London Skolars are delighted to announce the capture of Eddie Mbaraga and Charlie Lawrence from local rivals Hemel Stags.

Former Skolars Junior Eddie Mbaraga returns to his Skolars Juniors roots as he re-signs for 2016. Mbaraga has been one of the most consistent performers in League One for the past 3 years, the powerful loose-forward or back rower has been a regular member in the RL World League One Team of the Month and has many times posed a real threat when playing against Skolars.

Coleman spoke about Eddie and his re-signing ‘having worked with Eddie for a number of seasons at Hemel, I felt I had watched him develop into an outstanding League One forward and he was someone I was very interested in bringing to Skolars. He is a very talented player, can play anywhere across the back-row, has great footwork for a big man, is a damaging fringe runner and has a keen eye for the try-line. I have no doubt that he will provide us with an exciting option in an already impressive forward pack.

Jermaine Coleman has also been working hard to complete the signing of young half-back Charlie Lawrence also from Hemel Stags. The London-born player was a regular in the Broncos U19 side for the 2 years prior to graduating to League One and he will join a Skolars squad that includes former team-mates Anthony Cox and Sam Druce.

Jermaine said ‘Charlie is a great signing for us and will be a fantastic addition to our squad. He has been in a good system at London Broncos and then has gained some valuable League One experience at Hemel. He is a consistent performer and is very versatile being able to play in the halves or at hooker. He is a smart rugby player with an exceptional kicking game and I’m looking forward to giving him the opportunity to really kick on from his debut season in League One with us here at Skolars.’

Both players expressed their excitement at joining a re-surgent Skolars and commented that the opportunity to work with Jermaine and his coaching staff was a major factor in their decision to leave local rivals Hemel. ‘Jermaine, all his staff and the current Skolars squad are young and ambitious and we are excited to be part of that in 2016. The completed facilities at Skolars are probably up there with the best in League One, and the whole Juniors and Mini’s section creates a real family atmosphere at the club which is something we are looking forward to experiencing.’