DEVIZES coach Andy Smith was full of praise for the trio of players who became the first ladies from the club to earn county call-ups.

Fly-half Kate Stradling, 33, and 19-year-old wing Amy Longo, who live in Devizes, and 20-year-old second row Hannah Berrelly, from Melksham, all made their Dorset & Wilts in a recent match against Somerset.

Men’s first team captain James Gaiger was the last Devizes player to represent the Twin Counties at senior level and Smith, who is boss of the Devizes Ice Maidens, wants the club to carry on producing players that go on to play for Dorset & Wilts.

“This is only our second full season running the ladies’ side and it was nice to see them get called up,” he said.

“Hannah has played at under-18 level and Amy trains with the ladies at Bath too but they’ve broken through as relative rugby novices.

“We’ve had a lot of young players in the youth sides that have played for the county but we want to try and develop people to their optimum ability and get more playing for Dorset & Wilts.”

The Twin Counties were beaten 36-0 by Somerset on October 16 but Berrelly added: “We played against lots of the Bath Ladies, who were more experienced than us. I couldn’t believe how fast the game was and I can’t wait for the next one.”