Dundee High School FP has retained its coaching team led by director of rugby Ian Rankin next season and will have a new captain in prop Neil Dymock.
This will be Rankin’s 10th season with the club, easily the longest serving head coach in senior Scottish club rugby.
He will be joined by Alan Clark (backs/skills), JJ van der Esch (scrummage) and current players Barry Jones and Simon Forrest (strength and conditioning).
The second XV will again be coached by Dougie Gray and club rugby development officer Kenny Christie, while the third XV will be coached by Dave Rowe.
After three seasons as skipper, in which the club has re-established itself in premier one of the RBS leagues, lock Richie Hawkins is standing down and his place is being taken by Dymock, who follows his father, Tom, who was skipper of the club in the 1980s and 1990s.
“It is vitally important that everything is in place as early as possible to prepare for success over the next 12 months,” said Rankin.
“With more league reconstruction a possibility at the end of next season our target is to put ourselves in the driving seat in a league that is becoming increasingly competitive mainly due to the introduction of the British and Irish Cup, and we all recognise the need to work even harder to achieve that level.”
The club will also benefit by the High School Of Dundee’s success in obtaining planning permission for the installation of two flood-lit all-weather pitches and two new rugby pitches at Dalnacraig.