New Bishop’s Stortford head coach Tom Coleman previews 2024-25 National 1 rugby season

He may consider himself to be a man of few words, but Tom Coleman wants to get everyone talking about Bishop’s Stortford RFC this season.

The former captain has returned to Silver Leys as the sole head coach having decided to step away from the club a year ago.

Coleman, 38, worked as a joint head coach alongside Marcus Cattell and helped Stortford achieve their best National 1 finish of sixth place in 2022-23 before opting to take some time out of the game.

He did return to help out towards the end of last season as the side escaped relegation on the final day of the campaign and is now at the helm after Cattell left the club in May.

“When everyone leaves somewhere, you want to leave in a good place and I think I did that,” said Coleman,” who joined Stortford at the age of 12, made his first XV debut five years later and went on to represent the club until his retirement aged 34.

“The team had a great season [in 2022-23] and that wasn’t just down to me, it was down to a number of things. I thought it was a good time to freshen up a little bit and spend some time with my family. It’s a huge commitment being involved here and I’ve given a lot to the club since I was a young boy.

“I’ve tried to look at a few things and learn a few things to make myself a bit better if I can in certain aspects. How I am with people, coaching - you’re never the finished article and you’ve always got to try to be better.

“I don’t like to talk a lot, I’m quite a serious person. I don’t smile a lot, although I am happy at times.

“I love winning, I hate losing and I want that to rub off on the players. They need to know that and they do know that.”

Coleman has already put his stamp on the squad with a host of signings, but, in typical Stortford style, they have been recruited on a tight budget.

And the former fly-half, who captained Stortford for five years and led them to promotion to English rugby’s third tier, is excited by the characters he has brought in.

“It’s really good to be back and in amongst some old faces and some new. It was important to bring some new boys in to freshen up the squad and bring that healthy competition to everything,” said Coleman.

“We’re looking to kick on and take the positives from last season. There are some things to rectify as well and make sure they’re better.

“The league gets tougher and tougher every year, we know that. Some teams spend a lot of money and others don’t have that finance behind them, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful team.

“I’m not interested in people who want to play rugby at this level for money, I want them to play rugby for Bishop’s Stortford. If they enjoy being in the environment then you get a lot more out of that character and you become a better team as a knock-on effect.

“We’ve got to make sure, every week, we’re on it as best we can and get a good run of victories to keep kicking on. As soon as this team gets some confidence in it I’m pretty confident we can go on a really good run.”

Stortford only won five out of their 13 home matches last season as they finished fourth from bottom, three points above the drop zone.

And the head coach is keen for supporters to have lots more to cheer about this term - starting with Saturday’s visit of Leicester Lions.

“You’ve got to be strong at home, 100%, because it’s very difficult travelling in this league,” said Coleman.

“The boys have to earn the right to be in the starting team and the squad and a Saturday is their opportunity to show everyone why they’ve been selected.

“Ultimately I want this place to be a fortress and make sure we win most of our home games, if not all of them. If you do that, I know for a fact you’ll be in a very good position come the end of the season.”