So welcome to our first guest blog, written by Claire Bowes - this is part one of a two part series - Thanks to firstaid4sport for this post and I really enjoyed reading it. If you want to make a supply order then please get in touch with them: https://www.firstaid4sport.co.uk - I know personally that these common injuries are ones that I have come across. ??????????????????????????????? Most Common Rugby Injuries and How to Treat Them . . . As with any contact sport, it’s inevitable that some form of injury is likely to occur.  In such a fast paced game where tackles are the na ..read more

There is no such thing as bad behaviour! There is a need and a response. So here we go! Its been a while and I have been working on this post for some time. Have you ever been thirsty? Well of course you have! So what did you do? You went and got a drink. Now you are reading this thinking what the heck is this person talking about! Lets frame this: You are thirsty (a need) you meet this need by getting a drink (the behaviour)  All behaviour that humans under take is for a need to be met (thats right you guessed it even when we get upset by the behaviour, its function is not to up ..read more

Nobody likes change, especially not in the locker-room! Reflecting is key to staying fresh and more importantly helping others achieve their potential. I have always found balancing the changing room environment very challenging.  I like to keep the vibe chilled and I don’t focus on the result, I remain focused on the outcomes; at this point it is important to clarify the “outcomes”  usually reflect development areas from a previous performance and most of the time use our beautiful game’s principles of play – Go Forward etc  Throughout my coaching career I have tried ..read more

Climbing ladders to success!  Have you see this post?  So whats it all about? Its a session plan, but using visuals clues, this engaged the players who had to try and work out what the session was going to entail. This gave them a special unlock.  The session consisted of lots of hands practise, targets within the games (using night club clickers), skills to practise and lots of problem solving. I go on about problem solving alot. Any idea why?  Well, as coaches we are responsible for developing players - we need to make sure what we do during coaching sessions ..read more

How to teach front rows good body positioning with the help of Dobble!!! So here are some taster videos! We have been using the Silverback Harnesses now for a few weeks, the players love them and there is a lot to be gained from using them. Firstly, the scrum body position, Tower of Power etc - they are developed by Graham Smith and you can purchase them here: https://www.silverbackharness.com/ And here are our most recent videos of working with the Forwards! Enjoy! RCB Family???? Teaching Front Row Forwards with Dobble: Using the Silver Back Harness Engaged Scrum position ..read more

No plan survives contact with the enemy - Make connection your most important tool. What’s the difference between connection and no connection?  Does it even matter? When it comes to coaching, I believe it does and that leads me to the following quote: "Children learn teachers, not subjects"  Can you be the most technically able coach with zero ability to connect and still be successful? Or is the opposite possible? Can you be outstanding at making connections and have limited understanding of technique? It's a deep question - I must admit I am only just starting to grasp ..read more

So there you go! The end is near!  As the season draws to a close, my mind starts to wonder back to what has worked well and what has maybe not gone so well. It is so important to reflect on your seasonal goals and the tools that you have used throughout. Its reflection time and its an important part of the season, its a way to gauge opinions and successes and also and more importantly failures, as we know that failure is the best way to open up potential learning opportunities. So todays post is going to cover two things: 1, The tools we have use 2, The coach education process and ..read more

Lets get Chaotic! Introducing Hexagon Touch!  Welcome back to the Rugby Coaches Blog, its been a busy couple of months and I apologies for not keeping within the two weeks limit I set myself. Its taken a long time to pull all this together so I hope you enjoy it! The story of Hexagon Touch! This game grew out of Three Sided Football and a Magic Academy post. I ran with the idea its has been a success with players who are willing to put themselves in the arena of Chaos.  Firstly, let me show you some comments I recently received via an anonymous survey monkey: Working under cha ..read more

Don't teach #tackling through games! It's not safe!  Ok so the title is a little misleading, what I am actually saying is do teach tackling through games. Recently I have been working with a womens team, the team has a spectrum of ability, which runs from county players to beginners so as you can imagine differentiation is key, to achieve this we will often use specific targets and track them using clickers. My coaching philosophy has experiential learning at the heart of everything the players do, I am a strong believer that the best learning takes place when you have the ..read more

Spot the Difference? #physicaleducation Vs #physicalactivity - do they have to be separate? or is the #CARDS approach developing both? #physicallyenabled A question close to my heart, whats the difference between Physical Education and Physical Activity? I believe that unfortunately these two have become very mixed up.   The problem is if we do not teach a high quality Physical Education, then how can we expect them to grow into adults that love Physical Activity? In my opinion this is why the CARDS approach to coaching is so important! Its experiential so allows us to d ..read more