Luke Stratford will leave Clifton Rugby next season as he looks to continue the next phase of his career. Stratford signed from Hartpury at the beginning of the 2019/20 season and had an immediate impact on the squad, putting in some impressive performances as well as scoring a number of crucial tries.

The all action hooker also slotted in the back row on numerous occasions and his versatility and energy on and off the field has seen him become an extremely popular member of the squad.

"We are obviously disappointed to lose someone of Strats quality; what he has brought on the field but more importantly off it has been immense this season. He's a top bloke and he has led our defence superbly and along with Jack Williams, they have pushed each other all year and both performed very well. He is moving on to a great opportunity and everyone at Clifton thanks Strats for his contribution to our process and wishes him well for the next chapter."
Mike Barber, Assistant Coach.

Despite the disruptions to the end of the season and the current Cover-19 pandemic, Clifton's staff have been busy finalising the squad for next year and will be announcing details of squad retention and new signings shortly.

"Our target was to retain 90% of last years squad and we have exceeded that, we have looked at the areas we need to strengthen and where we feel we need some more competition. We are really pleased with where we are. We have some very good quality coming in, but the boys we have signed will compliment the existing squad we have. It is as much about what they are like in and around our environment as it does their ability on the park. We are in a good place and we can't wait to get going as soon as we are given some form of green light. The boys have kept themselves ticking over, so it is about slowly integrating everyone back into staged returns to training, listening to the advice from the RFU and government and taking it slowly. "