Dearne Valley RUFC have made two appointments to the senior leadership within their coaching structure. Steve Mason has been appointed Director of Rugby, while Olly Dixon took up the role of Director of Coaching early last month.

Mason will lead the playing strategy for the clubs Senior Teams and will head up a new coaching team for the 2025-26 season. He will have overall responsibility for the planning and review of the club’s senior playing programme, while working with the clubs committee on a robust recruitment and retention strategy. His immediate focus will be on plans for pre-season, which gets underway on 3rd June.

He brings a wealth of experience with him across all levels of rugby, having played for Wath, Rotherham Clifton, Hull Ionians, Dearne Valley Bulldogs, Bradford Dudley Hill and Rotherham Titans A & U21s. He has represented Yorkshire at U18s and has a winning pedigree, with winners’ medals in the Yorkshire Silver Trophy, RFU Senior Vase, Papa Johns Counties 2 Plate along with Yorkshire 3 and Counties 4 Yorkshire Championships.

Steve is no stranger to playing cross code, something which will stand him in good stead for the role. He has a strong connection with Dearne Valley Bulldogs, who are Dearne Valley RUFC partners, which will put him in a good position to strengthen the relationship between the two clubs.

Dixon’s role will see him lead the clubs Coaching Strategy, with a focus on driving standards, upskilling coaches and creating a long term, sustainable plan for coaching at the club. Since taking on the role at the beginning of April, his immediate task has been to put together a coaching team for 2025/26 and lead the recruitment of a new DoR, Head Coach and 1st XV Coach.

The role is well suited to Dixons skill set, as he spent over 15 years working in Rugby Development. He was previously employed by the RFU as a Community Rugby Coach and is an experienced Coach Trainer and Educator, which saw him deliver coaching courses and mentor both Coaches and Coach Educators. He has spent time leading the coaching at Stocksbridge, Rotherham Clifton & Wheatley Hills, while also spending nearly 10 years with the Yorkshire U15s, as a specialist coach and latterly Head Coach.

Dearne Valley Chairman, Ant Hamilton, commented on the appointments “We made the decision that it was important for the club to continue building on the foundations we set last year. We are happy with the trajectory we are on and don’t want to run before we can walk.”

“Steve brings over 30 years of rugby union knowledge and experience at varying levels within the English game, however the most important thing for us is that he understands our players, our values and our desired game strategy. Steve can continue to build on the great foundations that the coaches set last year but refine this with his ideas and vision on how the team can improve.”

“Olly will be working alongside Steve, to ensure that we create a long term plan for coaching at the club. We are really lucky to have someone with his coaching and mentoring experience to help guide the coaching team. He worked for the RFU for a long time and has been around rugby for over 3 decades with nearly 25 years of that doing some level of coaching, so his knowledge will be invaluable moving forward.”

“Steve and Olly know each other well, we have no doubt they will build a strong working relationship and their combined experience will help to continue to drive the club forward. We are very excited to see what they can achieve”.