Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby News, Rugby Team Management | Tags: rugby coach ego, rugby film, rugby player ego, Sean Austin
Rugby doesn’t feature in many films, but here is a proper, Hollywood style movie with rugby as the main theme. The story line looks sort of familiar, but it will be interesting to see how realistic the rugby is…the reviewers say this part is good.
The coach v player ego fight will be interesting to watch.
Hoping for a UK release?
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, ELVs, Rugby News | Tags: ELVs, lineouts, rucks, rugby league, rugby union, scrums
A little piece of history was made on Saturday. The Bridgend Ravens beat Neath at the Gnoll for the first time since 1982. A Welsh Premiership match with bags of atmosphere, and a sizeable crowd for a wet and windy Saturday afternoon.
Bridgend are perhaps the least financially secure of a league with bridges the gap between the amateur and professional game in Wales. What makes their position even more precarious is news from the Super League. The Celtic Crusaders have won a franchise into Europe’s top level rugby league competition for 2009 and, for the first time, top class rugby league will be played on the fields of Wales.
Wait. Not the first time, because the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff has seen plenty of rugby league finals and one-offs. But now it will be regular games with all the razzmatazz and raw rugby that top league brings.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby News, Rugby Training | Tags: All Blacks, ELVs, England, international rugby, IRB, IRB Nations Cup, lineout tips, Ospreys, Pacific Nations Cup, rugby decision-making, rugby kick and chase, rugby training tips, Under 20s World Cup
A bumper rugby weekend on the international front, with matches in every corner of the world. Full tests in the Southern Hemisphere, an A team tournament, Under 20s World Cup, IRB Nations Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup. Chuck in some women’s sevens and you could easily have sat in front of the television all weekend and not ventured outside.
ELVs or not, there was plenty of scintillating rugby on show, and no sign that international games are turgid, or indeed one-sided affairs.
But we don’t just watch the games for “our team”. We want to take something away with us, a little titbit to take onto the training ground for next week.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby News, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Team, Rugby Team Management, England Rugby Team, Brian Ashton, Martin Johnson, Six Nations, England World Cup
Few will disagree that it is sad that Brian Ashton is leaving the England rugby coaching set up. Given a pretty
tough situation to start with, he is still able to show us two runner’s up medals: one from the World Cup and the other from this year’s Six Nations.
But change was always been coming and though the manner of the change has been ham-fisted, the transformation is important. Not just for England, but also for you as a coach.
Martin Johnson, the former England World Cup winning rugby captain, arrives with no formal rugby coaching qualifications or the experience of managing a team.
What he does bring it something you can use yourself to move your coaching output ahead.
Before I tell what it is, I want you remember the man in question.
He is big. He towers over most people and many players.
He never took a step backwards on the pitch and rarely off the pitch. This meant his word was the final word, to a team mate, opposition player or even the referee.
He led from the front and took on all comers, sometimes over aggressively. He would front the charge from the kick off, often beating the winger to the catcher.
So what can we all learn from “Johnno” ? It is that unswerving belief in yourself and your goals can carry you over many rough paths. It creates momentum, it pulls others with you and it doesn’t care about the setbacks.
I have just completed part II of a series on what we can learn from one of the world’s most success sports coaches, John Wooden, for the next Rugby Coach Newsletter. He would see Johnson as one of the main building blocks in his Pyramid of Success, based on his intention.
Do you have that personal belief? Can you reaffirm your goals with greater rigour? Then you might just find you have energised yourself and, as a happy consequence, your team.
I believe Johnson’s belief will do the same for the England rugby team.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby News, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Team, Rugby Team Management, Welsh Rugby Union, 2008 Six Nations campaign, Rugby Tactics
Do you want to make a real difference this weekend to your rugby team?
And that means during the game. Here are three ways to watch the game differently so you can pass on some key messages.
Actually I am inspired to write this because I have just been to a talk by Rhys Long, the Head of Performance Analysis for the Welsh Rugby Union. The Welsh are heading the way in terms of up-to-date game analysis and it provided a competitive edge during their successful 2008 Six Nations campaign.
You won’t have access to all their technology, but some of Rhys Long’s analytical processes can help inform you better.
1. Gain line efficiency
A simple scoresheet will tell me how well we are doing at the gain line from each phase. Plus, zero or minus is enough to note down to tell me whether we have crossed the line. If we are not getting over the gain line much from first phase, then I will change the set piece moves. If we are bad at the second phase, then I will question whether players are following the patterns. I will then look again at third phase.
2. Redundant rugby players
Forwards need to make a difference at the breakdown area. They must be “hitting” rucks, not resting on them. If they are not in the ruck, they should be actively involved in the defensive line or offering options to the decision making 9 and 10.
Not active? Then they are redundant. I will be sending on a sharp reminder.
3. Tackle systems not tackles missed
If a rugby player attempts and misses a tackle, there is little you can do as a coach to change that. But you should be not be watching for missed tackles. If the line break was made due to a defensive system error, then you can correct that. Either remind players of the system or change the system.
In summary, I will just note “+”, “-“ or “0” for every attacking phase. I will check that all the forwards are making a difference. In defence, I will note whether any opposition line break is because we have failed to follow the system.
Then I can change the rugby tactics and make the difference.
Filed under: Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training, Toby Curthoys | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby, Rugby Information, Rugby Newsletter, Rugby Playing Styles, Rugby Skills, Rugby Talent Spotting, Rugby Training
Welcome Coach,
My name is Toby Curthoys. I’m going to be posting my thoughts and views on a wide range of rugby coaching topics in the months ahead. I’ll kick-off by telling you a bit about myself and why we have created this blog.
I am the publisher of Dan Cottrell’s Better Rugby Coaching publications and training aids. Whilst Dan makes sure the quality of everything we do is second to none, my job is to develop our range of products to reflect the needs of rugby coaches worldwide.
Unlike Dan who played to a very high standard, I have no talent for rugby. But I do have a huge passion for the game.
In my opinion there’s room for all styles of play across the vast “rugby spectrum”. I love to see fast open play, with nimble side steps by the hooker and delicate offloads by the fly half.
But I also appreciate the more gladiatorial elements of the game, like the front row combat. And if one team’s route to success is by hoofing the ball into the corners at every opportunity – then good luck to them!
In fact, I think it’s the range of playing styles, skills required and people involved that make rugby such a great game. That and the fact that anyone can play the sport and be challenged by it.
That’s why I am committed to not only helping rugby coaches, but also playing my part in expanding the sport worldwide.
This blog is for everyone involved in rugby coaching and all the issues you face have a place here. We’ll be contributing something new each week, and I’d like to extend an open invitation for you to join in with your comments.
Through this blog we can listen to what you have to say about your coaching issues and, with our many contributors, look at ways to help you.
Whether it’s individual or team skills, coach development, refereeing, player behaviour, discipline, the role of parents, team management and selection, talent spotting or fitness, Rugby Coaching Blog aims to cover it all.
Your feedback and contributions are important and valuable for coaches all over the world, as this blog allows knowledge to be shared among coaches in scores of countries.
Please get involved, comment on this blog and give us your feedback. I promise to do our best to make this the most informative and compelling rugby coaching blog on the web.
If you haven’t already, you may wish to sign up for our Better Rugby Coaching weekly newsletter. As a member, I guarantee you will receive truly valuable rugby coaching tips every week.
Best of all it’s free!
Yours in rugby
Toby Curthoys, Better Rugby Coaching Publisher
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Frank Hadden, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, Rugby Practice, Rugby Skills
After the Osprey’s (the Welsh regional side) lost to Saracens in the Heineken on Sunday, a disappointed head
coach, Lyn Jones was asked by an TV interviewer about the team’s errors.
He was probably thinking “Can it be my fault a 40+ capped international player drops the ball?”
He diplomatically deferred to possible tactical errors. Some newspapers however, were quick to question his rugby coaching ability.
Rugby coaching is about coaching rugby skills. A coach shapes a team’s approach to the scrum and lineout. Each ruck and maul will be influenced by the training sessions and feedback over weeks, months and years.
But as Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, has said previously in Rugby Coach, it is the player who steps over the whitewash of the touchline to play the game, not you.
It is hard to watch your team play and make unforced errors. It is easy to pin the blame and quickly to look to either the players or yourself for fault. Fuel for your next rugby practice.
The enlightened view is not to blame anybody. Personally I find this hard to do. “Move on, don’t focus on the past, focus on the now” is the mantra that the top players use. Tiger Woods, the world’s best golfer, is a shining example of the removing the blame.
Where does this leave the coach? In the TV interview, he has to say who he blames. To his players, he has to say “let’s play the next game”.
I quite like the approach of Manchester United coach, Alex Ferguson. He says it all in the changing room straight after the game and that’s it. Mind you, I would not like to be on the end of his post match criticism!
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, sports coaching community
Hi, my name is Dan Cottrell and I want to welcome you to the Better Rugby Coaching Blog.
I have been coaching rugby for over 15 years at lots of different levels and age groups and I want to share my thoughts on some of the current thinking on rugby skills, rugby drills and rugby training, As you may know I am editor of Rugby Coach. We produce a series of rugby coaching resources which covers sessions, practice, plays and tactics on every aspect of the game.
This blog gives me and my team an ideal opportunity to give the latest comment on rugby coaching life-I speak to coaches every day. In fact it is newsworthy when I spend a day not replying to an email, posting a comment on the forum or chatting on the phone to another coach. This blog gives you a window on my coaching world so you can share the hopes, fears and joys of rugby coaching.
I am still learning. I have written over 300,000 words since 2003 on rugby scrums, kicking, rugby defence, tackling amongst many other areas. And I know there are still more words to write. I am open to opinion but I have a set of core values. In the Rugby Coach office we receive plenty of emails every week telling us we are saying the right things, and sometimes disagreeing. We don’t mind the debate. However we take safety and child protection very seriously.
So this blog is for everyone in the coaching community. A chance to hear and share views. And a chance for us to post up some great ideas from others: video, pictures or stories from all around the rugby coaching world.
