Meet the Staff

Our Rugby Academy staff members are fully trained, licensed coaches with vast playing and coaching experience, which is enhanced by its relationship with Premiership Rugby club, Saracens.

CHRIS WARING Head of Rugby

Chris has been the Head Coach at the Oaklands Wolves Rugby Academy since 2015 and was formerly a Saracens Academy and London Welsh RFC and Southend RFC player.

DAN GEORGE Lead Rugby Coach

Dan has been the Lead Coach in the academy since 2019 and is currently Head Coach at Old Albanians RFC in National League 2 - Dan has extensive experience as a professional player, having played for Worcester, Gloucester, London Welsh and others.

BOBBY GRAHAM Development Rugby Coach

Bobby is currently Head Coach of Barnet Elizabethans RFC and has also coached within Saracens DPP and Hertfordshire county age groups. Bobby’s role is to promote player engagement and drive individual development of the playing squad.

SAM TOWNSEND Development Rugby Coach

Sam has played and coached rugby in a variety of clubs and schools across the world, and is currently the Head Coach at Camelot RFC and Director of Rugby for Hertfordshire Men’s Rugby. Sam’s role is to support players transitioning from the Development Squad to the Performance Squad.

ELLIOT MCPHUN Performance Backs Coach

Elliot graduated from Oaklands in 2019, during which time he was selected for England Counties U18 at scrum half, a position he only started playing in his first year at Oaklands. Elliot is a young and ambitious coach, currently gaining valuable experience working with the Saracens Academy.

FRANKIE TRIPPANERA Performance Medical Lead

Frankie graduated from University of Hertfordshire in 2021 with a First Class Honours Degree in Sports Therapy. Frankie supports the Saracens Medical Department at all levels from Academy to Men’s Senior Level, aswell as working with the women’s squad.

CLAIRE CHIDLEY Development & Women’s Medical Lead

Claire graduated from University of Bedfordshire in 2021 with a First Class Honours Degree in Sports Therapy. Claire spent a year on placement at Oaklands and now works with the academy programme full-time.

STAFF CONTINUED

As well as learning from experienced coaching staff, Rugby Academy players also benefit from special guest visits from a host of academy friends within the sport, visitors such as former England Rugby International Alex Corbisiero have delivered coaching sessions to students in the past.

ROCHELLE ‘ROCKY’ CLARK Women’s Rugby Coach

Rocky needs no introduction, as the most-capped England Women’s International, represented her country over 130 times, the most by any England senior player across men and women’s rugby. Rocky’s experience playing in four Rugby Women’s World Cup’s is invaluable for students.

LEWIS SONES Women’s Rugby Coach

Lewis works closely with the Saracens Academy and is a Coach for the Saracens Senior Women’s side. As well as this, Lewis runs the DiSE programme in conjunction with the Saracens Womens pathway. Lewis’ close links to Saracens offer Oaklands students with a pathway into professional rugby.