Davies is back as part of new look set-up

Davies, who was with RFU Championship side Cornish Pirates for seven seasons, has agreed on a Raiders return as high performance manager, following last week’s departure of former head coach Kieron Dawson and backs coach Nick Buoy. In a further change to the coaching team, former Raiders captain Jody Levett will return as coach, while Ben Coulson has been promoted to the same role. Davies admitted a major influence in taking up a position again with Worthing was to try and develop the pair as coaches. He said: “One of the main reasons behind me taking this role was to try to give Jody and Ben any help that they may need. “They are both Worthing stalwarts and will want the club to do well. “I am going to be firmly in the background, I’m moving back to the area and have a job at Christ’s Hospital School which will take up the vast majority of my time. “I’ve got a lot of affection for this club and want to help out in any way possible. This will be my fourth stint back involved here at Worthing and it’s a great place to be. “With my role as director of rugby at Cornish Pirates, I watched a few Raiders games last season and I was impressed with them. “I know the two really well, Ben has been involved with Worthing for a long time and Jody was their most successful captain, so they know the club and I’m sure they will do a great job.” Coulson has a long association with the club and says it is an honour to be offered his new position. He said: “I’m very excited about the opportunity that I have been given to take up this role with the first-team. I’ve had a real long association with this club which started all the way back coming to watch my dad play here. “I then played 13 seasons in the first team before moving on to Hove but came back three seasons ago. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have taken charge of the first-team a few times when Kieron (Dawson) and Nick (Buoy) were unavailable and on those occasions it was an honour, so for me now to be given this opportunity is fantastic. “For me, I want to improve as a coach and working alongside both Jody and Ian is going to give me a great chance at enhancing my skills as a coach. “It’s going to be a tough job and a challenge for myself but one I could not refuse, given my association and connection with Worthing.” Levett, who will be Raiders’ lead coach, will make a return to the side he played with for ten seasons and admitted promotion into National 1 is the ultimate aim. He said: “Obviously, I’m delighted to accept the role as Raiders’ lead coach. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be working alongside Ben again, only this time as a fellow coach rather than team-mates. “It’s also a fantastic chance to return to the club I represented for ten years and a club that means a great deal to both myself and my family. “The aim is to move the club forward, in a sustainable fashion, with our collective goal of promotion back into National 1 over the coming seasons.” Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage 2) Like our Facebook page 3) Follow us on Twitter 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it.