President Luke Stephen, who was reappointed at the zone general meeting on Sunday said there would be a focus to hit the ground running with the New England side ahead of competition next year.

Following the weekend’s general meeting Stephen said the zone would continue to work with Central North as an option for some games in 2015.

 But he said the focus would be on New England’s representative side.

“We need to have a better set up and structure in place to get these guys and get them working together before the representative competition starts,” he said.

“We are competitive but there is potential to perform a lot better.

“We need to look to use the talent we already know about and not just rely on the university sides to make up the numbers in the under-20s.”

Stephen said the 2014 New England competition would be similar to this year’s with five clubs expected to field first grade sides including Guyra Ghosts. “The early indication is that the competition will be nearly identical to last year,” he said.

“Consistency between years  is the only way country rugby will move forward.

“I guess the thing we have learnt from previous years is how to manage trimesters to ensure the competition is successful. The New England Rugby Union’s general meeting saw secretary Richard Croft, treasurer Sam Notley and registrar Glenda Wright retain their positions. Meanwhile Jason Lincoln has taken on the role of senior vice president.

 Rowan Daley and Jason Wall were both appointed as junior vice presidents.