Normal league mechanics would have seen us return to South Lancs / Cheshire One after our relegation from North One West. However, with the defection of more teams to the Lancashire merit leagues and to avoid the Cumbrian teams being cut adrift by the loss of Lancashire teams in the former Lancashire / Cumbria League, RFU has created this new N2W league which embraces teams from North and South Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire.

The result is a strong league with no easy fixtures and we will need to perform to our best to prosper at this level. But, new coach, Liam (the Guv) McGovern and his team of support coaches, Liam Sadler, Steve Pilgrim and ex-Premiership scrum-half, Chris Pilgrim, will be up for the challenge.

The fixture shake-up hasn't been kind to us with the first two outings away at Manchester and Aspull on 7 and 14 September, respectively. Aspatria are the Cumbrian side to join this new division and they will surely be out to reverse our play-off triumph in the 2017-18 promotion season.

For the full fixture list, click on this link.