Gordonians have unveiled Jim Greenwood as the man who will replace Ryan Morrice as head coach.
Greenwood is already au fait with the Countesswells setup, having been a member of the teaching staff at the college for the last year after holding a similar post in the New Forest, Hampshire.
Morrice stepped down from the post last week, though he will remain in the coaching team as an assistant.
An Englishman, Greenwood, 36, has also turned out for the club in his favoured position of hooker but said: “I don’t expect to be playing next season, but will have my boots at the ready.
“I’m looking forward to joining a club with a great tradition in the game. I’m particularly happy that Ryan is staying on. I’ll be leaning on him.
“We have a balanced coaching team which includes Ian Redmond and Bevis Reid. We are all ambitious for the club, and would like to think we can improve on our National 2 status, but first we need to analyse last season.
“One of the most encouraging aspects is them being a generally young team.’’
Club president Jim Sugden said: “Jim was an outstanding candidate, bringing a no-nonsense attitude to the coaching team.
“It’s now a question of getting it right on the field which, after a difficult campaign last season, is the first priority for us.”