The men's and women's squads came together in Ipswich for a day of testing and training.

Senior players such as Women's Vice Captain, Steph Hanratty, and Men's Vice Captain, Danny Rowland led the way as a number of new players attended their first EDRU session, with the Support of the University of Suffolk Performance HUB staff. During the evening, those players who represented England at the World Deaf Rugby 7s and those who appeared in the landmark international fixture against Bulgaria, were presented with commemorative international caps to celebrate the success of 2018.

Hanratty said "Our squads stepped into the unknown with a day of fitness testing & training. The entire squad showed their depth and drive to ensure that we go into 2019 the fitter, stronger and more determined to better the success of this year. Awarding players with Caps from Australia and Bulgaria shows how far we have come, and to see the new players striving to earn their cap excites me because I know 2019 is going to be bigger and better for all involved with EDRU.

Head Coach, Sean Fletcher, who has overseen the huge success over recent years, said "Being able to acknowledge both squads and present caps during an awards ceremony is an excellent end to 2018.

As much as I love having successful seasons, that simply drives me to work harder to maintain the level of expectations that we now create.

Leading the way means we must continue to deliver, so here's to an even better 2019..

Women's Coach Ben Mousley added "It was great to see how both squads have progressed during 2018 and what Deaf Rugby means to them.

The players effort and commitment is an inspiration and I look forward to working with them all again to make 2019 another successful year."

2018 has been a year of transition of the pitch for EDRU, as Gina Iaquaniello took over the reigns from the long-standing former Tony Stoyles, who is now able to fully focus on his commitments as Chairman now concentrates on his duties as Chairman of World Deaf Rugby.

Following the event, Gina said "It was always going to be difficult to follow on from the success of the 2017 which included the 3 test series against New Zealand Deaf, however we have much to celebrate in 2018. We recently took another step forward for EDRU with a training session for both squads at Suffolk University. It’s testament to the commitment of all our players to travel so far to attend the event at such a busy time of year.

Iaquaniello added "It continues to fill me with pride to see just how far both our men’s and women’s squads have come and how much of a club feel we manage to have despite players being from all over the country and time together being limited. We had another first with EDRU holding a presentation evening to award caps to those who played in the first ever Deaf Rugby World Cup and caps for the first time both squads played the National Squads of Bulgaria. It really has been a ground breaking year for us.

We have had a fantastic season in 2018 and we aim to continue to move forwards into 2019 as one of the leading nations in Deaf Rugby, globally.
It is my absolute aim to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to help and be involved in our community work and the opportunity to represent EDRU on the pitch.

It is truly amazing to see so many new faces and to know that we can help so many people belong to such and amazing organisation that everyone says feels like a family."

Keep up to date with the progress of squads as they prepare for the fixtures in Cardiff on Sunday 27th January 2019.

Updated 19:55 - 25 Jan 2019 by Sean Fletcher