A 40 strong touring party of Wrexham players and supporters will depart from Manchester Airport this morning, just digesting the news that their coach Jon Aby and his assistant Norman Stalker have left the club to coach their cross border rivals Whitchurch.

Having been approached by the North Division One club following his success in reviving Wrexham this season, Aby resigned on Wednesday evening. "It's not been an easy decision," he insisted. "It's a matter of timing and I want to test my skills atthis level of rugby which now  includes games against Chester, West Park and Caldy," he added.

The departure of Aby and Stalker will leave a void at Wrexham which they will have to fill quickly if they are to build on the progress which took them into third place in Division Five North this season. Assistant coach Kevin Powell is an obvious candidate for the vacant post, but there may be other young aspiring coaches keen
to cut their teeth at this level.