CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING Mark Coull has described it as “the best time to go” after announcing he will not be at the helm of North Berwick RFC next season.
The county side wrapped up East League Division Two on Saturday with victory over Corstorphine.
Promotion to East League Division One will bring its own challenges, but Coull felt it was the perfect time to step aside and let someone else take charge.
He said: “I’m not going to coach next year.
“I just feel for the players, after three years with me, they would almost benefit from a different message.
“You don’t want to be stuck with someone in your playing career, telling you to play the same style of play. They say they enjoy it but I feel it is important a new message takes them forward.”
The league title comes after three years of disruption.
North Berwick were sitting third in the table behind Leith and Langholm in March 2020 when the season was stopped by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At that time, Coull’s side had three games in hand and would comfortably have gone top of the pile with victories in those.
Then, last season was wiped out entirely by the pandemic, with competitive rugby only returning last year.
This campaign, they have only lost three games, scoring nearly 500 points in their 16 contests.
Coull said: “It’s almost like three years’ work.
“We had the season that never was last year and were flying during that time.
“It is easy to say because we did not play anyone but we were training really well.
“It is definitely two, almost three, seasons of work in one title.
“It is good to win this season and there were more teams in contention than last time when we were competing in this league.
“At one point this season, there were four or five looking like they could have won it.
“Corstorphine were one of them but they seemed to drop off. They had a few injuries and dropped off.
“Then, there was Leith, who are always in contention, and Langholm, who just appeared from out of nowhere.”
North Berwick won 43-20 at Recreation Park on Saturday but not before surviving a second-half comeback.
The league title looked well and truly wrapped up as North Berwick led 31-8 at the interval.
The visitors fought back to make the score 31-20 before the halfway point of the second half, but NB ran out 43-20 victors in the end.
Coull, who works for Citizens Advice Bureau in Haddington, said that Corstorphine were “applying the pressure” before North Berwick managed to extend their advantage and take the win.
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