Martin Whitcombe has explained why his reign as Bradford & Bingley’s director of rugby came to an end last month.

The former England B prop said: “It was time to move on and let someone else have a go. I renewed some old friendships at the Bees and made many new ones.”

Whitcombe took over from Nic Corrigan in October, 2010 and went back to basics in terms of encouraging local talent.

But he said: “I don’t want that to be seen as my legacy because you have first-class people involved in all levels of rugby like Dave Morris running the third team, Steve Balmforth the second team and Carl Watts the colts.

“As for the players, there are plenty of good youngsters there and they are playing for the right reasons. They are playing for each other and the club.”

As for what he plans to do now, Whitcombe said: “My family will definitely benefit. I can watch my children playing sport.

"I have a daughter (Natasha) who is a very good netball player and a son (James) who is a rugby player.”