NORTH Petherton are content with a mid-table finish in what has been a season of rebuilding, according to team manager Andrew Ford.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) published final league tables for the 2019/20 season on Friday, with teams' places calculated using a playing record formula.

With the season ended early due to coronavirus, the RFU formula placed Pethy in eighth, one spot below neighbours Bridgwater & Albion in the South West 1 West standings.

Ford told the Mercury: “This has been a year of rebuilding for us, with new coaches and new players.

“We beat Hornets - who won the division - home and away, which shows where we’re at when we’re on our game.

“This is our lowest league position in the last few seasons, so we will look to improve that next season.

“Consistency is the number one thing for us next year.

“Teams who tend to thrive at this level, they keep the same team every week and do well out of that.

“This season has been the best I’ve seen for never giving up, showing determination for 80 minutes.

“In the past we’ve sometimes been guilty of chucking in the towel too early in games.

“Our physicality and mentality have been fantastic this year.”

Ford added: “A lot of players around the country who were maybe looking to go elsewhere or retire might not now - they will have played their last game without knowing it was, and will want to go out on their own terms.

“We are looking to keep a similar squad for next year, with a couple of additions.

“Also, having a 2nd XV doing well in their league is key in terms of pushing for places.

“Getting that strength in depth is something for us to look at.”