Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Nick Leah, general manager at Six Degrees Sports, focusing on coaching skills. We're going to cut to the root on where skills coaches often go wrong. Nick was the academy manager at the Super Rugby team Brumbies,  assistant coach for the Australian sevens team, and assistant coach of the Melbourne Reds. His philosophy is all about the individual, testing and then basing the programs on what they need. If you want to get in contact with him, you can contact him at nick@sixdegreesports.com o ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Graham Smith, director of Estonia rugby, and head coach Kalev rugby. Focusing on coaching the scrum, we are going to cut to the root on costs and benefits of using a scrum machine in training.  Graham is a former assistant coach to England Women’s Rugby, helping them to win one of their two World Cup victories in 2014. Their previous win was in 1994. He is a Level 5 coach and has coached all across Europe. What he says about his philopshy: I have thought for many years what a philosophy mean ..read more

Welcome to The Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Eddie Abel, head coach of the Midwest Thunderbirds Youth, focusing on kicking tactics. We're going to cut to the roots on why every player should learn to kick tactically. Eddie has spent the last seventeen years coaching Indiana and Midwest-based teams at all levels. In 2021 Eddie left EIRA to restart the Midwest Thunderbirds program for u15-u19 players. He was also named Interim Head Coach at his alma mater Indiana University where he led the program to a top 10 ranking and several high profile ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to sports scientist and assistant professor at UMCG Job Fransen. Focusing on applying science to coaching, we are going to cut to the root on how to improve skill acquisition. Job is also a fellow at UTS Sydney and a skills acquisition consultant. His philosophy is to encourage as much as possible the spread of excellent information in the field of skill acquisition science to coaches and practitioners. You can contact him on LinkedIn, Job Fransen or JobFran3 on Twitter ..read more

Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Corey Mömsen, assistant coach, Thomas Moore University, focusing on jumping in the lineout. We are going to cut to the root on developing players to get into the air faster and quicker. Corey played professional rugby for, at the time, the National Champions, the, Austin Herds. His philosophy is to make rugby enjoyable for everybody, not just for the players, but for the coaches, the fans and the families, and attempting to grow the game. You can speak to him via facebook ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Tom Carter, Head of Athletic Performance Australian Women's 7s. Focusing on high-performance coaching, we are going to cut to the root on why high-performance coaching is different to normal coaching.  Tom is a former professional rugby and captained the Australian Super rugby team, the Waratahs. He has worked as a high-performance coach across numerous sports, including cricket and rugby. His philosophy is physical performance utilises a comprehensive understanding of sports science, psychol ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Nick Wilkinson, senior coach at Sidcup Rugby as well as delivering rugby in schools. Focusing on coaching large groups, we are going to cut to the root on how to make training a good experience for everyone.  Wilko is a level 2 coach and referee, also coaches in schools and is the director of rugby at the Bromley Bengals rugby league team.  His philosophy is to give every person, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, background or heritage a positive experience of rugby union ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Steve Lewis, general manager of the MLR team, Rugby New York and 7s coaching consultant. Focusing on sevens, we are going to cut to the root on how you develop an attacking system in sevens.  Steve has consulted with a number of teams, including Brown University, Siena University and the national teams of Brazil and Nigeria. His philosophy is to pick the right people, nudging, and you can only piss with the cock you've got. You can contact him on Twitter @lizardrugby ..read more

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Mark Ring, a 1-1 rugby coach, attack and skills coach who won 32 caps for Wales. Focusing on coaching flair, we are going to cut to the root on how you can develop more skilful players.  Mark has coached pro-rugby in England, Wales and Ireland. He is setting up his own website, markring.co.uk, with a library of rugby skills which will be filmed. His philosophy is to improve skills and game understanding which builds confidence and encourages players to see a bigger and clearer picture as to ..read more

Bird and LJ talk to Lynne Cantwell, the first high performance manager for the women’s game in South Africa. Lynne is Ireland’s most capped (86) female rugby player. She was appointed to the South African role in February 2021. She has been a member of Sport Ireland’s board since 2019. She is also a qualified physiotherapist. Here are the questions posed to Lynne: Your degree was in Sport and Exercise Science along with a Masters in Physiotherapy. When and how did you realise that your real passion was driving high performance sport? This year you were appointed as South African rugby first H ..read more