Introducing New County President

Michael Taras Bezus – President/Chair of Staffordshire RFU

Born in 1961 in Stoke-on-Trent to a Ukrainian father and an English mother, I am one of three children. We lived in Silverdale before moving and growing up in Loggerheads on the Staffordshire-Shropshire border.

I am married to Dawn, and we have two children: Aaron, 37, who lives in Bristol with his wife Rhiannon; they are both solicitors and have two children, Finley (7) and Louis (4). Our younger son, Joel, is twenty-one and has just completed a degree in Sport Business Management at Wolverhampton University. We live in Meir Heath on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent.

From age 11, I attended Wolstanton County Grammar School, where I first started playing rugby. I played in the school team at all age groups, including the first XV when in the sixth form. During those years, I was persuaded to join Trentham RUFC and played as a prop for their colts.

I went on to Stafford College and then Wolverhampton University to study Civil Engineering, sponsored by my then-employer Rock Services Ltd, a Stoke-based geotechnical engineering company. I left them in 1987 and joined a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty, working on large civil engineering projects throughout the UK and Ireland. In 1997, I joined Churchman-Fenner & Brown Ltd, a small civil engineering company based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, as Divisional Manager. I progressed to Director and ultimately owner of the business.

I was selected for Trentham’s first team in 1980, and under coach Tony Bloor, I converted from prop to hooker. I continued to play for Trentham’s first XV for more than 30 years, with four years as first-team captain. I managed to play at Twickenham twice the first time for the Lords and Commons Team against a select Cystic Fibrosis Charity team and then for a combined Newcastle (Staffs) and Trentham Vets side against the Parliamentary side before finally hanging up my boots in 2014. In addition to being first-team captain, I have served as Fixture Secretary, Playing Committee Chair, Club Chair, Junior Chair, Coach, and continue to be the Club President.

I coached at Stoke RUFC’s junior section when my eldest son, Aaron, played there, as Trentham did not have a Minis & Juniors section. I helped coach teams from U9s up to Colts. With the assistance of Mick Procter and Martin Almond, I started a junior section at Trentham in 2008 when my son Joel was six. We built that up over the years to have almost a full complement of teams, from Rugger Tots to Colts. I coached/managed the Colts side in the Raging Bull North-West Colts League to two finals and one County Cup. Both sons went on to play at higher levels, with both playing county rugby at age grade and senior levels. Joel also played for the Midlands at U20 and Ukraine at U17.

I have been involved with Staffordshire Rugby Union for several years. Initially, I was Chair of the Staffordshire Coaching Society, arranging meetings, CPD courses, coaching conferences, and disseminating information to coaches and coaching coordinators. I then moved on to Chair of Youth and Education, where I became involved with the Player Pathway, sitting on the Regional Player Pathway Group and serving as the main liaison point for Leicester Tigers DPP/Academy for the CB. I also ran/managed the U15 and U16 representative teams before the RFU decided they should be run by the academies. As Chair of Youth and Education, I also oversee the U17/U18 program, including appointments for team managers and coaching staff. Liaison with the Schools Union representatives for Staffordshire and assisting them with the running of school’s competitions and tournaments was part of my remit, and I sit on the Age Grade Club Advisory Group, which was set up to provide feedback on age-grade rugby to and from the RFU.

I became Vice Chair/President in 2022 and worked with retiring President John McDermott for the last two years before becoming President/Chair of Staffordshire Rugby Union on Tuesday, 25th June 2024.

Mike pictures on left below and with Vice President Shaun Godfrey on the right