How to Improve Speed of Thought

I found this new game on the internet yesterday. “Hurling Cubed.” Its Hurling, but not as it should be, its not 15 aside, its not on grass, there is no goal-keeper, its not played with a real sliotar, and its not played with a full sized Hurl.
Its a wicked variation of the game played in [...]

How can you coach the things Alan Quinlan does?

Alan Quinlan played a massive part in Munster’s win over Toulouse at the weekend and in their run to the Heineken Cup Final.
Yet to notice this you have look at the small things he gets done. The counter-rucking, the sneaky drop-out in the second-half, The way he continuously niggled the opposition, [...]

Never Give Up…

 
It is hard to convince people that they should never give up. I think its a natural thing. An attitude. Some people have it, some don’t. Imagine you could get all your players to do commit like themselves like this..
 
Ignore the yellow card, he did what he had to do!

What has Sir Matt Busby got to do with Rugby?

I am reading Matt Busby’s biography at the moment.
Busby was a serious football manager. By serious I mean he was outrageously gifted in what he did. He transformed the landscape of British football and created a culture of family in Manchester United that still exists today.
As a player, Matt was a leader. Not through words, but through actions. [...]

Four Things Every Rugby Team can Improve…

 

Ball Presentation. In the tackle, ruck and maul.
Restarts. Kicking and receiving.
Communication. In attack and defence.
Attitude. Enthusiasm and commitment can never be over-valued. 

 

Never Over-Engineer a Rugby Drill.

Had a ding on the car last week. Damaged the front bumper pretty badly. I dropped it into Richie, Leixlip’s finest panel-beater. Richie is a great man. If it can be fixed he will get it done, and the car looks better than even before the tip. He’s good value too.
This time though, Richie couldn’t [...]

Ian McGeechan – Why he is the Lions Coach..

Ian McGeechan is the Lions coach for the 2009 tour to South Africa. That means no spin, no ice chambers, no 52 man squads, no ludicrous back-up team, no test team selected pre-tour, no worn-out cliches, no disillusioned column-ghosting fringe players.
By default he is the best man for the job. But [...]

David Knox’s Interview on Irish Rugby, Kidney, Eddie, O’Gara and How It Should Be…

David Knox (no.10) had a good blow-out at Irish Rugby before heading for Dublin Airport today. Read his rant here. No one is spared. There was a bit of media flurry, Leinster released a press statement distancing themselves from his comments and Michael Cheika had to go onto Newstalk106 to smooth things out for the blazers. [...]

Play Rugby with two Hands!

It seems like a such a remarkably small detail but playing rugby with two hands creates huge opportunity for players in a match. Two hands on the ball puts doubt in the opposition’s mind. It also forces the ball carrier, in a good way, to quickly assess his options as they approach an oncoming tackle. [...]

Save your Lineout by focusing your Hooker…

Not everyone is cut out to play Hooker. Hookers need to be adaptable. They’re grunts, angry grunts who do mainly grunt work. But they are grunts who, similarly to a 9, 10 or place-kicker, can potentially kill a game if they do not perform their additional task to the grunting.
The Lineout.
Success in the lineout is [...]