NICK Hodge has taken over the chairmanship at Dorchester Rugby Club after Peter Grassby handed over the reins.

Grassby has been in the hot-seat for four years and leaves a fine legacy for Hodge to continue to work on.

During his time in the chairman, Grassby has overseen the construction of a disabled access ramp to the main pitch, which has also benefited the community at the club firework displays.

Floodlights have been installed on the first and second-team pitches, the players’ facilities have been upgraded to benefit all sides from the youth section through to the ladies’ teams and financially the club has turned deficit into a surplus.

The Rugbyathon saw a huge amount of monies raised for local charities and the club will be at the centre of more charity and fundraising work.

Hodge joined the club from Portsmouth in 2011, moving to the area for work.

He currently works as a police officer locally and as a keen sportsman also plays cricket for Abbotsbury CC.

He has played for both second and third teams at Dorchester and captained the third team for two years including winning a league title in the 2014/15 sea- son.

His plans for the club as he moves into the chairman’s role are to aim for total integration for the club from the junior section ladies’ teams and senior teams, and to work more closely with the community and provide a hub for local activities.

Hodge says he aims to drive recruitment for more playing members at the club and for more supporters and families to become involved, adding to the family spirit of the club.

The club currently has a very vibrant and successful junior and youth section that he is keen to develop into senior squad members in time and retain their successful attitude.

Whilst Hodge is keen to see success on the pitch he also wants to oversee continued development of the facilities and bring new initiatives to the fore.

The successful fireworks nights will continue to grow and summer events are already being planned for 2017 to include tug o’ war with beer and cider festival and a summer ball.

The first of these new initiatives is to play a game under floodlights on the first Friday of every month.

Friday, September 2 sees the first of these games with a first XV squad to play a select side from the Wooden Spoon as a charity fundraiser and it is planned that some famous names from rugby will attend.

Pre-season training commences on Tuesday, July 5 and following every Tuesday and Thursday with members of the committee in attendance to greet new players and discuss membership benefits with them.

The club can be contacted by potential players and social members at dorchester-rfc.co.uk