BAILDON’S Director of Rugby, Jake Duxbury believes the club have made the perfect decision in appointing Grant Nunney as the men’s 1st XV captain ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

The Bradford side return to Counties Two Yorkshire action tomorrow when they travel to take on Yarnbury in what is set to be one of the games of the opening weekend.

Baildon finished last season in 5th, while tomorrow’s hosts ended the campaign in 3rd place, so both sides will be eager to lay an early marker with a victory on Saturday.

It’s been a summer of change at Baildon, who have lost several first team players in the off-season, and it has led to a reshuffle in the pack, with Nunney taking over as captain.

It’s a decision that has gone down well with the group, Duxbury admitting: “Since Grant arrived at the club four years ago, he’s been nothing short of brilliant.

“He never takes a backward step and always looks to help this team. He travels quite far for training too which just shows how committed he is to the club, and lads notice that extra effort he puts in.

“Last season, we asked Grant to play tighthead prop to help us out, which is not his usual position, and he made no fuss in doing that for the group and he put in some exemplary performances throughout the campaign.

“He isn’t a massive talker like what you’d usually get from a captain, but he’s one of those that when he does talk, people listen, and he also leads by example.”

Duxbury added: “I had a conversation with the four players in the leadership group regarding the decision to make Grant captain, and I said this is the way I’m going to go.

“Every single one of them agreed with me, and the response from the players and community since the announcement has been sensational; they all fully back the move.

“So, we’re delighted to have Grant as our new captain.”

Duxbury, who took over as Baildon’s Director of Rugby last year, confirmed that he’s still looking to continue playing for the club this season.

He said: “If my body allows me to keep playing, then I will keep playing.

“My goal as the Director of Rugby at Baildon is to assemble a team that I can no longer pick myself in because the players are simply better than me.

“On a Saturday, I will continue to give everything to the badge on the field because I still get that buzz when I’m playing at the weekend.

“However, I will be fulfilling other roles throughout the week in my Director of Rugby position.”

Beginning with Yarnbury this weekend, Baildon will be hoping for a fast start to the campaign, but Duxbury admitted that the longer-term goal for this season will be to “improve”.

He said: “The main goal for us this season is improvement.

“We know we picked up some good results last season; we also picked up some bad results last time around, so for us it’s about finding consistency in performances this season and the results will follow.

“It’s a tough challenge to get a full XV out there week by week too, particularly now the winter months are coming, so to get a strong and committed squad out there each week would be another huge milestone for us.

“Its going to be another exciting campaign, and we’re all looking forward to it starting on Saturday.”