John Das Gupta – Head of Senior Men’s Rugby
John, a former Stafford 1XV player of distinction in the 80’s and 90’s has re-joined the club to take on the mantle of Head of Senior Men’s Rugby. He brings with him a wealth of coaching experience at both club and elite representative level, enjoying success at both Shrewsbury RUFC and Newport RUFC, also coaching at Harper Adams University, Worcester Warriors RUFC DPP and heading up coaching teams with North Midlands U18 boys & U15 girls’ representative squads. Latterly, John has been working as Director of Rugby at Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire.

John is a RFU Level 3 coach and as a qualified RFU Coach developer, it will enable him to identify and help with the development of coaches throughout our club, alongside our Coaching Coordinator, Keith Richards. John will be assisted by Jordan Hales, Dean Rodwell, with further coaching appointments to be made in due course.

On his appointment John Das Gupta said: "What an honour to be given this opportunity to work at my boyhood club. Over the years the Club has given me some very special memories and friends. I am relishing the challenges of repaying all those friends that have in one way or another helped shape and support me. There are some fabulous people who work tirelessly to bring success to this great club. I am looking forward to working alongside them, working with fellow coaches and players to ensure that not only do we deliver a fabulous rugby experience for all our players regardless of their age, but success to the club, both on and off the field.”

Paul Smith – Head of Women’s and Roses Rugby
Paul has been appointed as Head of Women’s and Roses Rugby. He has an established coaching and playing background, primarily with Beckenham RUFC in Kent as Head Coach of Beckenham Ladies XV, as well as 1st team forwards coach for Beckenham Senior Men’s. Subsequently as Head Coach of the Stafford Women’s section. He has a wealth of ideas and enthusiasm, making him a superb person to oversee and lead our Women’s / Roses sections.

In his dual role, Paul will take overall responsibility for the Women’s and U18s Roses teams and will work alongside Deb Phillips and Pete Cooke with the Roses focusing on the transition pathway from the Roses teams to the Women’s XVs. Working alongside Paul with the Women’s section will be a coaching team made up of Jocelyn Turner, Gareth Phillips and Joey Wetton.

Paul Smith added: "It's been a real pleasure leading and developing the Women’s team throughout the last season. I am honoured that the club sees me as the person to take the Women’s and Roses sections forward as the new Head of Women’s & Girls Rugby at Stafford RUFC. We have come a very long way in a short period of time with both the Ladies and Roses teams, this bodes well for the future and I very much look forward to continuing our growth."

Commenting on the appointments of John and Paul, Tim Woolman, Chairman of Stafford RUFC said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to secure the services of two such highly regarded Heads of Rugby in Paul and John. We are very excited about both appointments ahead of the new season. Paul has been a key driver in the successful growth of our Women’s team over the last couple of years and we look forward to the continued success of our amazing Ladies teams and Roses section.We are very proud that the Women’s and Roses are the fastest growing teams at our club – with Paul at the helm, they will no doubt continue to thrive.

Having played with John over a number of years and then seen his coaching career blossom in recent times, John was the obvious choice from a number of high calibre candidates interested in the role. John has an excellent coaching pedigree and rugby intellect, he will have a very positive impact across all our Men’s teams.

We wish them both every success in their new positions at Stafford RUFC.”