The Loose Head Podcast

The United Rugby Championship will take begin next season and will become the new competition for PRO14 teams. Adam Redmond is Head of Broadcast & Communications for the PRO14 and soon-to-be United Rugby Championship. Adam took the time to sit down with me to discuss the new competition and answer questions about the new competition from The Loose Head patrons. It is shaping up to be a fantastic competition and I'm really looking forward to it next season. Have a listen and if you have any other questions about the competition, send them in and I will pass them on to Adam for answering.

The latest series of The Loose Head Podcast with Jeff Neville is focused entirely on coaching, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On this episode I chat to the King of Sevens, Waisale Serevi. We discuss fun, the obstacles of being a player-coach, leadership, and the importance of players taking ownership of what they can control. A huge thank you to Waisale for taking the time to come on, and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to subscribe, rate, review, and share.

The latest series of The Loose Head Podcast with Jeff Neville is focused entirely on coaching, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On this episode I chat to Dan McKellar, the Head Coach of the Brumbies. This is a fantastic discussion, ranging from forging relationships, player management and the importance of those forged relationships, dealing with the pressure of being a player-coach, trusting the process, and learning from other sports. A huge thank you to Dan for taking the time to come on, and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to subscribe, rate, review, and share. (Please note the episode was recorded a number of weeks ago before the Super Rugby final.)

The latest series of The Loose Head Podcast with Jeff Neville is focused entirely on coaching, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On this episode I chat to George Murray, who is the Head Performance Analyst for Munster Rugby and also the Head Coach of UL Bohs. We discuss learning from other coaches, balancing coaching with work and family life, giving autonomy to other coaches, mental health, the use of technology in rugby, and how everyday technology can be used to help teams when implemented correctly. A huge thank you to George for taking the time to come on, and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to subscribe, rate, review, and share.

The latest series of The Loose Head Podcast with Jeff Neville is focused entirely on coaching, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On this episode I chat to Nick Evans, who is the attack coach for Harlequins. We discuss learning from other coaches, cultivating and managing relationships, mental health, and the importance of being open and having a growth mindset. A huge thank you to Nick for taking the time to come on, and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to subscribe, rate, review, and share.

Tackling the World is the latest podcast series from The Loose Head's Jeff Neville. In this series, I talk to players about their RWC experiences, discussing everything from selection to mental health, the competition itself, and the aftermath. In this episode, I talk to former Italy international Leonardo Ghiraldini. We discuss his time with Italy, the four Rugby World Cups he played in, the highs and lows he experienced, and what can be done to help Italy heading toward the next Rugby World Cup. If you enjoy it, please feel free to rate, review, and subscribe. You can also find The Loose Head on Twitter and Instagram by using the handle @thelooseh.

Tackling the World is the latest podcast series from The Loose Head's Jeff Neville. In this series, I talk to players about their RWC experiences, discussing everything from selection to mental health, the competition itself, and the aftermath. In this episode, I talk to former Fiji international and current Leicester Tiger, Nemani Nadolo. We discuss Fiji, the Rugby World Cup, sipping a pint with a Welsh fisherman, the challenges young players face, and what can be done to help Fiji heading toward the next Rugby World Cup. If you enjoy it, please feel free to rate, review, and subscribe. You can also find The Loose Head on Twitter and Instagram by using the handle @thelooseh.

Tackling the World is the latest podcast series from The Loose Head's Jeff Neville. In this series, I talk to players about their RWC experiences, discussing everything from selection to mental health, the competition itself, and the aftermath. In this episode, I talk to former Springbok and 2007 Rugby World Cup winner BJ Botha. We discuss the preparation for the tournament, the excitement of the challenge, that England pool game, his injury, the final, and his identity after becoming a world champion. If you enjoy it, please feel free to rate, review, and subscribe. You can also find The Loose Head on Twitter and Instagram by using the handle @thelooseh.

Tackling the World is the latest podcast series from The Loose Head's Jeff Neville. In this series, I talk to players about their RWC experiences, discussing everything from selection to mental health and from the competition to the aftermath. In this episode, I talk to Ireland international Jean Kleyn about the 2019 RWC. We discuss his highs and lows, social media, the competition itself, and the environment. If you enjoy it, please feel free to rate, review, and subscribe. You can also find The Loose Head on Twitter by using the handle @thelooseh.

Olympic and World Sevens gold medal winning coach Ben Ryan joins me to discuss his time with the Fiji Sevens team, the importance of open-mindedness in coaching, moving on after achieving your goals, and the influences of other sports on his coaching. This is an earlier episode of the podcast, put into the second series of Let's Talk Coaching as the content is relevant to the series. As always, a massive thank you to Ben for taking the time to come on the podcast and sharing his experience. If you would like to hear more of The Loose Head podcast you can catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please feel free to follow, review, and rate.

On this week's episode, I chat to France's defensive coach Shaun Edwards. We discuss why he coaches, giving autonomy to defensive players, encouragement, and developing a defensive attitude. A big thanks to Shaun for taking the time to come on the podcast during what was a very busy week for him. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to reply with your thoughts and share it as it is the best way to grow and improve the podcast.

On this episode, I chat to Ian Costello, who is the defense coach at Wasps Rugby. We discuss why he coaches, his non-negotiables, defensive set-ups and instilling pillars of behavior in your play, buying into the players' ideas, and being proud of your identity. As always, a massive thank you to Ian for taking the time to come on the podcast and sharing his experience. If you would like to hear more of The Loose Head podcast you can catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like it, please feel free to follow, review, and rate.

This season of the podcast is focused entirely on the coaching side of the game, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On this episode, I chat to the 2020 Women’s AIL Coach of the Year, Fiona Hayes, about why she coaches, the challenges she faces, language, player management, having a Plan B, and creating leadership. As always, a massive thank you to Fiona for taking the time to come on the podcast and sharing her experience. If you would like to hear more of The Loose Head podcast you can catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please feel free to follow, review, and rate.

On this series of the podcast, I speak to guests who experienced injury while playing rugby. We’ll discuss the injuries themselves, the mental side of them, and if they left any after effects. But as well as that, we’ll be chatting about the highs they’ve enjoyed too, the games that stick out most in their minds, and their best memories on the pitch so far. On this episode, I'm joined by Munster and Ireland player Niamh Briggs. Niamh has suffered injuries that caused her to miss a Six Nations, a Rugby World Cup being held in Ireland, and is currently rehabbing to overcome a leg injury from last season. On the highs-side, she has been capped 62 times for Ireland, travelled to two World Cups, has won two Six Nations Championships, she was part of the first Ireland team to beat New Zealand, captained Munster, and was named the Guinness Rugby Writers Women’s Player of the Year two years in a row.

On this series of the podcast, I speak with guests whose careers were impacted through injury. We’ll discuss the injuries themselves, the mental side of them, and if those injuries have left any effects today. But as well as that, we’ll be chatting about the highs they enjoyed too, the games that stick out most in their minds, and their best memories on the pitch. On this episode, former Canterbury, Crusaders, and Munster player Tyler Bleyendaal discusses the injuries he suffered throughout his career, as well as the injury that forced him to retire. But we also discuss the highs he enjoyed while playing: the best players he played with, his best memories on the pitch, and which games he’d like to play in again. A huge thanks to Tyler for taking the time to come on the podcast and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to share it and subscribe.

On this series of the podcast, I speak to guests who experienced injury while playing rugby. We’ll discuss the injuries themselves, the mental side of them, and if they left any after effects. But as well as that, we’ll be chatting about the highs they’ve enjoyed too, the games that stick out most in their minds, and their best memories on the pitch so far. This week’s guest is Leinster, Ireland, and Barbarians player Jenny Murphy. We discuss how Jenny dealt with the long term injuries she suffered, recovery and rehab, and also her positivity in dealing with them. We also chat about the good times like her Barbarians appearance, the big moments, “kind” words to her kicker, and a surprise mid-game Mars Bar.

On this series of the podcast, I speak with guests whose careers were impacted through injury. We’ll discuss the injuries themselves, the mental side of them, and if those injuries have left any effects today. But as well as that, we’ll be chatting about the highs they enjoyed too, the games that stick out most in their minds, and their best memories on the pitch. On this episode, former Munster and Ireland player Barry Murphy discusses the injuries he suffered throughout his career, as well as the injury that forced him to retire. But we also discuss he highs he enjoyed while playing: the best players he played with and against, his best memories on the pitch, and which games he’d like to play in again. A huge thanks to Barry for taking the time to come on the podcast and if you enjoyed it, please feel free to share it and subscribe.

This season of the podcast is focused entirely on the coaching side of the game, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. On the final episode of this series, Jerry Flannery joins me to discuss why he coaches, specialisation in rugby vs football, learning from other coaches, Rassie and Axel, avoiding preconceptions, managing the workload, creating relationships, and how his coaching has developed. As always, a massive thank you to Jerry for taking the time to come on the podcast and sharing his experience. If you would like to hear more of The Loose Head podcast you can catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please feel free to follow, review, and rate.

Mike Prendergast, the attack coach and backs' coach for Racing 92, joins me on this week's episode of the podcast. Mike and I discuss his thoughts behind his attacking framework, how to implement a framework without inhibiting a player's creativity, adapting the style of play throughout the season, the parallels with AIL rugby, players' influence on the game plan, and learning from other sports. At the time of recoding, R92 were preparing for their European quarter final, and I'd like to wish both Mike and R92 the best of luck in the final.

This season of the podcast is focused entirely on the coaching side of the game, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. Bernard Jackman, current head coach of Bective Rangers and formerly of Grenoble and Dragons Rugby, joins me on this week’s episode to discuss: making memories, player management, leadership, coaching development, and the mental side of coaching. As always, a huge thank you to Bernard for taking the time to come on the podcast. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, rate, review, and share.

Mike Ruddock, who is currently the Development Director with the Ospreys, joins me for this week’s episode. Mike also coached Lansdowne to AIL titles and Wales to Grand Slam success, along with the Ireland under 20 team, and was Director of Rugby for Worcester Warriors, to mention just a few roles. On this episode, Mike discusses dealing with players and the importance of cultivating relationships, similarities between successful amateur and professional teams, getting the shed ready, seeking guidance and advice, and his own mental health and resilience. As always, a huge thank you to Mike for taking the time to come on the podcast, and please feel free to share it if you enjoyed it.

This season of the podcast is focused on the coaching side of the game, discussing topics like creating a positive environment, focusing on the process, overcoming ego, various aspects of player management, and dealing with the euphoria of the wins and disappointment of the losses. This week, Adam Griggs, the Irish Women’s Head Coach, joins me to discuss why he coaches, the challenges he faces as a coach, his role within the coaching team, decision making, his team’s development process, and how coaching in the AIL helped to prepare him for working in the national set-up. As always, a massive thank you to Adam for taking the time to come on the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to subscribe, rate, and review, and check back in with next week’s episode.

Let’s Talk Coaching: Andrew Browne Andrew Browne, Head Coach of Galwegians RFC, joins me to discuss: the difficulties of inheriting a struggling team, using the blueprints of previous coaches in your own coaching, creating autonomy and leadership in an amateur environment, and the various challenges that arise. As always, a huge thank you to Andrew for taking the time to come on the podcast. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to subscribe and share the episode with anyone you think will enjoy it.

Pat Lam, the Director of Rugby for the Bristol Bears and the coach who led Connacht to their famous PRO12 title win, takes the time to discuss vision, leadership, culture, and love. He gives an insight into his style of coaching, and this episode truly highlights why players love playing for him.

Ireland u20 coach, Leinster A coach, and Leinster Academy Manager Noel McNamara joins me on this week’s episode to discuss his experience and to give an insight into the world of coaching. This week we discuss why we coach, which strengths young players who make it in the professional game possess, how to erase the fear of failure in young players, motivating fringe players, leadership, and not being afraid of announcing your aims and ambitions to the greater public. A huge thanks to Noel for taking the time to come on and if you enjoyed the podcast, please feel free to share, follow, rate, and review.

Connacht Head Coach Andy Friend joins me on the first episode of “Let’s Talk Coaching”, a podcast series focused entirely on the coaching side of the game. On this episode, Andy and I discuss how to create an environment, what he looks for when recruiting a player, the importance of “the why”, player management, giving players both autonomy on the pitch and bad news off it, overcoming tough periods or celebrating good times, and his own mental health. A huge thanks to Andy for taking the time to come on the podcast for the second time and for sharing his wealth of experience.

Oli Jager discusses how he left Ireland at a young age in order to start a new life playing rugby in New Zealand. He chats about life at the Crusaders, along with the culture and coaching at the club, and gives some advice to young props.

Squidge Rugby discusses the difficulties facing content creators, life on social media, Rassie's private parts, and Richie Mo'unga: the modern fly half. A fun conversation that is a bit different from the other episodes.

Tom Turner is the Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach at Gloucester Rugby and worked with Leinster Rugby for a ten-year period, working with some of the best players in the world. In this episode, Tom gives us a rare insight into his role as an S&C coach, how he deals with players, the relentlessness of the Premiership, and some of the challenges he encounters in his role.

Leinster and Ireland player Lindsay Peat joins me on this weeks podcast to discuss her injury rehab during the Covid lockdown, her love of sport and time with Ireland so far, the development of women's rugby, and what can be done to help improve that development further. Peat came late to rugby, after playing international soccer and basketball and winning an All-Ireland medal with Dublin, and her first international cap was only her 8th game of rugby.

On Saturday, June 13th, Jeff Neville, Daithí Ó Ruaidh, and Stiofán Ó Fearaíl walked 100,000 steps each (over 81km) to raise money for Self Help Africa. Hear how they got on, their highs and lows, and why they wanted to help Self Help Africa.

Conán O Donnell talks about leaving Connacht for Japan, playing alongside Sonny Bill Williams, and how it took travelling to New Zealand to enjoy rugby again.

Olympic and World Sevens gold medal winning coach Ben Ryan joins me to discuss his time with the Fiji Sevens team, the importance of open-mindedness in coaching, moving on after achieving your goals, and the influences of other sports on his coaching.

One for the Connacht fans. Aly Muldowney joins me to talk about his playing career, especially those three seasons in Connacht. It didn't begin the way Aly thought it would, and while he lifted silverware, the 2016 season was bittersweet. He also talks about changing his playing style and playing under Pat Lam.

Wales and B&I Lions hooker Richard Hibbard describes his club career so far, the best Tests he's played in, and gives an excellent insight into the successful 2013 Lions Series in Australia. He also describes what happened on the eve of his Wales' debut; the team doctor earned his wage that night!

Ben Mercer talks about his book "Fringes: Life on the Edge of Professional Rugby". This is a first hand account of what life is like in the lower reaches of professional sport in France - where your employment status is as precarious as your health and barely anyone will know your name. Ben talks about contract negotiations, the testing behind doping and its faults, some of the issues he had to deal with while in France, and the professionalism (or lack thereof) of his fellow players.

Mike Prendergast discusses his rise through coaching, from his role as DOR for Young Munster RFC to his role as back's coach for Racing 92 in Paris, where he coaches players like Simon Zebo, Finn Russell, and Teddy Thomas.

Bernard Jackman talks about his autobiography "Blue Blood", his relationship with Cheika, his issues with concussion, and all about his playing and coaching career.

Sammy Arnold discusses his journey to Munster, the competition within the Munster and Ireland squad, the relationship between the media and the player, and the importance of mental strength in today's game.

Jamie Cudmore describes his early career in Canada, Wales, and New Zealand, and gives an insight into nearly 20 years of playing and coaching in France. Fights, eye-gouging, and backstabbing; this one has it all.

Harry Bennett describes his journey from the Waratahs' Academy to America, life with Rugby United New York, Basta's first season, and the MLR. (USA Rugby had yet to file for bankruptcy at the time of recording.)

I chat to Alan Quinlan about his memories of playing for Shannon, chasing the holy grail with Munster, the ups and downs of his Ireland career, and that Lions call-up.

I chat to Andy Friend about coaching in Australia, Japan, England, and Ireland, his experiences of coaching in both the RWC and the Olympics, his 5,000km cycle for Brain Injury Australia, and his time in Connacht so far.

I chat to Scott Penny of Leinster Rugby about his playing career so far and all things Leinster Rugby (at the time of recording, the PRO14 fixtures in South Africa were not yet postponed).

Johnny O'Connor gives a really honest insight into his playing time with Connacht, Wasps, and Ireland, his transition into coaching, and what drives him to succeed.

I chat to Mark Roche of Ireland Sevens about how the Ireland Sevens program began, how it has developed over the years, the importance of the club game in Ireland, and how he overcame setbacks such as selection issues and injury to be now playing on the World Series stage.

I chat to Caelan Doris about his career so far, balancing his studies with rugby, training under Cullen, Lancaster, and Farrell, his Ireland call up, and the days surrounding his first cap.

Aoife Doyle and Eimear Considine from the Ireland Women's team join me to discuss their lives in sport, the development of women's rugby and what needs to be done to help its development, the current Women's Six Nations, and the 2021 RWC qualifiers.