In the first instalment of our Inside Cru series, we caught up with North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster following the squad’s return to pre-season training last month.
Sitting down to speak about his side’s preparations so far, Forster said: “The lads have come in and it’s as if we’ve been together for a while.
“It helps that a lot of the new lads have played with the existing players before whether that be at Crusaders in the past or elsewhere.
“We’re really thorough on who we bring in to the club and we look at the person as much as the player which really helps come day one of pre-season as all the lads have come in with the right attitude.”
Having hung up his boots at the end of last season, Forster is now enjoying a different outlook to pre-season training: “I love it [pre-season starting], he said.
“The lads are giving me a bit of grief about it, but, all jokes aside, I’m really enjoying concentrating on making other players improve rather than trying to juggle multiple jobs.
“It’s allowed me to break down small details and give the lads my 100% attention, add to that they are just too fit and quick for me!”
With the recent announcement of an opening friendly on Friday 10th January away to Championship outfit Widnes Vikings, Forster spoke openly about how he’s found the squad upon their return to training: “If you were to ask me what I’ve been most impressed with to date, I’d probably say just how fast the lads have got on with what we’ve asked of them, both on and off the field.
“Their attitude towards training has been unbelievable, and we have a real good feel about being together.
“They are all keen to learn and apply themselves so well on the training field.
“These first few weeks have consisted of us getting back into the swing of things, these lads are good rugby players so I don’t need to tell them how to catch and pass a ball.
“We’ve got straight into how we want to play with the ball – we want to excite fans and play good rugby, so our early focus has been that, over the next couple of weeks we will slowly introduce the defensive structures and blend it all together, ultimately ready for the season opener.”
Forster has added several new faces to his side, with many arriving for the Championship ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Speaking about recruitment for the new season, he said: “The recruitment process started back in July, and it’s gone really well, but with that hasn’t come without the hard work from everybody involved.
“I think we were hard at work for a solid two months to get this squad together, every day and night working on it but I’m hoping we will see the benefit of that in 2025.
“We’ve brought in such good people and very good rugby players.
“It’s now our job to make all that work together.”
