Keighley Rugby Union clinched promotion with a superb display against Roundhegians last weekend.

The victory takes the Utley club straight back into North East Division One after last year's relegation, and new coach Tim Becker aims to continue the club's rise through the game's league structure next season.

"We don't want to go up and just stay there, next year we have the opportunity to progress further and that is what all the players want," Tim Becker said.

Team spirit was at a low ebb after last season's relegation, but pre-season training with Becker put the club back on track.

"We started with determination and kept it going throughout the season. We have only lost two league matches and the only really disappointing result was our defeat by Cleckheaton when we didn't do ourselves justice.

"A lot of the teams we were playing were as good as us, but we really wanted to win and had a more solid approach.

"We have been playing teams teams that had recruited heavily from rugby league and elsewhere and were paying their players. Our lads are amateurs playing for pleasure and deserve a tremendous amount of praise for what they have done.

"In this modern age of professional rugby teams like Hull and Mowden Park were being paid, but the Keighley lads are prepared to play with their heart for the club.

"Next year we plan to continue going forward. We can beat any of the teams in the higher division and promotion certainly doesn't fill anyone with dread - our ambition is just to keep going and play at the highest level we can."

This weekend the team travels to Otley to take on the Saracens in a non-league fixture. After a series of tough matches Mark Lister is rested and takes his place on the replacements bench and a re-shuffled pack brings in Peter Southgate. James Kubran scrum half of the Under-19 Colts also gets a place on the bench.

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