This article was published in The Rugby Paper on Sunday 11 January 2026, written by Chris Collier
Tom Stradwick is relishing his new role as head coach of his beloved Blackheath, and thanks his predecessor for a successful start to his opening in the hot seat.
Stradwick, a club legend at Blackheath, believes his journey in to coaching this season would not be possible without support from former boss James Shanahan, and his mentor Chris Wilkins, the current Esher head coach.
The 39-year-old made over 200 appearances for Blackheath in his 14-year playing career, which concluded at the end of last season, and his talent and passion for the game was noticed, resulting in him taking the reins in July.
Carrying over his skills and attitude, the reliable former back from finds his personal mantra ‘Nothing but your best is good enough’ translates in to the coaching side of the game.
He told The Rugby Paper “You want to do your job for the team as best as you can. As well as playing, I was doing forwards coaching alongside for seven years, which helped cut my teeth into the coaching world, and I jumped at the opportunity to become head coach at Blackheath. It was a real honour.
“Blackheath is a great environment, from the executive committee to the pitch, and they really look after the players, and looked after me the whole time I was playing. It’s a club with strong ambitions and is always looking to get better, and I feel like I developed alongside, and when I joined there were a number of players who in the space of one season managed to get 200 caps. As soon as I saw that, I thought that is a massive achievement and decided that that’s what I wanted to do, and Blackheath do it properly with your caps for 100 or 200, and those achievements are properly recognised.
“It was a special day and there were a few lads who did it when I did, so hopefully the younger lads will see that and want to emulate it.
Blackheath ended 2025 having won four out of their last six games, and entered the New Year third in the table, and Stradwick is thrilled to be helping in his new capacity.
“We’ve had some good results this year, and I’m really proud of Blackheath’s game-by-game grit,” says Stradwick.
“There are games where we’ve been down and ended coming back and winning, or there’s been games where we’ve been up by a couple of points and ended up holding firm and winning.
“Our coaching team, and leadership group — Billy Harding, Josh Smart, Ed Scragg and Sam Morley — have all bought in to Blackheath’s culture and for me, personally, I want to coach at the highest level possible. I’d love to see Blackheath do well over the next few years, either top of National One of higher, and I want to make sure I’m a better coach. Rugby is a big part of my life and a very deep passion. I go to sleep thinking about rugby, and I wake up thinking about rugby.”
Chris Collier, The Rugby Paper, 11 January 2026
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