CONGRATULATIONS !!
You have just made the first step in realising your potential! Here at Scunthorpe RUFC we will be playing Level 4 rugby in the 25/26 season …. and who knows after that after this last season! We have just (5th April 2025) been crowned Regional 1 North East Champions 2024/25 and we are are ready to take next season by storm! We have been fortunate to taste Level 4 rugby on three previous occasions and we realised the need to enhance our whole structure to enable us to sustain the success. We have overhauled our support structure immensely whilst moulding our whole ethos around our enjoyable player led approach.
Alongside our successful 1st xv, we have our second team, or ‘STAGS’ as they are known. They have shown their own success in past years and have now successfully applied to join the league structure at Level 7 next year.
Our new development team (or “Devs”) have allowed the safe transition and retention of the young prospects graduating from Colts to senior rugby with many young lads returning from university to fill their weekends.
Finally we have our third team consisting of our regular social players who simply love the environment.
Here at Scunny our coaching team value the importance of player led, heads up rugby. We are intent on bringing our home grown talent through to first team level enhanced by selected players that wish to buy into our philosophy. Everyone that comes, stays here for the duration ….. FACT.
Our DOR – TONY WILKINSON
A true stalwart of the club, Tony has been instrumental to the clubs success and progression including,
- Runner up in the north lincs sports team of the year community awards
- Developed little Ruckers rugby themed play for 3-5 year olds and an early pathway for coaches and juniors.
- Developed mini juniors from 180 to 250 players.
- Revised all the policy and procedures to run mini juniors.
- Recruited dedicated sponsorship consultants.
- Guided the mini junior through Covid and actually grew numbers rather than lost this transition to seniors and colts
- Coached colts for 2 years
- He brought in the development team to retain players in a high drop out age group which gained national recognition from RFU
- Alongside DOR he created a girls section for a pathway for women’s rugby then saw smooth transition to Trisa and Becky
- He is a founding member of the Tackling it Together programme which again brought national recognition from RFU and a runner up in the community recreational sports awards where he got to meet Prince Edward!
- 2 caps for the 1st team but generally a 2nd team regular player
In year 1 as DOR Tony was, colts coach, mini junior chair, safeguarding and for a period 1st team coach, a very busy man.
Most importantly: He made friends for life and learnt loads
Tony endorsed an ambitious 10 year plan to make us sustainable at level 4 to be promoted at year 5 we’re in year 3.
HEAD COACH: TIM ROBINSON.
Within the 17 season he has led the team to promotion from Midlands East 1, National 3 Midlands, Midlands Premier Division, Regional 1 North East and reached the Level 6 Champions final at Twickenham.
Tim is currently a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching and PE at Sheffield Hallam University and has been in the role for 11 years specialising in pedagogy, skill adaptation and sport science.
He is in his final year of finishing a PhD in coaching pedagogy and has Journal publications:
Davids, K., Rothwell, M., Hydes, S., Robinson, T., & Davids, C. (2023). Enriching Athlete—Environment Interactions in Youth Sport: The Role of a Department of Methodology.
Rothwell, M., Bjerke, Ø., Strafford, B., Robinson, T., Haslingden, C., Navarro, M., & Davids, K. (2024). Re-imagining performance spaces and locations in ecological dynamics: Implications for pedagogical practices in physical education.
Tim prior to taking up his role at Sheffield Hallam University worked as a PE teacher at John Leggott College for 10 years setting up a Rugby Academy which was awarded and retained RFU Beacon College Status, one of only five in the country, qualifying for British Colleges and Sport National Finals on three occasions and creating a pathway for players to our senior set up.
He has an undergraduate degree in sport and exercise science and has a post graduate certificate of education (PGCE) in Physical Education. Tim is also a RFU Level 3 Rugby Coach and worked for the RFU as a coach educator for 12 years.
Tim has also taken on the role as schools liaison setting up rugby festivals for year 7-11 local secondary schools to sustain the pathway of players into the club.
Tim’s senior playing career began in Scunthorpe 1st team when he was 17, before being capped for England at U21 level and playing professionally for Moseley, Nottingham and Ponsenby (NZ). Tim then played in National 1 with Camberley before returning to finish his playing career at Scunthorpe in National 2, National 3 Midlands, before hanging up his boots and taking over as head coach.
Most importantly: This is his home club, and he has the drive and enthusiasm to retain its ethos and be a real community hub.
ASSISTANT COACH: CYRIL YATES.
Within the 17 season’s Cyril has helped lead the team to promotion from Midlands East 1, National 3 Midlands, Midlands Premier Division, Regional 1 North East and reached the Level 6 Champions final at Twickenham, along with success in 1 NLD cup and 6 Lincolnshire cup wins.
He has had extensive coaching roles within the 1st team such as skills coach, developing the scrum halves and 10s, back 3 play, lineouts, performance analysis, defence and attacking play.
Cyril currently is the coach coordinator for the club organising CPD and Coaching Awards for all coaching throughout the club. He has previously been a academy coach at Nottingham, has also been the coach of the Stags, colts and set up and ran teams in all year groups at his school.
He has been a teacher at a local secondary school in Scunthorpe for 30 years and brings his experiential knowledge and skills to develop and help with the transition of players into the senior set up from min-junior and colts rugby.
Cyril’s playing career began at school in Leeds before returning to the sport at university from his time playing football as a goalkeeper at a high level. When he moved to Scunthorpe, he played for Bottesford Town football 1st team before changing his allegiance to playing rugby at the club up to second team level.
ASSISTANT COACH: STEVE HEATH-DRURY.
Steve is a product of our mini junior pathway representing our club with international honours including: ENGLAND U16, ENGLAND U19, ENGLAND COLLEGES, ENGLAND U21, ENGLAND AND BRITISH FIRE SERVICE CAPTAIN.
His International success at hooker and open side wing forward created an opportunity to play for Nottingham for 3 years, before returning to Scunthorpe to play with some of his lifelong friends. He captained the clubs 1st XV before making history with the team that secured the first ever promotion to national leagues.
His transition from playing has seen him Coach within the club with our junior section and for the last 2 years has been a driving force within the 1st team coaching set up.
Most Importantly: Steve finds it incredibly rewarding seeing how many boys he coached at junior level coming into the first team and indeed securing promotion once again to National 2 this year, and see the whole wheel continue to turn. A true community club.
STAGS/DEVS COACH: DAVE OLDRIDGE:
A past player who recently helped with the provision of our strength and conditioning area.
He does a great job helping Tony with our recently established development team, where young talent can safely progress into senior rugby.
OUR 5 STAR MEDICAL TEAM
At our level we are fortunate to have an unrivalled medical team who are in attendance at every training session and game day, including stags games. Player welfare is of paramount importance and our medical team offer professional pre and rehab programs along with specific strength and conditioning programs, you get your own personal trainer for free!
Neal Stinchcombe. Specialist Musculoskeletal Chartered Physiotherapist
Neal has a wealth of clinical experience from working in the NHS and Rugby Union. Neal has also spent time working in Rugby league, military populations, and Olympic Athletes. He Is RFU Pre-Hospital Care in Sport Level 2 qualified and is the Rugby safe lead for the club. Neal joined us in the post COVID season and works alongside our team of Sports therapists.
Emma Reid. Sports Therapist.
Emma qualified at York University in 2021, also joining after the COVID hiatus. Emma is a lecturer at a local college and runs her own successful private clinic. She has completed the RFU Pre-Hospital care course. she attends fixtures and will cover matches during the 2025-6 season
Amelia Forster is a Sports Coaching and Rehab Student. She studies Sport and exercise where she is developing her skills at the high performance centre at Doncaster, working players from Doncaster Knights and Rovers as well as other local athletes. Amelia covers the Stags team fixtures as well as assisting on training nights.
Alanah Heath-Drury – sports rehab and injury therapist
Alanah Graduated from Cardiff Met University this year. She assists the therapy team on Matchday’s and on training nights. Alanah is continuing her development studying for a masters over the next 2 years.
What we can offer
We have an amazing ground and stand with a modern and welcoming clubhouse which keeps the beautiful balance of state of the art technology without losing the value of its playing history consistently recognised throughout the club. Here we have 2 pitches and all the mini junior pitches. Importantly we have dedicated physio rooms for the welfare of our players which are utilised every training and game day.
In addition to our club, we also own a remote ground consisting of a further 2 pitches with changing rooms and showers which is constantly in use. Located only a mile away from the club. This is such a valuable resource and houses our outdoor s and c area on astro including an insane amount of equipment that loads of the lads use as their personal gym, which also, they use free included within their membership. There is also a further dedicated physio room at this facility again reinforcing our commitment to player welfare.
As if this wasn’t enough, we also have access to a full 4g pitch within half a mile of the club that we have unlimited use of through one of our partners, we utilise this when the weather is unfavourable to ensure we never miss a training session. It is also utilised with more accuracy, in our preparation for opposition that play on their own astro pitches.
What we can offer every player!
STASH ! and lots of it. We have our own club shop on site through TKR. TKR update and alter our kit packages every year, a player finds a sponsor or indeed we can help, you sit back and wait for your kit to arrive!
This year we have employed Karen Locking as our Communication, Marketing and Partnership manager who has taken our partnerships and communication to the next level. She has introduced Alice Silva into our media team, who has worked with professional rugby teams overhauling our whole social media delivery doing an amazing job. This not only rewards our partners for the contributions they make, but also enhances our players profile on the rugby circuit.
We offer an amazing and fun environment that makes you want to return. Our training numbers consistently exceed our expectations and so many players have utilised the ability of our coaching staff to give extras, 1 to 1’s and video analysis.
Ok … I want to play at Scunthorpe! What do I do?
If you would be interested in further information, informal chats or even a meet up please don’t hesitate to get in touch with: Our Dor Tony Wilkinson – email him on info@scunthorperugby.com or reach out over our social media pages,
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