North Wales Crusaders Chairman, Bobby Watkins, has hailed a ‘small, but important step’ in the club’s development following a successful evening of trials for the reserve side and women’s team.
Men and women from as far as the Netherlands attended an invitational trial held at Hare Lane, Chester, where they were put through their paces by the club’s Head of Academy, Jon Burgess, and his development coaching team.
Speaking at the evening, Crusaders Chairman, Bobby Watkins said: “Tonight marks a small but important step to develop the North Wales Crusaders mission to have multiple adult teams playing regularly, provide a pathway to the men’s first team and broaden our focus to include a elite ladies side.
“With about 40 players across men’s and ladies, with 90% people new to us, we were blown away by the enthusiasm for the Crusaders and the talent on show.”
North Wales Crusaders’ Head of Academy, JonBurgess added: “We’ve had a brilliant turnout here this evening with some fantastic quality on show.
“It feels like a special moment for the club in many aspects, and we can start to see the vision coming to life from all of the preparation work which has taken place since January.”
The evening marks a significant step as the club progresses with plans to launch a reserve side whilst also entering a North Wales Crusaders side into the professional leagues of the Rugby Football League with fixtures for both sides planned over the remainder of the year before they’ll look towards competitive action in 2026.
Training for the squads ahead of those fixtures shall now commence alongside the development of junior player pathways over the coming months.
Any players who believe they have the ability to join the squads can still express interest by emailing enquiries@nwcrusadersrl.com
