One of the founding members of St Albans Rugby Club has been named as the new president of the Rugby Football Union.

Peter Baines will step up from his current role of senior vice president on August 1, replacing England legend Jason Leonard OBE in the post.

Baines, who was a driving force in creating the Boggymead club in 1970, still retains a strong involvement despite his other commitments.

He represented Hertfordshire on the RFU Council from 2002 to 2014 and was on the RFU management board for 10 years.

He was also a founder trustee of the Injured Players Foundation.

Baines said: “Jason Leonard has been, and will continue to be, a brilliant ambassador for the game, and on behalf of the Union, I would like to thank him for all that he has done for the sport.

“One of the greatest joys of the vice-presidency over the last two years has been visiting clubs, schools and constituent bodies across the country and meeting the people who freely commit so much of their time and effort for the good of the game, and I’m looking forward to continuing that over the next year.”

Leonard’s time in office saw him focus on the legacy of the Rugby World Cup 2015.

He said: “A combination of the larger scale, national projects and the more localised, grassroots initiatives that we have delivered across the past year have helped us to achieve our goal of illustrating that rugby really is a game for everyone, providing people across the country with the opportunity to enjoy the game and all it has to offer.

“I would like to wish Peter all the best for his term as RFU President.”

St Albans RFC are recruiting both Senior and Minis Players for the upcoming 2016/17 season please contact us on info@stalbansrugby.com or find us on Facebook.