CORNISH All Blacks director of rugby, Jimmy Tucker aims to ‘re-Launcestonise’ the club as he prepares to take charge of his first full season at Polson Bridge.

The Cornish All Blacks endured a wretched campaign last term, being relegated from National Two League South without a win, as financial troubles twinned with a young and very inexperienced squad meant they could only muster a solitary draw all season.

But with club legend Tucker now having had a number of months to settle in to the role, and slow progress being made off the field, the future is starting to look a lot healthier.

And although Tucker admits that the size of the job surprised him, the fact that many of last year’s squad are staying on and there are a number of new signings in the pipeline, means the boss is excited for a season full of local derbies in a division which should enable them to compete.

Jimmy said: “I knew last season was going to be a struggle, when I came into the job I was perhaps unaware of the standard of National League Two (South) rugby.

“Thankfully that is all behind us now and we can look forward to playing in a league where we can compete.

“The biggest thing for me is that the players who are here want to be here. After last season when a lot of people were chucked into the frying pan, some people may have quit, but most of them are still here which is a great sign for the club going forward.”

National Three League South encompasses plenty of West Country derbies, including match-ups against Camborne, Newton Abbot, Ivybridge and Brixham. One of Tucker’s primary concerns is to improve the atmosphere and culture in a squad whose fight and desire will be put to the test by players who know that just a few seasons ago Launceston were fighting it out in the second-tier of English rugby against the likes of Exeter Chiefs and Northampton.

Jimmy said: “The culture and atmosphere in the changing room will improve. Last season, the players were so green at that level, but this season most of them need to find themselves and prove that they can play at National League level which I’m sure they can.”

Tucker played for the club for over a decade during the 90’s and early 2000’s, in a side which was reknowned for their never say die attitude, and the boss wants more of the same back at Polson Bridge.

He said: “I want the shirt of Launceston to be worn with pride and I want the people of Launceston to come down to the club and be extremely proud of the team and the club along with producing winning rugby to keep them coming back.”

While no-one expects miracles, yet, the squad have barely had a rest between seasons. Led by player/coach, Ryan Westren, the players have been pushing themselves for several weeks in high intensity fitness sessions to give them an advantage ahead of pre-season which started on Tuesday night.

Although the sessions have been optional, the turnout has been impressive.

With the importance of basics in any sport paramount, Westren is looking for the players to do the fundamentals right to give the club a chance to eventually climb up the divisions.

Ryan said: “After last season we obviously need to be a lot more competitive. It’s vital that the squad are good at the basics, being fit, tough to beat and being a tightknit group.

“Once we’ve done that the skill levels will only improve. At the end of the day players can only look good and function properly if other players do their jobs properly.”

As ever in the close season, plenty of murmurs of players incoming and outgoing continue to circulate around Polson Bridge.

With props Luke Chapman (Cornish Pirates) and Robbie Dugard (Barnstaple) definitely gone and second-row Seb Hockridge unlikely to play because of going to university, Tucker has already been busy circulating the availability of players from other clubs.

With pre-season having already started and their first league game of the season just over two months away, Tucker will be desperate to start landing some of his targets although a large squad is already in place.

Jimmy said: “I’m moderately contented with what I’ve got so far, we’ve got about 25 players already with back-up in most positions, but of course we’re always looking to try and improve if we can.

“However from last year’s squad we have plenty of talent which should flourish, I think Ryan Westren will be one of the standout performers in our division, while people like Tom Sandercock (scrum-half) and Fraser Honey (fly-half) should continue to grow, they’re both young and didn’t look out of place last season so they should only continue to improve.”

Confidence will certainly have to be earned. Although Tucker expects the quality to be go down slightly, he believes the geographical nature of the division means teams will look to get stuck into Launceston from the off.

Jimmy said: “This season is going to be extremely tough, the quality will obviously be slightly less as it’s a lower division but as you go down the leagues, it often means more to players, especially when there are plenty of derbies.

“I don’t want to set any targets in terms of a final league position, but I want to see the players play with pride and passion, the fans be proud of the club and to bring winning rugby back down to Polson Bridge.”