By Roger Clarke- Evening Mail
August 26 2005

Phil Maynard set out his stall at Pertemps Bees last night hoping his summer wheeling and dealing on one of the smallest budgets in National One is going to pay off as his squad lined up for team photographs. Phil Maynard set out his stall at Pertemps Bees last night hoping his summer wheeling and dealing on one of the smallest budgets in National One is going to pay off as his squad lined up for team photographs.

Maynard, director of rugby, has no illusions about the task ahead and his ambition is simple: "I want to be in this division next year. It is quite exciting really, you don't know if you are stronger until you start.

"We have picked some new lads up and that means you have a clear-out. You hope to bring players in who are proving a point and some of these guys have great rugby pedigree."

New faces include Cook Islands international flanker Tu Tamarua, from Rotherham, prop Adrian Olver, who was Coventry's captain last season, ex- Pontypool flanker Cae Trayhern, former Bristol centre Adam Billig and from Orrell, Guillaume Scheuller, another back-row forward.

Bees have also signed former England international winger Tom Beim as well as Midland rugby stalwart John White, who comes in as head coach with responsibility for the forwards. White, who resigned as Coventry director of rugby last season, said: "We are looking to develop a measure of continuity in the standard and quality of our performance, hard core basics, so we can move forward on a long-term basis."

Skipper Ed Orgee has returned to training after a knee injury "feeling good. It is just a question of getting confidence in it. It seems the surgeon has done a good job."

Will that mean taking a bit more care of his troublesome knee?

"Probably not, you just have to get on with it," he said. "We have freshened the back-row, which I think we needed, we will be a lot better at the breakdown now, competing for their ball and also getting quicker ball for us and we have a couple of new lads in the backs. Adam Billiog is replacing Shaun Woof and he looks a sharp player.

"I thing we recruited well, we needed some strength in the front-row and the back-row and I think it is a stronger squad than last season, a more talented squad.

"It is going to be harder again with more full-time teams and we are still scrapping along on a part time basis .

"But we have got to set our stall out an aim for top five, get in amongst a few of the top teams. On any given day we can compete."