Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club’s Jacob Ford recruits ‘around 18’ new players for 2024/25 National League 2 East campaign

Bury St Edmunds director of rugby Jacob Ford has revealed his new-look Wolfpack squad for 2024/25 is on the verge of being complete.

Despite their National League 2 East campaign not starting until September, Ford has already secured agreements for ‘around 18 players’ to join them, with the club set to begin announcing them later this month.

Ford said: “We’re one signing away from being finished.

“We’ve done well and we’re probably ahead of the curve a little bit. It’s around 18.”

Asked if he had envisaged it being so many, he said: “It’s about right. If you look at the playing squad we had at the beginning of last year, with the players who left throughout the season and then the end of the season, it accounts to 20 players.”

Ford is in the process of sorting accommodation for his new signings and is hoping the local community can help out with anyone in and around the Bury area able to offer private rentals for around three players in each dwelling asked to email vice chairman Phil Stittle: vicechairman@bserufc.co.uk.

It comes in a week which saw Ford reveal he had passed on his head coach title to existing player-coach Ben Penfold.

Meanwhile, three more players, taking the total to 13 (excluding Penfold), have been revealed as staying on in 150-cap Will Affleck, Ben Kelland and Paddy Robinson.

In other news, Lee Todd has returned to be head groundsman following the departure of Toby Mills.

Bury St Edmunds retained (so far): Affleck, Bourne, Collier, Cooper, Grigg-Pettitt, Kelland, Kharbouch, Loose, McCartney, Robinson, Russell, Strath, Williams.

Bury St Edmunds departing: Barker, Bursey, Christie, Drury-Hawkins, Jeffery, Porteous, Saddleton, Simpson, Stanway.