will have already trained with the Titans over the course
of the season with one or two getting some game time for
the Warriors when they didn’t have a colts game. This
season the club are looking to put in place a fourth team,
which will allow the young guys coming through the
opportunity to play at the level they feel most comfortable
at.
RC: What are the clubs ambitions for the next five years?
TY: I think the ambition of the club is to play at the
highest level possible without putting the club under
financial strain. We are very fortunate to have a great
facility and grounds which a lot of people work hard to
maintain. As a club we are very lucky to have so many
people who work very hard behind the scenes which in
turn gives us a venue that could accommodate higher
level rugby.
Everyone at the club is very ambitious but we are also
very aware of the dangers of chasing something without
financially having everything perfectly in place. So with
the ambition of the Titans players and coaches to make
the next level, there is also the rest of the club and the
main ambition there would be for the youth section to be
thriving to allow as many players as possible to go on and
play senior rugby at Taunton in the future, to continue
with a strong Warriors team to support the Titans and then
for the Wanderers and 4th team to establish themselves
and grow.
The success of any club isn’t always just the 1st team
of the club being in the top leagues but also the depth of
players and teams you have underneath. Taunton next
season will have four senior teams and a thriving youth
section, I think in this day and age that in itself is pretty
successful.
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