Sheppey Rugby Club have taken on a new full-time general manager – who happens to be a former England youth international.

Thirty-three-year-old prop Aston Croall has Premiership experience and Sheppey will also be utilising him as a player and a coach.

Croall’s main role at the club will be to oversee the clubhouse and the social affairs at Sheppey but he will also have a key role on the playing side.

He has represented England from under-16 level through to the under-21s and played for Saracens, Harlequins and Sale Sharks. Last year he was playing in National 1 – rugby’s third tier – for Blackheath.

He will join the coaching department alongside Rob Dengate and Pete Jones as Sheppey look to improve their fortunes on and off the pitch.

Director of rugby Andy Hosken was delighted to have got Croall onboard.

He said: “We have got a lot of real estate and we want to utilise it more. He will help market that.

“It’s a new era off the field with someone trying to get revenue into the club and the bonus is the coaching side and his playing experience.

“It’s exciting from our point of view and we now have a strong coaching team at this level. It’s also a bonus that we have an ex-Premiership prop who is available to play.”

More on the story in this week's Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper.