Get your questions in for Issue 14 of Coach's Corner

I couldn't help myself!

Moral of the story: never, on any account allow a cricket umpire to become your employer! They cannot stop raising the finger :stoked:

ok…let’s try this: To Whom it may Concern, re Nicholas Bishop I write to you regarding this fellow. He relieved me of the responsibility of firing him by resigning, I owe him a small debt due to this. Some people have good references because they are actually good, and others so they can be moved on. I will leave this matter to your fine judgement. Fond regrets, The Late News.

TLN instead of asking Nick a question maybe you could write him a reference!

Despite what the pundits believe they don't actually get a real insight into Hooper's captaincy other than his choices to kick for goal or not and his interaction with the referees. There's more to the role and the coach has way more insight into that than any outsider could possibly have. It's also madness to assume that the captain operates alone. Players talk on the field as a group and make collective decisions. Coaches give instructions and plans and guidelines for the captain to act on. If Hooper was acting outside of what the team and coach wanted he wouldn't be contender for the role. So the pundits really don't have a leg to stand on.

For #2 the answer is that NZ is richer in intellectual property. You have high school teachers that have solid to exceptional knowledge of rugby skills. You have more coaches with fundamentals of the NZ method of playing. Kids that come through are playing against kids who have been coached well and have to excel, so when they reach adulthood they've been tested far more than in AU. Many players in AU leave for other careers so their IP is lost. Copying the NZ structure will require retaining that talent, converting it into coaching, ensuring that kids are taught well. It will also require competing with the AFL and NRL in schools and local comps, both for the participation but also the opportunities. PE teachers are being recruited to teach AFL across Sydney. Replacing them with former rugby players will be very hard.

Of course. I certainly take is very seriously indeed, or otherwise as directed by your doctor.

Humour is no laughing matter. Seriously.

Hey. So I get the position that Hooper walks straight back into the Wallabies. No issues there. But a captain he is not. Why does the coach believe he is a good captain when there is a mountain of evidence against this, and when there are genuine alternative options - yes, James O'Connor. Or Matt Toomua.

I think hookers are an issue too.

I like your sense of humor, News, sorry to hear that not every appreciates it...

Nic, I would love to know your view on Australia not only consolidating best players into 2 franchises but to put all the Wallabies together in 1 and have them coached by Dave Rennie? For me Australia must have a chance of winning the TT and this is the only viable solution I see going forward. I fear that Australian rugby will not survive another year of these repetitive 5-0 weekends. At some point the survival instinct has to kick in.

If the Highlanders can’t play the Rebels due to COVID-19, and the match is therefore listed as a draw and the points shared between the two sides, that’ll mean the Highlanders have no show of making the finals. The point has been made that all NZ teams must be hunting bonus point wins. My first question is this: if the Rebels end up topmost of the Australian teams on the TT ladder, will the Rebels’ many critics shut up? If the answer is “no”, because it’s not a “real win”, let’s turn that around and ask the question that follows: ought that mean that the Highlanders mid-table ranking should therefore be adjusted higher, because it’s not a real loss?

Good point. I think I will run my ruler over Dupont’s passes, compared to TKB’a in the same match, and see who threw the more accurate ones.

I have written a few articles that the editors didn't appreciate my sense of humour sadly...

Mo’unga have weaknesses that can be exploited by physical players. If you ran at him it is easy go forward ball and in defence if you close out his options and space he struggles when he must take contact and recycle. He needs to be protected in defence like Cooper that also create a weakness that good teams can exploit. Australian franchises has not been good enough to exploit these weaknesses and have given him too much space and fast ball. There is no-one better to exploit space and fast ball and then we are in serious trouble. Barrett has less upside but also less downside. I still think he is a better test 10 than Mo’unga. At Superugby level where there is more space, no-one is better.

Hi Train, I take your point on the comparison with Lions. My counter is though that the 5 Australian sides are not competitive, have not been competitive for sometime and are unlikely to become competitive in the near future. If we accept that logic than concentrating the talent has a better likelihood of success. Further by bringing the Australian players into 2 camps there is potential that Wallaby combinations will improve for Test matches. All hypothetical, I know, but continuous hammerings does neither NZ, Australia or the viewing public any good.

Hi Nick, a lot of effort goes into the conditioning and fitness of players. However how do you coach rugby intelligence... the ability to read the structure of the play, out think the opposition and change the way you play. Surely there are naturally gifted players that can make something from nothing e.g. Kolbe but then you also have players that can read the play an adapt e.g.Willie Le Roux, Aaron Smith, Rossi’s Erasmus and of course Richie Mo’unga. Conrad Smith and Brendon Venter (the brains behind Jannie de Beer’s 5 drop goals vs England in 1999 RWC) were also that kind of player whose rugby intelligence more than made up for weaknesses elsewhere. My dad use to spend hours after games reflecting what we should and could have done, opening up a window for his sons and an expectation that test and analyse the opposition during the game to device ways to exploit any weaknesses.

Hey Nick I read a stat from a NZ Rugby Broadcaster Nigel Yalden where after two rounds NZ teams are averaging around 1.5 metres more per carry than the Australians teams. What are the differences in the way teams from either country are carrying the ball in this competition so far?

We always enjoy your company either way, News...if you weren't reporting, you wouldn't be the late news :silly: