DMP Durham Sharks are delighted to announce 7 of last year’s Development players have been promoted to the Sharks senior squad for the 2020/21 Premier 15s season. Meghan Gardner, Alana Bainbridge, Chloe Broom, Cara Cookland, Amy Layzell, Lauren Fisher and Dannah Ryan-Munden have all made the step up to the full Sharks squad for the upcoming campaign.

Gordon Brett, DMP Durham Sharks Performance Manager, commented: “We’re delighted to see so many girls come through the development team into the first team squad this season. It shows what a great job Sam Jamieson and Phil Wallis did with them last year as well as the role the Centre of Excellence have in producing talented players. Luke Pendlebury and his team in Yorkshire have done a fantastic job down there and we’re able to reap the benefits.”

Forwards Gardner, Bainbridge and Ryan-Munden were all an integral part of the Sharks Development XV last season, with the former making her full Sharks debut towards the end of the campaign. Backs Broom, Cookland, Layzell and Fisher will also make the step up having featured regularly in the 2019/20 Development League.

The seven young Sharks have been training with the Sharks squad for a number of weeks, since approval was given for Premier 15s sides to move to stage two in the elite sport framework. Asked about their integration into the first team setup, Brett added: “The girls have really committed and worked hard during preseason and we’re delighted to reward that with a contract.”

“I’m confident that they see this as the first step and will now push on and challenge for starting positions.”

Stay tuned for more news from the Sharks ahead of the 2020/21 Premier 15s season in the coming weeks, including team news and fixtures for the new campaign.