MANY involved with Yarnbury RFC will have been delighted when ex player Carl Paterson was announced as new first team head coach in June.

He was part of the Yarnbury team that successfully made it all the way to Twickenham in the National Cup in 2014, and arriving at the new role, he naturally brought with him a wealth of experience from his playing days across a number of senior clubs in Yorkshire, his role with the RFU, and his time as Head Coach at Yorkshire Two club, North Ribblesdale.

And those at the Horsforth club had every reason to feel optimistic going into the new campaign with Paterson at the helm.

Despite losing two of their opening three league fixtures, Yarnbury have inevitably bounced back and are now on a run of four unbeaten which included three victories- two of those being last gasp ones.

Looking back at those difficult early fixtures against Wath Upon Dearne and Wheatley Hills, Paterson hinted that those early defeats are part and parcel of arriving with a new side.

He said: “You think those losses against Wath and Wheatley Hills may have knocked mine and the squad’s confidence but that certainly wasn’t the case.

“I’m a big believer that we must take it one game at a time, and I was still getting to know the players at that point. All those opening three fixtures were tough, they were all against big sides and I feel we exceeded expectations in going to them sides and getting one victory because I know what we were coming up against.

“So, it didn’t put me and my assistant coach off one bit because it actually showed us what we can achieve.

“We showed a competitive nature and that we can compete with some of the best sides. “

Paterson added: “We’ve just gone from strength to strength since then and are we obviously four games unbeaten now.

“I do think that because we’ve got a young side, it’s all about instilling that never give up attitude into them.

“In the last two games we’ve played, we’ve scored in the last minutes to win the games and I think getting that attitude, along with a bit of grit and determination is a massive thing to have.

“We’ve also got the lads extremely fit and they can all play the full game if we need them too.

“It’s massive because it means we can carry on with effort and intensity right until the final whistle.

“Teams can get in front of us, but they can never take their foot of the peddle and they know that they’re in a battle for the full match. I’m really impressed with the start we’ve made, and I think we’ve got a brilliant team spirit and connection.”

Yarnbury return to action on Saturday when they travel to Baildon in what could prove to be an exciting derby match.

The Horsforth side will be chasing another victory-three on the bounce for that matter, but Paterson's side will not be taking anything for granted.

He said: "It's always difficult going to Baildon and they've got a great coach, my ex teammate at Skipton. They move the ball quickly, they're tough to breakdown, but hopefully we can continue our run."