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Stephen Larkham says he was “ridiculously fatigued” during his last coaching stint in Australia and believes taking on dual roles with the Brumbies and Wallabies was “detrimental” to his head coaching.
In an open and honest reflection interview on The Roar Rugby podcast, Larkham – the glittering World Cup-winning playmaker – discussed his growth from being a “shy” and “introverted” farm kid to becoming a face of Australian rugby and a leading coach nurturing the next generation of talent.
But Larkham, whose rise through the coaching ranks moved at the same speed during his playing career as he quickly became the Brumbies head coach and within a year was also acting as Michael Cheika’s assistant coach with the Wallabies, candidly revealed how his rapid ascension negatively impacted on his coaching development.
Listen to Stephen Larkham’s chat with Christy Doran in the player below or on your podcast app of choice
“The first year was very enjoyable, the years after that were very enjoyable as well but the travel schedule was just hectic and it became ridiculously fatiguing on me,” Larkham said.
“Reflecting back, in hindsight, it was something I shouldn’t have done.
“As a new head coach you really want to dedicate as much time to becoming better as a head coach and I just didn’t have the time, I didn’t find any down time, I was in rugby programs the whole time.
“While it was great in terms of my growth around coaching players and teams and units, it was very detrimental to my head coaching because I didn’t get the opportunity to sit back and see the bigger picture enough.”
Stephen Larkham has opened up on his coaching journey and how he developed from a “shy kid” to a professional coach. Photo Dan Mullan/Getty Images
To those who grew up playing alongside “Bernie” when the silky back broke into the professional ranks, few thought he would develop into a coach.
Larkham was as quiet as a church mouse and rarely added to discussions at team meetings.
Yet, the brilliant playmaker, who never considered moving into punditry like many of his acclaimed teammates, believes his deep understanding of the game and ability to listen ultimately helped his progression into coaching.
“When I talk about my early years with the Brumbies I was shy and quiet, that’s what I was growing up, and what comes from being introverted is an ability to listen and understand other people and the team dynamic,” he said.
“Eventually you get to the point where you become one of the senior players in the team, you start to take more of a leadership role and you’re explaining more of the strategy to the playing group and it became a pretty natural transition for me to move into coaching.”
Stephen Larkham says he was burned out from coaching the Brumbies and Wallabies which meant he was unable to see the “bigger picture”. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Larkham credits a stint in Japan for helping him get a “taste” for coaching, where he was a player-coach for Ricoh underneath Todd Louden.
But he says former teammate Rod Kafer had the biggest impact on his coaching style, where he enjoys discussion and debate and doesn’t mind constructive criticism.
“I still think back to when I was playing here and we had Rod Kafer as one of our players, a teammate,” Larkham said.
“He was also the backs coach at the time, I certainly saw him as the backs coach whether that was his title or not, we’d always do reviews with Kafe.
“We’d sit down, go through the whole game and just the way he taught the rest of the team and the way that he ran the meetings and his brain and his knowledge, that’s the thing that’s probably rubbed off on me probably the most.
“I really appreciated how he did it and the knowledge he had behind him when he was doing it. That’s the crux of my coaching – making sure that my knowledge is really good, I understand the game and present in a way that’s relevant to the players.”
Rod Kafer played a huge role in Stephen Larkham’s coaching ethos. Photo: Nick Wilson/ALLSPORT
Larkham’s return to the Brumbies comes five years after he left.
In that time his former assistant Dan McKellar took over as head coach and like Larkham previously did, the Brumbies coach has transitioned full-time in the Wallabies’ coaching team.
While Larkham’s tenure with the Wallabies ended on a sour note with former coach Michael Cheika, the prince of playmakers said he always envisioned returning to the Brumbies despite farewelling the franchise in 2017.
“When I was a player and I went over to Japan and finished up my career over there, I was constantly thinking about the opportunity missed in Australia and how I wanted to be a part of the Brumbies and how I wanted to be a part of the Wallabies,” he said.
“You’re watching Super Rugby matches on TV in Japan or Test matches and it’s that feeling that you’re missing out, that you want to be a part of it. And it was no different with the coaching when I went to the Wallabies full-time.
“Lots of people said I shouldn’t do it, that I should stay with the Brumbies, lots of my close friends, and I think to an extent I should have listened to them but at the same time the amount of experience that I’ve gained by going there and then going overseas, I wouldn’t have got that if I had stayed at the Brumbies.
“I feel when I was over there [in Munster], I was constantly thinking about what I had done at the Brumbies previously and how I could change it. I was tinkering with stuff over in Munster, with the way we were playing over at Munster and the program, always with the view of bringing it back to the Brumbies.”
Larkham has returned with the franchise still in strong health.
The Brumbies fell agonisingly close in last year’s semi-final thriller against the Blues at Eden Park.
Stars like Tom Banks and Scott Sio, as well as important cogs like Folau Fainga’a and Irae Simone, have left the Brumbies, but Larkham still has one of the strongest rosters in Australian rugby to work with.
Larkham said the pre-season he spent with the Brumbies was a “wonderful time connecting” with the team.
Astonishingly it was just his second as a head coach with the Brumbies, which followed a glittering career where he was rarely pushed to the limit during pre-seasons after countless end-of-year tours with the Wallabies.
Stephen Larkham says he’s excited to work alongside Noah Lolesio. Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
He admits, however, the pressure is starting to creep up on him.
“There’s no pressure [during the pre-season], it’s a wonderful time to be connecting with one another,” he said.
“Work really hard, and you’re pushing the boundaries, but it was good to come out of the Irish system where you were coaching most of the year. This time to catch up with everyone, connect with people has been invaluable for me.
“But the pressure is starting to come on now. I felt in on the weekend in our first trial game and normally I wouldn’t worry about trial games but for whatever reason it was starting to get to me that the competition is around the corner.”
Like his opposition coach Darren Coleman, Larkham has the first round circled against the Waratahs on February 24 at Allianz Stadium as an important one.
Before then he has several selections to consider, with Wallabies littered throughout his squad.
The arrival of Jack Debreczeni has also provided Larkham with more depth in the No.10 jersey.
Larkham said the experienced playmaker, who has returned to Super Rugby after years overseas, was “exceptional” during the first trial of the year.
But the former No.10 added he was looking forward to working with rising playmaker Noah Lolesio, whose journey throughout his first three years as a professional player has been far from smooth.
“It’s sitting down and looking at a bit of footage,” Larkham said.
“He was obviously frustrated with last season with the Wallabies, in and out of Test matches, not getting a consistent run, and that’s the first thing that we would like to change down here.
“From the perspective of developing Noah, and that’s what we’ve got to look it as, an opportunity to develop him, he’s young and he needs opportunities to go out there and play and form combinations and confidence in his game.
“He’s been training really well, he’s really focussed, he knows what he needs to achieve in the gym, out on the field, but I think he’s very keen to get out there and start playing some rugby. But that’ll be the process, it’ll be trying to get him as many games as possible and try to sit down with him as much as possible to look through the video footage to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
If Lolesio can end up half the player Larkham was in the Test arena, it will be a testament not only to the rising playmaker but his teacher as a coach.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.