T E C H N I C A L W O R K I N G P A R T YC O A C H D E V E L O P M E N T S U B - C O M M I T T E E

6 NATIONS

CO ACH DEVELOPMENT

CONFERENCE 2007

WAL E S v AUST RAL IARUGBY WORLD CUP 2007

C E L T I C M A N O R H O T E L , S O U T H W A L E S1 3 - 1 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7

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I have pleasure in introducing this report on the 2007 Coach Development Conference and hopeyou will find it both interesting and useful reading.

Although this was the third such annual conference this has been the first with a report distributedwidely among the Six Nations Unions and other stakeholders. I believe there is excellentdevelopment work going on in the Six Nations through initiatives such as this conference, whichreflects the enormous potential that exists when all 6 Unions combine with a collective spirit andaim.

It has been my pleasure to witness the work of the Six Nations Coach Development Managerscombined with the Six Nations office in Dublin, as it was for David Pickering of the WRU, mypredecessor as Chairman of this sub-committee when the initial concept was born.

It is the intention to produce a similar report after each future Conference and it is to be hoped thatthe quality and learning potential can continue to be developed for the good of Rugby Football inthe Northern Hemisphere and the Six Nations in particular.

Noel Murphy, IRFU,Chairman, Six Nations Technical Sub-Committee

INTRODUCTION

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CONTENTS

Conference Theme

Summary

Aims of Coach Development Sub-Committee:

Positives

“Has been a unique and outstanding experience at all levels: in sport, creating a common strategy for 6 different cultures, humanely

listening, talking, changes of opinions, decision making.”

Areas for Improvement

Recommendations

Appendices

Conference Programme

Tutors, Speakers & Delegates

Summary of Evaluations

Feedback on Northern Hemisphere Rugby

Costs against Budget

R E P O R T T O 6 N A T I O N S C O U N C I L THIRD ANNUAL 6 N ATIONS CO ACHING CONFERENCE 2007

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CONFERENCE THEME

“YOU ARE A WORLD CUP COACH”

This year’s conference provided an opportunity for the coaches to prepare “live” as if they were thecoaching teams of either the Wales or the Australia teams, ahead of the match between the 2 countries in Pool B of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

SUMMARY

The conference was initiated and prepared by the Coach Development Managers of the 6 Nations,under the chairmanship of Noel Murphy (IRFU), and was again aimed at those coaches who havethe potential of coaching at the high / representative levels. The funding was provided from thecentral budget held by Six Nations Rugby Limited, having been approved by the Six NationsCouncil.

This was the third conference organised by the group and a demand for future conferences wasexpressed by the delegates.

The successful format from the previous two conferences was followed and enhanced, with the attendees divided into 6 groups comprising one participant from each Union. In their task of preparing for the RWC match between Wales & Australia in Cardiff, the delegates were encouraged to work together as if they were one of the coaching teams, to plan for the game andthen to share coaching philosophies and to learn from eachother.

“I leave this conference feeling “energised” and “motivated”.

I am looking forward to coaching on Monday”

This was a novel approach to organising the conference and proved to be successful and well received. Feedback from the delegates on the format of the conference and the delivery of information was that it was very successful.

Phil Davies, Llanelli Scarlets, Director of Rugby Marzio Zanato, Italy “A” Coach

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Noel Murphy (Chairman of the 6N Coach Development Sub Committee) opened the conference onbehalf of Jacques Laurans, Chairman of the Six Nations Council. Martin Davies (WRU) attended on the Friday and David Pickering, Vice-Chairman/Treasurer of the Six Nations Council & Chairmanof the WRU gave the closing remarks after the final session on Day 4.

Set against the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup 2007, the delegates were also asked to expresstheir views on the present state of Northern Hemisphere rugby.

AIMS O F SUB-COMMIT T EE

The aims of the 6 Nations Coach Development Sub-Committee are:

To provide a cross cultural sharing of coaching ideas and raise the coaching bar.

To challenge the high performance coaches in the Six Nations to think across borders and cultures. “I think that the amount

of ongoing information thatwill be shared is by far the best thing to come out of

the conference”

To provide a vehicle for the interchange of technical expertisebetween 6 Nations member Unions and encouragement of this outside the competitive parameters.

To provide a forum for research and the future development of the game within the 6 Nations membership group.

To encourage greater understanding and cooperation between High Performance Coaches/Potential High Performance Coaches within the member countries and the responsibility theyhave for the delivery of the game in the playing sense.

To improve communication and integration of appropriate personnel who are very much “hands on” in working with the players.

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AIMS O F CONFERENCE

The aims of the 2007 Coaching conference were:

To provide the delegates with a live learning coaching environment in which to exchangeknowledge and develop their coaching skills.

To be a progressive factor in the development of the delegates.

POSITIVES

The quick breakdown of communication barriers, which was assisted in particular by the highquality of interpreters.

Presentations from experts were kept to a minimum which allowed the coaches to have greater interaction and discussion.

The coach centred approach of the conference allowed the delegates to make a greatercontribution and provided the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences.

“Round” system whereby each group could at any timecall a “round” during their deliberations, and eachmember contributed their ideas without interruption.This ensured that each delegate took the time to listen tohis colleagues, and that everyone participated.

91.2% of delegatesrated the overall

conference as either Excellent or Good The task gave a focus to the groups to work on giving the

opportunity to learn from the different ways that peoplesee the same situation ie “seeing through another person’slenses”.

Presentations by Sean Holley and Scott Wisemantel gave the delegates an informed insight into the playing styles and objectives of Wales and Australia.

The two boxes made available were excellent as it affordedthe opportunity to discuss the match during half time, andalso with the direct feed from the post match pressconference, the delegates were able to see how the coachesand captains responded to the media.

The genuine respect that the delegates afforded to eachothers’ ideas and contributions.

The tutors moving around the groups to stimulatediscussion, but allowing the groups to determine their owndirection.

Flexibility within the conference programme to adapt to various situations as they arose.

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AREAS FOR IMPROVE MENT

Need to improve the delivery of technology, particularly the use of the DVD players was good, but not all of the discs would play properly.

For future conferences source high capacity USB drives for all delegates that so that thespeaker presentations can be provided to them immediately after each session.

In the group introduction session, get one person to introduce their partner to the conference.

6 Nations to send out a formal invitation to all delegates, once the names are known, includinghotel directions, etc.

Delegates be requested to ensure that travel arrangements will not require them to depart prior to the end of the conference.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the 6 Nations Council continues to support this cross cultural sharing of ideas.

That the 2008 Conference should focus on the IRB Experimental Law Variations, with a viewto reporting feedback to the 6 Nations Council.

That the 2008 Conference be held in Italy, probably near Rome.

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Sean Holley, Neath/Swansea Ospreys Assistant Coach

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APPENDICES

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

DAY 1 – Thursday 13 September

12:00 Lunch

14:00 Welcome Noel Murphy

Outline of Conference / Group Introductions Session Richie Dixon

15:00 Coffee

15:15 Session 1Explanation of Task“You are the coaching team of Australia/Wales for their RWC pool match on 15 September”

Steve Aboud

Outline of programme timetable / available resourcesCommence task

16:45 Coffee

17:00 Session 2Statistics on trends in each team’s performance Corris Thomas, IRB

17:45 Table discussionImplications of Corris Thomas’ presentation & continuation oftask

18:30 Update on progressHow you are approaching the task? Where are you now? What do you still have to do?

19:00 End

20:00 DinnerGuest Speaker Gareth Davies (ex Wales & Lions, now Welsh Assembly Govt trade representative in Australia)

“We have all worked really well with a very open-minded attitude”

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DAY 2 – Friday 14 September

09:00 Session 3Cultural Perspectives / Coaching Interpretation Philippe Boher

10:30 Coffee break

11:00 Session 4Table discussionsUpdate on progress

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Session 5Welsh perspective Sean HolleyQ & A Assistant Coach

Neath/Swansea Ospreys15:45 Coffee break

16:00 Table discussions

17:30 Session 6Australian perspective Scott WisemantelQ & A Skills Coach, ARU

18:30 End

19:30 Dinner – England v South Africa match viewed on TV

DAY 3 – Saturday 15 September 2007

09:00 Session 7Finalise plans Richie Dixon

10:30 FeedbackBrief outline of how you hope the match will go for your teamDecide how your group will view the match

11:45 Lunch

12:30 Depart to Millennium Stadium

14:00 Session 8Wales v Australia match – Pool B, RWC07Record what you would say at half timeWhat you would say post match to team as well as the media

19:30 BBQ

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DAY 4 – Sunday 16 September 2007

09:00 Session 9 Steve AboudTable discussionDiscuss the performance of your team in the context of your pre-match planning

09:30 Wales feedback Sean HolleyQ & A

Australia feedback Scott Wisemantel(via Leighton Morgan)

10:30 Coffee

10:45 Session 10 Richie DixonWhat have you learned from each other?Complete conference evaluation forms

11:20 Closing remarks David Pickering

11:30 Close / Lunch

Scott Wisemantel, Skills Coach, Australian Rugby Union Corris Thomas, Head of IRB Game Analysis

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SPEAKERS

In order of appearance:Noel Murphy, Chairman, 6 Nations Coach Development Sub-Committee

Corris Thomas, IRB Game Analysis

Sean Holley, Assistant Coach, Neath/Swansea Ospreys

Scott Wisemantel, Skills Coach, Australian Rugby Union

David Pickering, 6 Nations Deputy Chairman, WRU Chairman

Also in attendance:Martin Davies, WRU 6 Nations Council Member

TUTORS/STAFF

Kevin Bowring – EnglandFabrice Brochard – France (Pre Conference)Philippe Boher – France (at Conference) Stephen Aboud – IrelandFrancesco Ascione – ItalyRichie Dixon – ScotlandLeighton Morgan – WalesJon Davis / Belinda Armstrong – Course AdministrationInterpreters x 6

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From left: Leighton Morgan, Philippe Boher, Kevin Bowring, Belinda Armstrong, Richie Dixon, Francesco Ascione, Jon Davis& Stephen Aboud

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DELEGATES

Group 1Massimo Mascioletti, Almaviva Capitolina Head Coach, Italy David O’Mahony, Munster U20 Assistant Coach, IrelandMark Mapletoft, England U20 Coach Hugh Campbell, Specialist Coaching Manager, ScotlandGruff Rees, Specialist Coach, WalesGroup 2 Franck Corrihons, Grenoble Head Coach, France Fabio Roselli, Italy U17 Head Coach Dan McFarland, Ireland U20 & Connacht Assistant Coach BJ Mather, London Irish Defence Coach, England Henry Edwards**, Head of Player Development, Scotland Jonathan Humphries, Ospreys Forwards Coach, WalesGroup 3 Fabrice Ribeyrolles^, Academy Manager & U23 Coach, ASM

Clermont Auvergne, France Philippe Doussy, Italy U18 Head Coach Brian Walsh**, Director of Rugby Cork Constitution; Ireland

Clubs Team Head Coach Ben Ryan, England Sevens Team Coach Stephen Gemmell^, Senior Academy Coach & Scotland 7’s Coach Patrick Horgan^, Wales U20 Head CoachGroup 4Serge Milhas*, La Rochelle Head Coach, France Marzio Zanato*, Italy ‘A’ Team Coach Willie Anderson*, Rainey Old Boys Head Coach, Ireland Alex Sanderson, England U18 Coach Grant McKelvey*, Performance Development Manager &

Scotland U18 Head Coach Simon King, Wales U18 Head CoachGroup 5Jean-Henri Tubert*, former Lyon & Bourgoin Head Coach, FranceVincenzo Troiani^, Italy U20 Coach Eric Elwood^, Ireland U20 Head Coach & Connacht Assistant Coach Nigel Redman, England U20 Head Coach Colin Robertson^, Scotland U20 Head Coach Nicky Lloyd, Wales U18 Assistant CoachGroup 6Philippe Boher*, France U18 Manager & Member DTN

(National Team Directorate), France Alessandro Ghini*, Italy ‘A’ Coach Niall Malone^, Director of Rugby, Instonians; Ireland Martin Haag^, England U18 & Bath Academy Coach, England Peter Wright**, Scotland U19 Coach Phil Davies, Director of Rugby, Llanelli Scarlets, Wales

* Attended 2005 Conference (Total = 7 )^ Attended 2006 Conference (Total = 9)** Attended both 2005 & 2006 Conference (Total = 3) 54% of participants had attended at least one of the previous 6 Nations Coaching Conferences.

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SUMMAR Y OF EVALUATION S

EXCELLENT /GOOD RATING

Introductions 85.3%Task 100%Stats – Corris Thomas 82.4%Welsh Perspective - Sean Holley 97.1%Australian Perspective - Scott Wisemantel 94.1%Present Plans 85.3%Post Match Feedback 88.2%Quality of Learning 100%

Total 91.2%

Selected Comments re Course Programme Welcome / Group Introductions Sessiono It broke some early barriers down and felt a lot more relaxed afterwards – really like the “round” idea.

It also became better after Philippe spoke to the group.Session 1 - Explanation of Task o Spot on in terms of relation to coaching roles – ensured levels of interaction needed open ended

thinking and communication. Open ended enough for individual learningSession 2 - Stats on trends in each teams performance – Corris Thomas, IRBo Good analytical insight into key trends in the game relating to Wales and AustraliaSession 5 - Welsh Perspective - Sean Holley, Ospreysoo

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First class. From a “working coach” – relevant/pragmatic and very relevant to group analysisSean is a communicator as well as a technician. His presentation was clear and simple with very goodbackground video

Session 6 - Australian Perspective - Scott Wisemantel, ARUo Learned a lot – very impressed with Scott’s willingness to share information o Good insight into the Australian approach to analysis and well as their general overview of themselves

and other teams.Session 7 – Present Plans

Didn’t feel that this was as important as the “journey” was to get there!Session 9 – Review Planso Great to hear views on what worked for each team and what didn’t and also to hear what was said at

half-time and compare my own notes. Session 10 – Quality of Personal Learningo Unique opportunity to share with like minded/opposite minded coacheso A great forum in which to ask questions, debate opinions, respect cultures and their differences and

provoke thought and new ideas in your own coaching. o Excellent, especially in respect to networking and forming ongoing relationships to share information

and coaching techniques o I leave this conference feeling “energised” and “motivated”. I am looking forward to coaching on

Monday.

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Selected General Comments1. Please comment on the format of the conference and how it has differed from

other courses and conferences that you have attended? o Very different content from any other course I’ve been on. It was a good experience to swap

ideas with everyone else on the course. o It was a good bold move to try something different.o The combination of the 2006 and the 2007 conferences are two compatibly strong courses

which have helped ‘shape’ my next two year ‘personal plan’.o Very good format. Excellent venue. Excellent presenters.

2. How effective was the conference in meeting the following objectives:a. The process of constructing the plan? o There was a perfect working environment that helped us method solving problems that

pushed us beyond our limits at professional level.

b. Comparing your plan with the outcome of the match?

o Real focus on this as 2 days of debate and analysis made us have a personal attachment toour respective teams.

c. Providing a personal learning experience (please share the learning that you have taken from the conference)

o I have been really happy to share my experiences with a group of genuine professionals.We have all worked really well with a very open-minded attitude.

o Has been a unique and outstanding experience at all levels: in sport, creating a commonstrategy for 6 different cultures. Humanely listening, talking, changing of opinions,decision making

o I think that the amount of ongoing information that will be shared is by far the best thing to come out of the conference due to newly established relationships.

o Very positive personal learning experience which continually challenged my thinkingthrough discussion and input from coaches from different countries. Important to changemy practice to realise there are a number of ways to achieve the same result.

3. Any Other Comments

o I really appreciated I could watch a game and work on it at the same time. We should associateto other events in order to get more feedback on the proposed work.

o There is always room for improvement, but here you have done a great job. Thank you!o Thanks for an excellent few days which have given me helpful approaches and technical tools to

use in performance coaching environments. Thanks!o Knowing the Welsh team and having inside knowledge, found it hard accepting our plan, when

I knew what Wales would do.o Excellent course, well run and facilitated o I think it has been the best course/gathering/sharing of knowledge environment I have

experienced in 20 years of rugbyo The whole weekend was excellent and is certainly something that the 6 Nations should continue

to encourage greater co-operation in pushing the bar up and allow us to more consistentlychallenge the Southern Hemisphere countries.

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FEEDBACK ON NORTHERN HEMISPHERE RUGBY

As part of the conference evaluations, the delegates were asked “How can the Northern Hemispherecountries re-establish themselves in the international game?” Included below are a selection of their comments. The Coach Development Sub-Committee need to consider these further.

o Greater emphasis on skills than power/strength. Too many athletes who can play rugby ratherthan pure rugby players.

o By training younger players in a way that they learn to take decisions. Not only in the field of rugby. They have to be open-minded towards others. When you learn to listen to others, youcan “read” situations and coach to them both on and off the field

o Shed our natural conservatism, embrace new ideas and use them.o There does seem to be a perception that the Southern Hemisphere are ahead, but that

perceived gap is not as great, I think. Of course, always go forward, playerise ideas too is fine, but our strengths are still there and the work I do as a National Academy and a National Coach is vital as much within the system (premiership relationships esp in relation to coreskills, game understanding and trust in our systems) as outside it. Work hard and be relevantas well as open and the advances will be made.

o More sharing of information across the disciplines. Technical/tactical/physical/mental and lifestyle/culture. It sounds to me that the influx of southern hemisphere coaches has an impact on the later.

o “Innovative Coaching” get togethers (us) – looking at what game could be like in 5 years and individual unions (‘open minded’ workshops)

o More sharing of ideas such as this weekend (age groupcoaches need to meet in international weeks)

o Have effective player coaching and developmentprogrammes in place (long term objective)

o We play too much, we can’t work with the playersenough, we prepare the team more for competition.

o We must be more selfish when it comes to players – givemore opportunities to home based players and not bringin as many players who are not eligible to play for yourcountry

o Hard work and a willingness from everyone involved to become open and share their ideas and outcomes.

o Depth of thinking and empowering players to be part ofthe process of winning where by they take more responsibility and accountability, also focusing on core skills.

o Young players coached for the greater good, not just to win school or underage competitions.Core skills developed over time to allow players the platform to adapt on the pitch – skills – strategies – tactical etc. Also and as important, coaches to be developed in the same way.

o With better coaching in technical (skill acquisition) and tactical (improving game sense) from 16+. Therefore educating academy coaches and school teachers/coaches with the latestmethods – all holding a universal national vision.

o There is no short term fix to this issue, continued sharing of ideas and a willingness to adapt and challenge yourself and your coaching methods will help, as will providing better environments for players to improve their learning and game understanding.

o Northern Hemisphere players are reactive. The players and coaches must learn to be proactive.

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o We have to take the lead, be innovative and encourage players to take a lead in theirdevelopment – particularly at age grade rugby where we have to produce a plan/template thatwill create a challenging environment that demands and creates improvement.

o Stop chasing Southern Hemisphere. Concentrate on improving our basic technical excellence.Stop following and start leading. Start improving basic technical skills of young players. Aim to be competitive 2015

o By having the confidence and honesty to share information at conferences like this to learnfrom each other and improve technically and tactically.

o Concentrate on player development, decision making and giving the player choices throughexperiences.

o We need to work on the player earlier than is actually done (at least in France). As done by theAustralian (according to Scott).

Jonathan Humphries, Forwards Coach, Neath/Swansea Ospreys

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