SAM Naylor has resigned as Northwich Rugby Club’s chairman so he can spend time campaigning for better sport facilities in his role as a councillor.

He told the Guardian it is the right moment to end his tenure on Blacks’ committee after more than a decade at the helm.

Last month he was elected to Cheshire West and Chester Council, to represent Winnington and Castle ward, and Northwich Town Council.

“It was relatively easy to make up my mind,” he said.

“I’ve always felt the town has lacked somebody, particularly among its elected representatives, to stand up for sport.

“I want to do that, to champion all of our clubs.

“I’ve thought about it for a while, and people who know me have listened countless times while I talk about how strongly I feel about it.

“Apart from Matthew Langridge, the town hasn’t produced a truly world class athlete in a long time, probably since Shirley Strong in the 1980s.”

Naylor stood down from the Moss Farm outfit’s committee at their annual meeting after 15 years as chairman.

He served Blacks as a player, and also first-team captain, before that.

“The rugby club is part of the Naylor family DNA,” he added.

“I’ve been linked to it for 46 years, and it’s been a huge part of my life.

“But I said last summer that the season just gone would be my last.

“It’s silly I’ve not stood down sooner; everybody has a shelf-life, and perhaps I’d become stale. Nobody wants to be set in their ways, and sounding bitter.”

Ron McLaverty will replace him.

A former vice president and secretary, he has helped to run the club for more than three decades.

Naylor said: “Ron is a unifier, and an ideal candidate to connect the senior and junior sections.

“I’m certain he’ll do a good job.”

Naylor, who lives in Hartford, stood in a borough council by election last July, winning comfortably.

He again polled most votes last month.

“I feel invigorated,” he added.

“I can channel the energy I have in a different way to previously.

“I’m concerned about how Moss Farm will be developed in the future, and I’ve found myself totally frustrated by things that have happened.

“I’ve been through so many consultations, but nothing has ever materialised. There comes a point when you don’t have the same enthusiasm.

“I want to approach it from another angle now, a broader view.

“But if I’m serious about standing for sport, and to avoid being accused of a conflict of interest, I need to make a clean break.”

He will remain a member at Northwich, where his son – also Sam – is first-team coach.