We have an exciting group of young players coming through the club, and we want to put them at the centre of what we're building – celebrating their rugby, giving them the support and opportunities they deserve, and making sure they know there is a clear place for them within the future of Stowmarket Rugby Club.

The step from Colts to Senior rugby shouldn't feel like leaving one team and joining another.

We want to build a genuine bridge between the two.

Our Colts should know our Senior players and coaches. They should feel comfortable around the Senior environment, have opportunities to experience it and, when the time comes, feel ready and excited to make that next step.

We want our Colts to feel seen, valued and part of the club long before their final Colts game.

That's a major part of The New Wave.

But it's also part of something bigger.

Across the club, there's a renewed focus on returning to the Stowmarket we know – competitive, expansive and enjoyable rugby on the pitch, with just as much emphasis on the people, friendships, socials and atmosphere that make a rugby club somewhere you want to be.

From our youngest Minis and Youth players, through Colts and into our Senior sides, we want to bring the different parts of Stowmarket closer together.

Different teams. Different ages.

Same badge. One club.

A STRUCTURE BUILT AROUND THE PATHWAY

For that ambition to mean something, it needs more than words.

It needs the right people, working together with a shared understanding of where we're going.

For the 2026/27 season, we're putting a clearer rugby structure in place designed to connect our Colts and Senior environments while supporting rugby throughout the wider club.

At the centre of that structure is our new Director of Rugby, working alongside our established Senior coaching team and a strengthened Colts setup.

The aim isn't to create separate groups working alongside one another.

It's to create one rugby environment where coaches communicate, players are recognised and there is a genuine pathway through the club.

And we're delighted to introduce the people who will help make that happen.

CHLOE RUMSEY – DIRECTOR OF RUGBY

We are incredibly proud to announce Chloe Rumsey as Stowmarket Rugby Club's Director of Rugby.

Having already been part of Stowmarket for a number of years as both a coach and Youth Chair, Chloe now takes on a wider role helping shape the future of rugby across the club.

Her focus will be on strengthening our rugby environment, supporting coaches, developing players and, crucially, helping create clearer connections between the different stages of a player's journey through Stowmarket.

Chloe brings considerable playing experience to the position.

After beginning her rugby journey at university, she progressed into regional rugby and has earned 30 representative caps across East Midlands County and Eastern Counties.

Her club career has included spells with Olney, Bury St Edmunds in Championship 2 and Thurrock in Championship 1, and she will return to Bury St Edmunds in Championship 1 for the upcoming season.

Among the highlights of her playing career are two appearances in the Gill Burns County Cup Final, including having the honour of lifting the trophy at Twickenham.

Alongside playing, coaching has become a huge part of Chloe's rugby life. She currently coaches within the Eastern Counties U16 Girls programme as well as teams here at Stowmarket.

That combination of playing, coaching and understanding our club makes Chloe a fantastic fit for where we want to go next.

"My aim is to use my experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to strengthen rugby throughout the club. From our youngest Minis through to our Senior teams, I want to create clear player pathways, support coach development and build a culture that allows everyone at Stowmarket Rugby Club to reach their full potential." – Chloe Rumsey

The creation of that pathway – and particularly strengthening the connection between Colts and Senior rugby – will be one of the key priorities of The New Wave.

CONTINUITY IN OUR SENIOR SET-UP

The New Wave doesn't mean changing things for the sake of it.

It means recognising what works, building on it and making sure the different parts of our rugby structure work more closely together.

That's why we're delighted that Colin Clarke and Brad James will continue in their Senior coaching roles for the 2026/27 season.

Both returned to the Senior coaching setup last season and now enter another year working with our Senior players.

COLIN CLARKE – HEAD COACH

Colin continues as our Senior Head Coach, moving into the second year of the two-year agreement he signed ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Few people understand Stowmarket Rugby Club quite like Colin.

Having spent more than 20 years around the club, he has played at every level and coached across Youth, Colts, 2nd XV and 1st XV rugby.

His wider rugby experience includes playing with Cambridge, London Irish and England U18s, alongside coaching within Northampton Saints' Development Player Programme.

That understanding of both Stowmarket and player development makes Colin an important part of the pathway we're creating.

You can read more about Colin's return to the club here:

https://www.stowmarketrufc.com/news/srufc-reunites-2920486.html

BRAD JAMES – SET PIECE & FORWARDS COACH

Alongside Colin, Brad James continues as our Set Piece & Forwards Coach.

Another familiar Stowmarket face, Brad has both played and coached throughout the club and returned to Phoenix Park last season following time coaching at Colchester.

His rugby knowledge, energy and approachable nature have made him an important part of the Senior environment.

With Colin and Brad remaining in place, we're able to build on the foundations of last season rather than starting again.

The ambition remains clear.

Competitive rugby. Expansive rugby. Enjoyable rugby.

An environment where players want to improve, want to compete and – just as importantly – want to be part of the club beyond the 80 minutes on a Saturday.

THE NEXT GENERATION

While continuity is important within our Senior setup, one of the biggest developments this season comes immediately below it.

Our Colts.

This is an exciting group of young adults who have already developed a fantastic identity of their own.

They've grown up together, played together and built relationships with the coaches and volunteers around them.

We don't want to change that.

We want to build around it.

And that means recognising the people who have already put an enormous amount into this group.

ROB OLDER – COLTS MANAGER

Rob Older continues as Colts Manager and remains a hugely important part of the team.

Rob's knowledge of the players, his relationship with them and the work he puts in away from the pitch are invaluable.

A successful Colts environment isn't built purely during a training session. It needs someone helping bring everything together, supporting players and coaches and creating an environment where young adults feel like they belong.

Rob has been an enormous part of that, and we're delighted he'll continue in the role.

GLEN "GUMPY" GRAHAM & MARK "TOMMO" THOMPSON – ASSISTANT COACHES

We're equally delighted that Glen "Gumpy" Graham and Mark "Tommo" Thompson will remain as Assistant Coaches.

Gumpy and Tommo have already done brilliant work with this group.

More importantly, they've earned something that can't simply be given to a new coach on day one:

The trust of the players.

They know this squad. They understand the personalities within it, know how the players respond and have been there throughout their development.

That relationship is incredibly valuable.

As we strengthen the Colts setup, keeping that continuity was important to us. Dimitri isn't arriving to replace the relationships and environment already there – he's joining them.

Gumpy and Tommo's experience with this particular group makes them the perfect fit alongside our new Head Coach.

Quite simply, it wouldn't be the same team without them.

DIMITRI TONNI – COLTS HEAD COACH

And that brings us to the newest addition to the team.

We are delighted to welcome Dimitri Tonni as our new Colts Head Coach.

Dimitri joins Rob, Gumpy and Tommo within an already established Colts environment, bringing his own considerable experience to complement a coaching and management team the players already know and trust.

Originally from Italy, Dimitri spent seven years playing Scrum Half and Fly Half for Rugby Viadana, alongside four years working within youth coaching and player recruitment at the club.

Since moving into coaching locally, his experience has included:

Bury St Edmunds RFU Colts

Framlingham College

Three years coaching youth rugby at Sudbury RFU

Assistant Coach with Mersea Island 1st XV

Five years – and currently – coaching with Northampton Saints Community and the Saints Developing Player Programme at U16 level

Dimitri's experience developing young players makes him a particularly exciting appointment for what we're trying to achieve.

He joins a group that already has fantastic foundations, surrounded by people who know these players incredibly well.

Together, Dimitri, Rob, Gumpy and Tommo give our Colts a combination of new ideas, high-level player development experience, continuity and trusted relationships.

And importantly, they'll be working within a wider structure designed to connect those players with Chloe, Colin, Brad and our Senior rugby environment.

BUILDING THE BRIDGE

This is where all of these announcements come together.

We don't want a Colts player to finish their final season and suddenly be introduced to Senior rugby.

The pathway should start long before that.

We want our Colts interacting with Senior players.

We want our Senior coaches knowing who's coming through.

We want coaches talking to each other about development and opportunities.

We want young players to understand what Senior rugby looks like, what's expected of them and where they fit.

And when they're ready to make that transition, we want them walking into an environment that already feels familiar.

That doesn't mean rushing players.

It means preparing them.

Supporting them.

Giving them opportunities.

And making sure they understand that there is a future for them at Stowmarket Rugby Club.

Colts aren't separate from our future Senior teams.

They are our future Senior teams.

MORE THAN WHAT HAPPENS ON THE PITCH

The New Wave isn't only about coaching structures and player pathways either.

We want to get back to something Stowmarket has always done incredibly well.

Being a rugby club.

A place where people enjoy their rugby but also enjoy everything around it.

We want competitive matches and ambitious players.

But we also want busy touchlines.

Full clubhouses.

Team socials.

Youth players watching the Seniors.

Senior players supporting the Colts.

Coaches talking across age groups.

Volunteers feeling part of what we're building.

And players staying around after the final whistle because they genuinely enjoy being here.

Results matter.

Development matters.

But so do the people.

That's the Stowmarket we know.

And that's the Stowmarket we want to build on.

ONE CLUB. ONE FUTURE.

The people are in place.

Chloe Rumsey – Director of Rugby

Colin Clarke – Senior Head Coach

Brad James – Set Piece & Forwards Coach

Dimitri Tonni – Colts Head Coach

Rob Older – Colts Manager

Glen "Gumpy" Graham – Colts Assistant Coach

Mark "Tommo" Thompson – Colts Assistant Coach

Different roles, but one shared goal:

To create the best possible rugby environment for Stowmarket Rugby Club.

There will be plenty more to come over the weeks and months ahead.

We'll be celebrating our Colts more.

We'll be bringing our Senior and Colts environments closer together.

We'll be supporting our coaches and players.

We'll be putting just as much emphasis on the atmosphere around the club as the rugby played on the pitch.

And we'll be giving the next generation of Stowmarket players every opportunity to become part of its future.

The badge hasn't changed.

The people and history that make this club special haven't changed.

We're building on them.

THE NEW WAVE

SAME BADGE. NEW CHAPTER.