The Head Coach position has gone to Bobby Rao and here again, despite being clear favourite to land the role, the former Indian Test player had to beat off interest from a quality field.

"We were taken by surprise by both the quantity and the quality of applicants for this one" suggested the North West supremo "however we are convinced we have the right man in place".

"Bobby has the respect of players and officials alike and there are very few around these parts who would argue that he is tailor-made for the job"

Confirming that he had accepted the post, Bobby suggested that he felt his role was to lay the foundations for the next generation of Warriors. "I am obviously happy to take the job and having worked with most, if not all the players I believe we can get down to work fairly quickly. I do however think now is also the time to involve people who have plenty of playing experience in the North West behind them but who still have plenty to offer the sport here.

"Because of that, and once I was told I had been appointed Head Coach, I met with Ian McGregor about taking on a support role. The Inter- Pro committee had very clear ideas about where they wanted to go with our support team and Ian is an ideal option having spent the past few years studying a sports degree and working on various coaching development projects.

"Ian has agreed to take on a combined Assistant Coach/ Team Manager role and I am looking forward to working with him closely throughout the season".

The final posts to be filled were those of selectors with a team of four required for each region. Bobby Rao and Peter Gillespie are automatic choices for the first two courtesy of their Head Coach and International selector roles and the other two places will be filled by Junior McBrine and Mark Olphert.

The committee felt that it was imperative that they brought in selectors who would be in a position to offer honest and objective views and both men fit the bill.

Judging by the appointments it is clear that the Warriors are definitely thinking ahead and it would be no surprise to see the new men form the backbone of the Inter-Pro set-up over the next number of years. The first North West Warriors squad is expected to be released this midweek.