FORMER England fly-half Mark Mapletoft is the new head coach at Southend Rugby Club.

The 34-year-old will work alongside the Seasiders’ director of rugby Ben Green.

And he will combine the role at Warners Bridge with coaching the successful England under 20s side.

“This is a great opportunity for me and I’m delighted to be here,” said Mapletoft.

“I think this is an exciting area of the country for rugby and I’m looking to develop the club and myself as a coach here.”

Mapletoft spent the best part of a decade at Gloucester and also enjoyed spells with Saracens, Harlequins and London Irish.

As a coach he has helped the England youngsters win the Six Nations grand slam and also guided them to the final of the World Cup.

But, while he remains focused on that role, Mapletoft is also relishing his latest role with Southend.

“This is a club that is moving forward and I’m pleased to be a part of it,” he said.

“I will get to spend more time with the players than I do with England and I also have similar views on how the game should be played as Ben does so I’m sure we will work well together.”

The Seasiders have surged up the divisions in recent seasons and now play in National League Two which is the highest level in their history.

Last term they secured a solid mid-table finish but Mapletoft is certain they can improve this time around.

“We are an attacking team and from looking at the end of season table you can see we score plenty of tries and points but there are opportunities to get better defensively,” he said.

“That’s something we’re certainly going to be working on.”

Mapletoft will head up a strong coaching staff which also includes Saracens and Barbarians star Kris Chesney and director of rugby Green is thrilled to have welcomed him aboard.

“This is a major coup for Southend,” he said.

“To have someone of Mark’s pedigree and experience with us is just fantastic and can only be of benefit.

“It’s amazing how far we’ve come in a short space of time. Only eight years ago we were down in London Three but now we’re in the third highest level of the game and have a former England player coaching us.”

>SOUTHEND will be playing three friendlies ahead of the forthcoming season.

They travel to Canterbury on Saturday August 16 before hosting Esher on August 27 and London Scottish three days later.

The league season begins on Saturday, September 6, against Launceston at Warners Bridge.