WILMSLOW Rugby Club’s preparations for life at a higher level are starting to ramp up, writes Nathan Okell.

Rick Jones’ side will start their Northern Premier League campaign on Saturday, September 1, when they take on old foes Kirkby Lonsdale at the Memorial Ground.

Following on from the thrilling finale to the promotion campaign in North One West, pre-season training started last month.

Club chiefs report that players have responded enthusiastically and vigorously to the challenge of maintaining their place in the division they now find themselves in.

Wilmslow faced their first warm up game on Saturday against lower league Broughton Park, with many of Wolves’ promotion heroes missing, either on holiday or involved in other summer sports such as cricket.

Ethan Harding and the Rowe brothers are stalwarts of Wilmslow Cricket Club and Rob Herriott plays at Lindow.

It was therefore an opportunity for some of the fringe players and new arrivals to make their claim for places in the side.

Sam Graham, a new hooker/back rower from Sheffield University, stood out during the game, and will prove to be a handy addition as the season progresses.

Centre Gus Fiennes ran well for a try in the final quarter and full-back Harry Mather always looked dangerous with ball in hand, however struggled to execute the killer final pass.

Dan Williams on the wing showed great pace throughout the game and took his late chance to score convincingly.

All in all, Jones will have been satisfied with a share of the honours in the game but he will know that his side will soon have to move into a higher gear if they are to compete in the Premier League.

Wolves, who faced Macclesfield last night, are next in action on Friday, August 24, when they welcome Birkenhead Park to The Memorial Ground in the first round of the Cheshire Plate.

Looking further ahead to the league start, the last time that Wilmslow played many of the clubs residing in this league was more than 30 years ago in the first season of the new RFU league system.

Back then, Wilmslow were simply not prepared for the demands of such a difficult league, with it taking until the turn of the century before results and performances started to improve.

This time though, there are real hopes that Wolves can acquit themselves at the higher level.

Off the pitch, Wilmslow have secured the sponsorship of Neubria, Shoesmiths and O’Neill Sports, hoping they can spur Wilmslow on in what looks set to be an exciting season.