Ambitious Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club have announced seven new signings for the season ahead.

The news comes after the National League Two South outfit named former British & Irish Lion and England international Ollie Smith as their new head coach last week.

The new signings are:

- Boyd Rouse, a centre/fly half from Zimbabwe where he plays for the Zimbabwe Sables National 15s team. Rouse also plays for the Zimbabwe Cheetahs National 7s team.

- William Scholes, a second row/back row from US Cognac in Federale 1 France. Scholes also previously played at Cinderford in National 1.

- Dwayne Corcoran, a centre/wing from Connacht where he played in their B&I Cup team. He has been in New Zealand for two years where he was a part of the Otago wider training squad.

- Brendan Mitchell, a back row/second row from Sunnybank Dragons Premiers in Australia. Mitchell also played for Sunshine Coast Stingrays and was part of the Australia 7s training squad.

- Dan Swithenbank, a second row from Patumahoe Premiers in New Zealand and most recently from Bandon RFC in Ireland.

- Tristan King. a hooker/back row from Malone RFC in Ireland. King has also represented Ulster U20’s.

- Jon Younie, an exciting young wing/fullback from North Walsham, where he was a proven try scorer.

New head coach Smith said: “I’m really excited by the guys we’ve been able to bring in and how they are going to compliment the guys that re-signed for this season.

“It’s a great mix of players to pick from that gives us strength in depth but also some selection headaches. That competition for places is key to driving the team forward and ultimately what we hope will be a successful season.”

Last week, Smith said of his appointment: “The set-up here is fantastic. It’s built up, from season to season.

“The club has everything it needs to get into National League One, if not beyond that, especially if more and more Championship clubs end up being part-time.”

Jon Clarke, who was originally named the new Bury head coach earlier in the summer, had to step down without taking charge of a game due to personal reasons.