The Positive Rugby Podcast

Former Super Rugby Winning coach with the Bulls, Assistant coach of the Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels and current Southern Districts Head Coach Todd Louden joined us on the pod to chat all things rugby.   We jumped right into the thick of it hearing about his approach to coaching and the importance of building connection and caring for people and immersing yourself in the culture you are in.   Todd's experiences from School, Shute Shield, Japan South Africa and in Super Rugby across 3 teams shines through and his approach to people and the Tactical Periodisation of Training / Coaching at Southern districts is a great insight into his combination of experience and research that forms his coaching style.

Warringah Rats Head coach MIchael 'Rivo' Ruthven is on the this Pod talking about his path from Aus 16s, 19s and 21s, Shute Shield, NPC, Country Rugby and then into his coaching career at the club he loves.  We dove into the art of coaching where imperfect is sometimes perfect and the importance of creating situations that players can react to and learn from, building a great coaching group around you as a coach as well as some great rugby stories. 

We sit down with Current Sydney Uni Head Coach, Former Melbourne Rebels, Kobe Steelers, Kyuden Voltex, Kinetsu Liners, Reds and National Academy coach and all round good human, Sean Hedger.  We chatted through his journey from growing up in Darwin, a decade in Japan and all his Professional Coaching experiences.  Loved this chat as we dived into respecting the culture and DNA of the club your coaching, the massive importance of sharing to develop learning as a coach, the need for coaches to work with and learn from senior players and what he's building at Sydney Uni ahead of season 2022.

Back from a long break we've restarted with a slightly different podcast with Head of Talent Management Andrew Cleverley and Pathways Coach and Manager Matt Evrard. While we focus on the talent pathway in NSW this has some great coaching content in here as well. We talk everything from the pathway ins and outs to what parents, coaches and up and coming players should be focusing on their on to give themselves the best chance of becoming a great rugby player. This is a great insight into the where and how the future of the Waratahs will be created and the people behind the scenes driving the future. We'll be doing a female focused pathway podcast soon.

Randwick Rugby Head Coach Ben McCormack opens up about his coaching journey from Development Officer to Director of Rugby roles in Brisbane and Sydney and now to Randwick.  We got a great insight into how Ben looks at the coaching and the focus on the individual as well as his process for breaking things down and how he uses the hard moments to find the learnings.  We talked about his game based approach to coaching as well as some nuance in moving away from that for some technical elements of the game. 

Former Waratahs Coach, Current Gordon coach and one of the most free thinking coaching mavericks around Brian "Billy" Melrose joined us for a really entertaining chat about his life and coaching career.  We hear all about growing up with his Wallaby and Waratah brothers in Western Sydney, playing for Parramatta and being around and constantly being influenced by success - Something which Billy has consistently been able to bring to teams that were struggling and turn them around into genuine contenders. There is some fantastic stories and his Maverick approach at the Tahs is a great story of what's possible if you open yourself up to new ideas.  His experience as a coach in both hemispheres coaching hasn't always been an easy ride and his insights into coaching and how he approaches it gave us a super enjoyable pod, so much so that we went way over the normal time. Great listen from another character of the game

This week we have a character of the game Michael Doyle who has lived and breathed the game over the last 50 years. He has been the Wallabies manager, coached Eastern Suburbs 1st grade (and every other grade in the club), been Coach Education and Community RUgby Manager and is currently the Manager for 7s across NSW.  We talked about his coaching and playing career, the State 7s Championships which is happening the week the pod is released and we dove into his challenges with Mental Health. What is loud and clear is his passion for the game but also the importance of the people and love and energy required to be a great coach

We chat with Norths Head Coach Zak Beer about his coaching path from coaching his younger brothers teams at the Seaforth Raiders as a 16 year old right through to working with Samoan legend Earl Va'a and into the Head coach job at Northern Suburbs.   We get a glimpse of the journey for a coach without a playing background and the time effort and commitment that he throws at every coaching opportunity whether it's 3rd Grade Colts or 1st Grade Shute Shield.   This is a great insight into how Zak has built his career as an up and coming coach and on the importance of the relationship and input of the players into creating successful teams year after year

Ben Batger | Positive Rugby Coaching & Development Podcast S2 Ep13   Eastwood Head Coach Ben Batger joins us for a top chat about his journey from player to coach. We get a great insight into how his experiences - good and bad, shaped his coaching style.   We chatted about his Super Rugby playing experiences, NPC in NZ, Italian Rugby and coaching in the USA and his belief in working on the individual as much as the team. Ben was really open discussing the transformation of Eastwood from 2019 (after 10 players retired) in to 2020 and the massive change he had to make with a new squad on their way to making the 2020 Shute Shield Grand Final.

I get a lot more pleasure watching them turning into great humans, than just the wins and losses  

Schoolboys, Shute Shield, Japanese Top League, Fiji Rugby, Waratahs Academy, Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and back to Shute Shield for 2022. Joe Barakat has a massive amount of coaching experience and we dive right into the deep end with Joe. There are some great insights into what has made Joe so successful over long period of time as a coach, the importance of honesty and speaking the hard truth, building teams and his excitement to rip in for 2022 with a club close to his heart – West Harbour.    We could have talked to Joe for a week and there is plenty to gain from his insights into the game

Great insight into the incoming Western Sydney Two Blues Head Coach Sailosi Tagicakibau. From his beginnings growing up in Auckland and breaking into the Samoan National 7s team, Super Rugby with the Chiefs and Stormers, a decade playing for London Irish and Wasps and 3 World Cups thrown in Sailosi has a great story to tell having taken a very different pathway to most. His coaching experiences are no different and he's worked his way up to this opportunity to lead Western Sydney.   We talked about everything from his home village, his Fijian and Samoan heritage, playing Super Rugby in NZ and South Africa, his time at London Irish and Wasps, Rugby World Cups and the influence family and community have had on his life and coaching.

Different perspective this week with Super Rugby Referee Graham Cooper. Really interesting diving into the world of a referee and his journey from picking up the Whistle to Super Rugby Referee.  Lots of great insight into the game and if you want to know what a Professional referee does and what a week looks like for them at the highest level then make sure you listen to the last 20mins it's great stuff

What with Nick from a young and upcoming coaches point of view. Nick coaches in the NSW Pathway, is Head Colts Coach at Randwick Rugby, and currently completing his Level 3 Coach studies. We chatted about his coaching journey from coaching U11s at his club as a 15 year old, to injury pushing him into coaching at a young age and through to coaching at Randwick and he talks us through plenty of the things he learned as a player at Scots College, winning a GPS Premiership under the guidance of some top coaches. 

There are some cracking yarns in here with Former Waratah, World Cup Winning Wallaby, Wallaby Coach and newly appointed GM Rugby at the Waratahs Andrew Blades. From his start with 4 brothers at Lindfield Rugby Club to Killara High, Gordon, Waratahs and onto the World Cup Winning Wallabies. We spoke about his great experiences as a player and coach mixed with some great stories like sneaking onto the bench in a 3rd Grade Subbies match along the way. We got a great insight into coaching and what makes a difference to players at all levels, the detail required at the highest levels of the game, but also what we all can do with coaching in the levels below.  Truly a great listen and the Waratahs will benefit with Bladesy over the coming years

One of the most entertaining chats with a huge character of the game. Inge Visser is on the rise, coaching the Presidents XV in this years Super W competition and was appointed as Coaching Intern for the Wallaroos.   We chatted about her experience playing rugby for the first time as a 19 year old in the Islands in the Netherlands and her journey to professional player, moving to Australia, playing country rugby and driving 5 hours to get to Waratahs training. We got a great insight into her coaching style and her ability to bring groups together and the emphasis on the group dynamic and the skills required to be successful at the high level.   There are some great stories in here and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing rugby from a completely different, non traditional starting point that flowed into a life long passion

Loved this chat with 'Woody' aka Stu Woodhouse whose coached professionally over the last 20 years in England, Australia and the Phillipines, winning Premierships and scoring titles multiple times. His current role is as the Director of Rugby at The Kings School in Sydney.  We talked through his experiences building teams, culture and bringing people together from diverse backgrounds through rugby and how much effort he puts into the love and care of the players to get the outcomes on the field.   

Former Wallaby, Waratah, Western Force player, Commentator, volunteer and all round good bloke Cam Shepherd gives us a great insight into rugby from a players perspective. We chatted about Cam's rise through to the Wallabies including what it's like for a young kid to be training alongside your idol - in his case Matt Burke and his perspective on coaching under coaches like Ewen McKenzie, Eddie Jones, Laurie Fisher, John Connolly, Andy Friend, Robbie Deans and particularly the need for individual feedback and improvement.  Cam talks about the support from some of his coaches to let him have the freedom to try things and the importance of that in developing skills.  Theres even a few inner sanctum experiences like meeting Prince William and John Howard thrown in there for good measure

Campbell is the current Head Coach of the Waratahs Womens Championship winning SuperW team. He's been a driving force in the Womens XVs game both in the High Performance side and through his Club Eastern Suburbs. This is a great story fo a person who invested themselves in the game playing , coaching, volunteering on the Eastern Suburbs board and his journey from player to 1st Grade Coach to Super W winning coach.  We chatted about his coaching experiences and the need for more opportunities for the female athletes at the top of their game.

Great Podcast with Pauli just a couple of days before he was announced as the incoming NSW Waratahs Forwards coach Fantastic insight into Coaching with Pauliasi as he talks through what he learned from his father, his time playing at St Josephs', playing alongside Wallabies like Phil Waugh and his journey to Head Coach at Eastern Suburbs.  We dive into his coaching style, the importance of relationships and connection with players, the need for controlled quality communication and plenty of the art of coaching.  Great podcast for aspiring coaches

Great chat with Garry Walsh a massive character and driving force of Rugby in New England & Central North as the Development Manager.  We chatted about how Gary Ella started his life long obsession with Rugby, being coached by former Wallaby Coach Greg Smith, what and who drive rugby in the Central North, his non-negotiables for successful coaching and a whole lot more. Enjoy 

Struggling to juggle the challenges of club v school footy, as well as the tyranny of distance in North West ,NSW Central North and Armidale juniors teamed up with clubs to find a solution. In this podcast we talk to Central North Jnr President Renee Parks and local NSW Development legend Gary Walsh to learn how they grew youth rugby numbers from 200 to 1900 participants in 3 years. By thinking outside of the box and having a clear vision to do whatever needed to get more kids playing rugby, this region made Friday Night Rugby Night. By allowing schools and clubs to play in the same comps, and hosting rounds in each of the towns rather than just Tamworth, competition administrators made it easy to play. As they say, 'build it and they will come', and come they have, with numbers growing from under 200 players in 2017 to 1966 in 2020, including an increase of 450 players during Covid.    

As Grassroots rugby answers the call to invest more in to the game, Rugby Foundations have become a common companion in our landscape. Today we talk about the big three in Rugby Foundations - who between them have raised and invested over $2m over the last two years. Learn how these three relatively new organisations work together to complement each other and support rugby at different level's. Join Peter Murphy from the Australian Rugby Foundation and Peter Whittington and Paula Ward from the Rugby Club Foundation, and understand how they work with us at the Positive Rugby Foundation to support rugby. A lot of Foundations, a lot of passion for the game and a lot of money that is being poured in to turning rugby around.

For many of us in the rugby community who are use to spending this time of year surrounded by our mates at our rugby club, physical isolation is a strange new world and one which has implications for both our physical and mental wellbeing.   In this episode we hear from Nic Brown the CEO of youth mental health organisation batyr. Nic has some great tips for both our own mental health and how to keep and eye out for friends and family   batyr is a fantastic organisation which the Positive Rugby Foundation and NSW Rugby have partnered with for over two years to support our rugby communities. Their positive and relatable messages help us work together to smash the stigma around mental health.   We hope this episode helps you look after both yourselves and those important to you during these challenging times.   Find out more on batyr out at batyr.com.au or follow @batyraus on social.

Rio, 2016, and a Gold Medal to our famous Girls Sevens team, changed the trajectory of womens rugby and sport for womens in general. Fast forward three years and I hardly think anyone in the rugby community would believe that a Saturday night tournament could have attracted 700 female participants and was on track for continued growth in 2020. We speak to Michelle Nisbet, herself a early pioneer of the womens game and previously the SJRU Girls Rugby director about this amazing storey of growth and fun, and what rugby is capable of when everyone works together for a common goal.  Whether you are a player, parent of just love a good storey in the current climate, this episode is a testament to the power and potential of the womens game.

For many young players in NSW, COVID 19 has interrupted dreams of representing NSW, of Country and State Championships, rep rugby at its best and some awesome kit. And for every child set back in suspended anticipation, there are parents trying to provide hope as to what might come in the remainder of the year. In this episode we speak to NSWJRU President Ben Gregory to hear it straight from the horses mouth and provide as much information as possible for players and parents on potential competitions and pathways in 2020. Ben offers some great information in here, and whilst it may not be finite, it provides a hope for rugby and consolation for players that they will be provided every opportunity to be seen and continue their representative pathways.  

While some people are saying rugby is dying, Mosman Subbies have had their best year on record, not only winning premierships but more importantly fielding no less than 10 teams of rugby enthusiast of all levels. In doing so, they have created a vibrant community based on the amateur spirit of the game and in doing so provide individuals and families with the benefits of physical activity, social connection and a sense of belonging and family. Listen to new Club President Tom Jeavons -Fellows as he outlines some of the key elements in creating this success as well as heralding the amazing values of rugby for young and old. A great listen for anyone involved in Subbies rugby or imply anyone that loves rugby at its purest.