Senior XV

2025 Season

Bill Beaumont County Cup

We are proud to announce our coaching team for the 2025 Bill Beaumont County Championship.

Andy Appleyard – Director of Rugby

Clive Griffiths – Consultant Lead Coach
Tom Holmes – Forwards Lead & Lineout Specialist
Mark Irving – Scrum Coach
Harry Titley – Backs Coach
Chaz Bunting – Player‑Coach & Captain
Tom Hughes – Team Therapist

Andy Appleyard will lead this years side as head coach, Andy has a wealth of rugby experience throughout all levels of the game, coaching in Yorkshire, Cheshire and since moving to the area has recently had an impressive impact at North Staffordshire club Leek.

“It was fantastic to be involved last season, meeting the coaches, management and lads in the county setup. Rupert did a great job and we now want to keep building on that good work.

I’m excited for this year, we’ve got a great coaching team together with potential more quality input coming. Our mission is to raise the bar in everything that we do, connect better with the Staffordshire clubs and make sure we have a class environment where the players will excel, perform, but most importantly enjoy”

Chaz Bunting will again be involved in the coaching team, this time as Attack player coach, Chaz is a strong part of Burton’s success at Level 5 on the pitch but has been involved in the senior Staffs coaching set up along with the Staffordshire U20s.

Staffs man Tom Hughes will be adding value as Assistant Coach and Head of Medical, Toms diversity through his profession along with his playing/coaching experience at County, Sale FC, and Newcastle benefits the squad greatly.

A‑Team Fixture & Community Engagement

Charity Match vs LooseHeadz

Hosted at Leek RFC, this fixture raised awareness for LooseHeadz while providing exposure lower‑tier players. The event generated positive community engagement and talent identification.

Competitive Results

Pool Stage

• 17 May @ Broadstreet vs Warwickshire: 27–19 (bonus‑point win)

• 24 May @ Droitwich vs North Midlands: 22–0 (bonus‑point clean sheet)

• 31 May @ Stafford vs East Midlands: 38–38 (progressed as best runner-up)

Semi-Final

• 7 June @ Devon: 20–27 defeat, in a closely contested match