THE sibling pair of Luke and Laura Panting will captain the men's and women's sides at Thornbury RFC respectively next season. 

Laura prepares for her fourth season as Thornbury Ladies captain, whilst brother Luke has been elected the captain of the Men’s side for the first time.

Luke takes over the reins from Sam Poustie and hopes to build on the successes of recent seasons. Last season Thorns finished third in the league and although the competition looks stronger this season, Thornbury will be looking to match that position at least.

They have three pre-season matches, starting with Lydney on Friday August 11 before hosting Staffordshire side Lichfield on the 19th. They conclude with a match at Cheltenham on the 24th and start the new league season on the road with a visit to Devizes in early September.

The coaching team that will direct the club remain the high-profile trio of Wayne Thompson, Gareth Delve and Gareth Knox and they are helped by Jonny Wilson, the highly-respected coach and manager of the Second XV. Harry Woolf is again captain of the Second XV and Stuart Adams will be looking to provide an increase in the number of social rugby games the Third XV will play.

Laura Panting’s Ladies team enjoyed an invincible league season last time out and have been promoted to a league which includes games in Oxford and Witney. Their first game is against Greyhound, a Hereford-based club, in mid-September. They have two pre-season games with Supermarine and Aretians. Her brother Luke is also a coach of the Ladies team, along with Bee Mocellin.