LAUNCESTON’S new forwards coach Will James admitted joining the Regional One South West outfit is a ‘fantastic opportunity’.

James, 49, who had long spells at both Plymouth Albion and in the Premiership with Gloucester as well as a season at the Cornish Pirates made four appearances for Wales and was part of the 2007 World Cup squad.

He recently returned to the South West having been the head of rugby, sports development and performance at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire since retiring from the pro game in 2014, and will work alongside new head coach Steve Perry in a bid to move the All Blacks back up the table.

On what drew him to Polson Bridge, James said: “It’s a fantastic club steeped in history, it’s got a very community-based feel about it and is a huge part of the town.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to come on board and do some coaching, and hopefully make the group of players better as we progress into the new season.”

Having played at the highest level, James is keen to pass down his experience.

He continued: “I’d like to think I’m very hands on and very analytical. I like to look at the bigger picture, particularly in the forwards play and demand high standards which is what we need really in training and also with regards to our physical preparation. I’ll be looking to really drill that down as we progress into the pre-season period.”

On what the players can expect over the coming weeks, Perry continued: “The first thing is we’ve got to be as fit as we can, really working on the things that take no skill, so being present, being focused in training and coming into the season in the best physical shape we can.

“But we also need to be really focused and accurate with what we’re doing with our breakdown skills, our set-piece and receiving kick-offs. All of those are building blocks I feel are needed to being a good forwards coach.”

James is also keen to work with a pack which has plenty of options, but didn’t rule out incomings, adding: “Primarily you’ve got to work with what you’ve got, looking at our strengths and where our possible weaknesses are and looking at how we play in essence and how we’ve played over the last few years. I’ll also talk to the senior playing group and seeing how they want to progress, and then looking at potential weak points and seeing if there’s any recruitment opportunities out there.”

The two new coaches aren’t strangers having both played at Plymouth in the early 2000s, and James expects them to gel.

He said: “I got to know Steve well back then, and I appreciate he played for the club for many years and has gone on to coach a few different teams. He’s very experienced and I believe we’re aligned on our thought process in how we want the club to be and how we want to play rugby, so I’m looking forward to working with him.

“We’ve had some really good conversations based around the squad, how we can develop, how we progress the team and the skillset, and looking at how we’ll flow into the season, in particular looking at our warm-up games and what that looks like for us with the players we’ve got.”