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Nicholas Bishop

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Joined January 2016

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Nick Bishop has worked as a rugby analyst and advisor to Graham Henry (1999-2003), Mike Ruddock (2004-2005) and most recently Stuart Lancaster (2011-2015). He also worked on the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and produced his first rugby book with Graham Henry at the end of the tour. Three more rugby books have followed, all of which of have either been nominated for or won national sports book awards. Nick’s latest is a biography of Phil Larder, the first top Rugby League coach to successfully transfer over to Union, entitled “The Iron Curtain”. He is currently writing articles for The Roar and The Rugby Site, and working as a strategy consultant to Stuart Lancaster and the Leinster coaching staff for their European and Pro 14 playoff matches. Leinster achieved the double of European Champions Cup and Pro 14 league winners in 2018. They repeated their Pro 14 win in 2019 and finished runners-up to Saracens in Europe.

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Thanks Miz, very useful. I have often wondered about those contacts at the bottom of rucks, where the cleanout tends to lead with shoulder or forearm v defenders on the floor…

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Yes I knew nothing about it tbh TLN, but it does look like a game-changer…

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Admirable defusing of the ham-fisted sarcasm Miz! I don’t recall mentioning Skelton in the article but hey, who cares about content?… 😁

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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The reality is playing a game for maybe 10-15% of your life which can have ‘unintended consequences’ for the other 85% when the player has been forgotten by you and I, who have moved on to the next bit of entertainment… The spectator’s view of the game is shallow and irrelevant in this case.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Players need/ should be informed of the risk of rugby from an early age, and coaches, refs, players need to do their best to protect people.
It still won’t be enough, they’ll still be players 30 years down the track with concussion symptoms regretting the chosen sport of their youth.
How this leads to those lawsuits everyone talks about I don’t know, I think the risk are fairly transparent and the majority of people genuinely want to make it safer.

It’s a professional sport, not amateur any more ER. That means that players have to be paid for their work, and insured against potential consequences both during their careers and later in life.

It is simply not enough to say ‘they knew the dangers’ and write it all off, ans the law ensures it is not so. Watch the movie Concussion and it may enlighten you. Administrators of the game do NOT think in players interests unless the players protect themselves and force the issue.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Apologies for misinterpreting your Q Frankly!

That is why I suggested the SR teams be retained for a SR AU during this period (including the Drua). It is 2 less teams than the NRC, and the squads can be filled out by emerging talent from the Club Land.

The major issue from an admin viewpoint would prob be who would sponsor the comp. Would it be an attractive prospect for broadcasters for example, after SR Pacific had already ended? Do RA have the funds and infrastructure to stage it? I doubt that the answer would be ‘yes’ to either of those Q’s. But I can see clear benefit in the Force and Rebels playing in Mitre 10 and we can gauge whether either team can win the comp. A dose of cold reality is essential.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Good one Peter, esp in regards to rugby admin! 👍

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Yes it much more interesting to know only a fraction of the truth Ken, and sadly that is the case with the contact protocols right now…

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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I only had time to dip into a few seconds of it KH, but I’d say it gives the benefit of every doubt to Eddie Jones and England. Are they really developing as quickly as France or Ireland?? Why is that development not reflected in their results against middle tier nations like Scotland or Wales? Analysis always needs an anchor in reality and results.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Cheers Hazza 👍

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Kellaway was left in the kind of no man’s land where no self-respecting 13 wants to be Fin, but the fault lay in the set-up inside him – no way should a 9 be able to move on to the 10/12 gap from first phase! Tuttle either had to be line from the start or be in position to play full-back v Proctor, and in the event he did neither.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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I’ve appended a clip of Bob Valetini’s tackle which got him sent off v Wales last year, which shows clearly why the attacker also has to be held responsible for contact – might have to wait for that to make it through moderation! Attacker’s head height higher than the defender’s, defender looking to avoid head-to-head while attacker leads with the noggin. I think this trend in reffing will continue.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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These are all valid issues which you raise, and yet to be resolved. In the NFL I believe neither offensive nor defensive players are permitted to use the helmet as a weapon now, as they used to in previous generations. So I suspect we’ll start to see more and more instances where the blame is apportioned more evenly, esp in cases like Bobby Valetini v Wales last year, when he clearly got the worst of the collision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrq80E4dG6o

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Do you have the equivalent to Spitting Image over there P? It used to be a major satire puppet show over here but is now much more marginal.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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You’re a man of hidden talents H.

I think the younger generation know sarcasm, but are largely oblivious to irony!

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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👍

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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On The Roar you just have to change your handle and everyone will understand what you mean Nicko!

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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😂 👍

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Yes if you say that Ireland are a good standard for second man plays (which they are) they can do it without an extra 10-type playmakers – but they have several players who can offer in that area, like Garry Ringrose, Jame Lowe and Hugo Keenan. It will be interesting to see what the Reds come up with v the Saders this morning, because they do need to make a statement against Kiwi opposition before it is too late in 2022, and they have not made it yet.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Joe Schmidt never picked a second 10 with Ireland, although he did have two outstanding centres in Gordon D’Arcy and BOD. I guess neither of them saw themselves as a natural first receiver, despite all their other considerable strengths. Good thing for Aussie is that with Quade you don’t need that either!

Cheers Dean 👍

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Maybe something to do with the imminent change of coach P??

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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The Force were effective keeping the ball in 2021 v. the Kiwis, not so much this term. That is one potential contrast which teams like Ireland can use to their advantage,b ut the Brumbies and Tahs tend to rely on solid D, set-piece and kicking.

I am fairly sure that the Kiwis view games v the Force and Rebs as time when they can experiment with a few new people, because they expect to win the game anyway.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Players suffer a number of physical and psychological symptoms after rugby, and they are too recurrent to be accidental Ken. Rugby can be only one decade of their life among seven or eight, so how is the balance to be weighed. I’ve posted another Guardian article on Steve Thompson who is prob the most high profile case atm.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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The biggest single thread is the amount of ex-players who are coming out with injuries post-rugby – physical and psychological – sometimes only a short time after retiring. Steve Thompson prob the most notable example https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/apr/23/england-world-cup-winner-steve-thompson-put-on-suicide-watch . It will get worse before it gets any better.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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Leading elbows to the head or throat of a defender are also a concern Peter, and usually go unpoliced.

Coach's Corner: How can Aussie teams find their mojo in clashes with the Kiwis?

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