Guisborough have high hopes of enjoying another season of success after receiving a rugby master class from Clive Woodward.

The squad were handed a two-week trip to Perth in Australia, where England were conducting their World Cup preparations, when hooker Richard Clark won the Zurich/Daily Mail Rugby World Cup competition.

As well as playing a game of their own against Palmyra, a local Perth side, Guisborough also won an afternoon on the training ground with the England head coach.

Woodward spent an hour and a half putting 22 players - all decked out in their specially-made England kit for the day - through their paces, giving them some of the attention to detail which has made his team the No 1 ranked side in the Zurich world rankings.

The Guisborough squad also worked with visual awareness expert Sherylle Calder, who works on the peripheral vision of players like Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson for international games.

The extra sharpness might give some of their rivals in Durham and Northumberland Division Two a few problems later in the season.

But it will be nothing compared to the problems Clark had trying to convince his teammates they would be going to Australia. Even he didn't believe the organisers at first!

"When we got the verbal confirmation that myself and 21 clubmates would be going to Australia it took a while to sink in," said Clark, an electrician by trade.

"Everyone took a bit of convincing. It took me a week of showing people the evidence before they believed me."

Surveyor and fly half Jonty Westeall admitted the trip was a dream come true.

He said: "We've had a fantastic time coming out to Australia, enjoying ourselves and spending time on the beach.

"But the best thing by a long way was meeting Clive. He made it very easy for us to see how England prepare by doing some of their drills and that will definitely benefit us.

"We've won our first three league games and maybe now we can go on to win promotion for the second season in a row thanks to Clive's help."

The England coach thoroughly enjoyed the chance to work with a team who play five levels below the Zurich Premiership.

He said: "We had a great afternoon and I enjoyed working with them immensely.

"They're a great bunch of guys and I hope they enjoy their time out here, especially in the local game that they face. I've wished them all the best for the rest of the season."