FORMER Dorchester and Bridport coach Chris Burton has been appointed as the RFU’s new Rugby development officer for Dorset.

The 55-year-old has a wealth of experience as a player, administrator and RFU Level Three coach and, having already worked as an RFU community rugby coach within the county, he is well-placed to help nurture the senior game locally.

Discussing his new role, Burton said: “I will be working with all the clubs in Dorset to assist in their sustainability and development.

“Some will require my services more than others and the next few months will see my consolidation of my existing knowledge of the clubs, together with that of my development team, in order to prioritise this work.

“The focus of my work will be assisting clubs in their development. This is, obviously, a wide remit and clubs will all have different needs and areas for development, so my work will be wide and varied.

“As clubs exist within and are dependent upon their communities this work will also, inevitably, extend out into the surrounding communities and into areas such as schools, local authorities and other local interest groups.”

Burton has also spent time with the Harlequins Under-14s Elite Player Development Group before, in 2002, becoming involved in setting up the England Deaf Rugby team of which he became director of rugby during a successful six-year period.

Clive Cashell, the RFU’s regional rugby manager for the south, said: “I’m very pleased Chris is taking on the role. Having been the rugby community coach for the county he knows the clubs and the people involved.

“He’s going to bring a lot to the table and I’m really looking forward to him getting stuck into the role.”