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The right way

Marc Iles
6/10/2004

MACCLESFIELD coach Steve Rule has said the club will not gamble with its future in a bid to rise up the National League.

The former Sale stand-off presided over the Blues' first season in National League rugby last year, where the club surprised many by keeping clear of the relegation places for a secure mid-table finish.

But Rule has said he is content to build on last year's modest successes by bringing youngsters through the club set-up rather than splash out on expensive imports and big money signings.

"In my opinion, some clubs try and do it too quickly," Rule told Express Sport. "We're not a massively wealthy club and I don't think it would do us any good in the long term to bring in players on big money like others have done in the past.

"We have to maintain a balance between wanting to be ambitious and maintaining a local flavour and being a proper rugby club. I think we have that at the moment."

Macc's impressive start to the league season has been achieved despite a lengthy injury list including the likes of Jeremy Bostock, Ian Lee, Jon Keep and Rick Jones.

But after a week-long lay-off caused by the side's defeat at Chester in the cup, Rule is expected to welcome back a few players for this weekend's trip to Rugby Lions.

"It's not been a bad start at all," he said. "The Fylde game could have gone either way, we have put five tries past Kendal, and not many teams will go and get a result at New Brighton this season."

The first team has also benefited from a strong second string, which is currently nurturing several Priory Park stars of the future, said Rule.

"We haven't got a bad squad at all," he told us. "We have concentrated on reducing the average age of the second team to allow us to give younger players a taste of rugby at this level. Otherwise they would just look for first team rugby elsewhere.

"Those players are the future of the club, and it's important that we keep hold of them and develop a structure where they can move through into the first team."