Rugby Coach Weekly

Send us Fan Mail This week in the first-ever Breaking The Pane podcast Jess Bunyard is joined by Lichfield Ladies Head Coach Maria Crowfoot and UK Coaching's Coach Developer Jenny Coady.  The team discuss the recent BBC Sport survey into the social media abuse and sexism experienced by elite British sportswomen. One striking result to emerge from the survey was that 65% of the athletes had su...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Cottrell catches up with John Widdowson, described by Phil Llewellyn as the coach observer he is most scared of...in a good way. John is a Match Official Development Officer for the RFU. He is a RFU level 4 coaching qualification and has been a pathway coach and age-grade coach. He is also a World Rugby Trainer/RFU Senior Developer/ Mentor delivering a full range of CPD Coach/...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Danny Milton, Darren Fearn and Will Garnett review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each piece of great content and say how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. This week: The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Cottrell speaks to Jess Bunyard, Andy Stevens and Jamie Green about their approaches to Return to Play. Jess is director of women and girls rugby and RDO at Huddersfield YMCA RFC. Andy is chair of mini and juniors at Ellingham and Ringwood RFC. Jamie is director of rugby at Royston RFC. They all coach across a wide range of age groups. I asked them the following questions: Wha...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Giselle Mather and Jo Yapp review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. This week: The Sports Psych Show - Lisa Alexander - Reflections on Developing a World-Class Winning Coaching Programme...

Send us Fan Mail Si Nainby delivers a two-part podcast with Mark Williams. He is interim Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach for Basketball England, a Lecturer in Sports Science and former Head of S&C for GB Basketball & Southend United FC. 1. The commute: Some quickfire takeaways Mark's story from semi-pro rugby player to a professional S&C coach Lessons from the Covid lockdow...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Aaron James, James Farndon and Paul Baty review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: English Rugby Shake-up – News article Ben Mercer - Fringes: Life on the Edge...

Send us Fan Mail Liza Bird Burgess and LJ Lewis discuss a round of questions about the practicalities of the game. In this episode, they are with Exeter Chiefs director of rugby, Susie Appleby. Susie played over 50 times for England. She was assistant coach to the England women's sevens team and coached Gloucester-Hartbury Ladies in the Premiership until the end of the 2020 season. In this ep...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Harry Jones and Simon Leader review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main two reviews are: Julie Rice on The Creation of SoulCycle and The Importance of Community The Score Takes Care of Itself – Bi...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Cottrell finally corals the RCW Round-Up Rodeo host Phil Llewellyn into his own round-up as they delve into the detail of Phil's thoughts on coaching. After interviewing over 40 coaches in the last three months for his show, it was time to put Phil into the hot seat. They explore: Can sevens training and tournaments work for all levels and types of player How "jargon...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Don Vinson, Andy Abraham and Alison Croad review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: Dr Etienne Wenger: Learning in Landscape of Practise – University of Brighton Coaches’ perce...

Send us Fan Mail Liza Bird Burgess and LJ Lewis discuss a round of questions about the practicalities of the game. In this episode, they are with  Wasps Ladies Director of Rugby, Giselle Mather. Giselle played for England, winning the 1994 World Cup. She then went onto coach England women’s development teams, before working with London Irish Academy and Teddington men, with great success. She is a...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests George Tavner, Jack Pattinson and Damien McCabe review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish - Annie Duke: Getting Better by Being Wrong T...

Send us Fan Mail Liza Bird Burgess and LJ Lewis discuss a round of questions about the practicalities of the game. In this episode, they are with Loughborough BUCS women's coach, Maria Crowfoot. Maria has nearly finished her Level 3, and has coached men's rugby at De Monfort University where she was the 1st XV coach. University recruitment and keeping in touch with players during lockdow...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Jess Bunyard, Maria Crowfoot and Anastacia Long review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: England Rugby – Race, Rugby and the Women's Game UK Sport – Curious Coaches Club:...

Send us Fan Mail Si Nainby delivers a two-part podcast with Andre Quinn. He is Head of Athletic Performance at Cavan GAA. He was previously a strength and conditioning coach at London Irish and sport scientist at Harlequins. 1. The commute. 30 minutes with Andre to pull out some coaching takeaways. 2. The deep dive . In depth conversations around personalities and realities of playing and coaching...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Martin MacTaggart, Brett Igoe and Mark Jefferys review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The three main presentations in the show: Athlete Agility Lab – Decision Making in Team Agility Sport with Robin E...

Send us Fan Mail Liza Bird Burgess and LJ Lewis discuss a round of questions about the practicalities of the game. In this episode they are with former Wales international captain, Rachel Taylor. She's the first female Welsh Rugby Union regional academy skills coach. She also coaches men's team Colwyn Bay RFC in North Wales. They cover these topics: Creating the right environment to moti...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Dave Sharkey, Mark Rees and Andrew Brownhill review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: Reflective practice, not reflection. Making sense of improving ourselves, from UK Coachin...

Send us Fan Mail In discussion with Chris Morgan, director of sport at Tonbridge School in Kent, we talk about: Why paying players brings challenges, for players and coaches. The consequences in the long term of paying players at lower levels of the game. How schools and academies can work together. What might make the academy process more efficient. The Half-a-game rule and the experience of scho...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Edd Conway, Mitch McGahan and Melanie Liley review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: Refereeing the scrum with Wayne Barnes and Matthew Carney Phil Dowson's experience of...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests George Ross, Ged Hall and Alex Grieve review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. The main three reviews are: England's John Mitchell on the breakdown Steve Kerr and Pete Carroll from the Flying Coach...

Send us Fan Mail Si Nainby delivers a two-part podcast with Tom Farrow is the Head of Strength and Conditioning for England 7s and owner of Areté Performance - www.arete-performance.com. 1. The commute. 30 minutes with Tom to pull out some coaching takeaways. 2. The deep dive . In depth conversations around personalities and realities of playing and coaching. 1. The commute  Lessons from 7's...

Send us Fan Mail Liza Bird Burgess and LJ Lewis discuss a round of questions about the practicalities of the game. In this episode they are with former Ireland international Sophie Spence, who is now coaching Penclawdd mens team. Here are the topics they cover: Making contact training realistic: The role of equipment, when and where, bone on bone and mindset. Tackle training v D systems: Planning...

Send us Fan Mail Host Phil Llewellyn with guests Paul Shepherd, Alex Field and Russ Bolton review some of the many great podcasts and webinars from the last week. The team pick out the key takeaways from each episode and how to use it on the pitch, at all the levels of the game. Richard Cheetham on embedding learning into your sessions Will Greenwood and Brian Ashton on England's most recent...