Director of Rugby
Gary Jefferies
AAC's senior on-field role, sitting above the team coaches and leading the technical direction of the club. Drove the appointment of Daniel Geurs as 1XV Head Coach for 2026/27.
AAC's senior on-field role, sitting above the team coaches and leading the technical direction of the club. Drove the appointment of Daniel Geurs as 1XV Head Coach for 2026/27.
Chair of AAC Rugby Amsterdam and head of the Executive Committee. The full board is listed below.
Lifelong AAC clubman, capped 10× as Netherlands captain, Barbarian (1994) and former club chairman (2000–2003), now on AAC's Technical Committee.
Appointed May 2026 · 12 years in Sydney's Shute Shield, two in the Netherlands, Singapore national team
Continuing on the 1XV staff for 2026/27
Premiership Rugby Brazil, RC Innsbruck and Rugby Austria background
Alongside Jim Crick through the 2XV's four straight promotions
Support staff for both senior sides include a strength & conditioning coach, a front-row specialist and a rugby-specific physio team, named on the club's site by role. Through the partnership with Topsport Amsterdam, AAC supports Topsport athletes with physio and medical care, dietary guidance, housing support and wider player development. Training runs Tuesday and Thursday, 19:30–21:00, for both senior sides.
The women's section is a current supplier of players to the Netherlands Oranje Dames XV and sevens squads, and one AAC prop has earned a place in the Rugby Europe Team of the Tournament.
Photo · Gerard Spaans · Orange-Pictures Named in the Rugby Europe Championship 2025 Team of the Tournament; tried in the 2026 opener v Portugal. AAC's WXV 3 representative in Dubai, 2024.
Photo · Ilja Heitlager Scored in the 2024–25 Dames Ereklasse final aged 15.
Photo · Gerard Spaans · Orange-Pictures From the 2024–25 title-winning side.
Photo · Gerard Spaans · Orange-Pictures From the 2024–25 title-winning side.
Photo · Gerard Spaans · Orange-Pictures From the 2024–25 title-winning side.
Selection for the Barbarians, the invitational club, is an individual honour. AAC has produced two.
Born Amsterdam, 1959, a Netherlands rugby union international who played at AAC from the late 1970s for many years at the highest level of Dutch rugby. Won 10 caps as captain of the Netherlands.
In 1994 he was invited to represent the Barbarians on their Easter tour of Wales (Swansea and Cardiff). A lifelong AAC clubman, he served as club chairman from 2000 to 2003 and chaired the Amsterdam Sevens organising committee. Honorary life member of the club; today on AAC's Technical Committee.
Played for AAC Rugby, ARC and Saracens (UK); a Netherlands women's international. Reported as the first Dutch woman to play for the Barbarians, on 27 April 2019.
AAC's board is a nine-person body: a three-person Dagelijks Bestuur (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary) plus six portfolio members. It meets monthly on a Monday evening and convenes an Annual General Meeting (ALV) each year. Got a question, or something to raise with the board? Route it via the Secretary, Samantha Steentjes, at secretaris@aacrugby.com.
| Role | Name | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Bart Doornbos | voorzitter@aacrugby.com |
| Treasurer | Lotte Westerlaken | penningmeester@aacrugby.com |
| Secretary | Samantha Steentjes | secretaris@aacrugby.com |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Youth Coordinator | Paul Bleijenberg |
| Communications | Yvonne Craig |
| Match Secretary | Jaap van der Linden |
| SRPA (sportpark liaison) | Ilja Heitlager |
| Technical Committee | George de Vries |
| Sponsor & Marketing | Stephen Bushnell |
The board sits alongside the Director of Rugby (Gary Jefferies) and the Technical Committee. A Confidential Contact Person (Pim Harms, a former forensic doctor, AAC player and grandfather of two youth players) is the first point of contact for any concern that doesn't belong in a safe sporting environment. See the section below.
Everyone at AAC should be able to train, play and work in a safe environment. If the climate doesn't feel safe, for you or someone you know, we want to know and put it right. The Confidential Contact Person is the first point of contact and operates in confidence, without judgement.
Situations to raise include bullying or exclusion, discrimination, and sexual intimidation or aggression. AAC follows the conduct rules set by the City of Amsterdam, based on the NOC*NSF framework. Among other things, every youth coach and team supervisor holds a Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag (VOG).
Pim Harms (former forensic doctor, longtime AAC player and grandfather of two youth players) can be reached at vcp@aacrugby.com.
The club's highest honour. Six honorary life members, with the section honoured noted alongside.
| Name | Section |
|---|---|
| H. Swaanswijk | Athletics & rugby |
| J.M. Nederlof | Rugby |
| G. de Vries | Rugby · see Barbarians |
| A. Stoffels | Rugby |
| P. van Wel | Rugby |
| H. Knoop | Rugby |
2026/27 recruitment is open. New players welcome at any session: Tuesday and Thursday at Sportpark De Eendracht.