Have belief and trust it will work

Coach to coach

Steve Hill puts the questions to Greg Nicholls, below, head coach at Blackburn RUFC in Regional 1 North West

Why did you get into coaching rugby and how did you arrive at your current position?

I was coming to the end of my playing career and I knew a few lads at Blackburn. They were asking if I’d be interested in playing and doing some coaching. That fitted in to what I was looking to do and I have now been here for seven years.

What is your profession outside of coaching rugby?

I work as a doctor.

How would you describe your style of coaching?

I try and coach in a way that I would enjoy. I have had coaches who have had different approaches in the past and try to take bits that I think worked from them. It is important to be honest with the lads and be fair. I tend to have short sessions but at a high intensity.

What do you find the most challenging aspects of coaching?

Not being able to be on the pitch still and influence things. It is tough when you can see something but can’t make the call/decision at the time.

Has anyone inspired you on your coaching journey?

I have been exposed to a number of different coaches over the years and can remember Phil Larder, the old England defence coach, taking sessions for the north of England when I was 15, and more latterly Brian Ashton when I was at Fylde. They were both innovative in their style and thoughts.

How do you foster a positive team culture?

There is lots of work not rugby related to a positive club. The lads are getting up for work, coming training and not getting home until after 9pm twice a week. Then being away on a Saturday, often with family and other commitments. It is really important to get involvement from their non-rugby side as well. We want their families to be part of the club. We try and engage all the squads at training and have club events to get everyone together.

Blackburn RUFC have finished close to promotion in the last two seasons. What changes are you making to get to the top spot?

We have tried to implement a slightly different way of playing. It’s been close over the last few years and came down to points difference on one occasion.

As a coach if you moved up to level 4 what challenges would this create and how might you deal with them?

If we were to be promoted it does put a challenge to the club as a whole. Getting a footing in the league and staying there would be the first goal. For the players it can be a real challenge as you can go from winning nearly every game to possibly having to deal with more losses and adapting to better teams.

A regular observation is that current young adult rugby players are not as committed or resilient as previous players. What is your experience and how do you potentially address this situation?

Participation is tough for clubs across the country. It does seem like the sport as a whole has an issue to address to keep the game going at grass roots. There are also not enough referees. From a club point of view we have to try and make the place an enjoyable place to be and somewhere players want to train and play.

What two laws or aspects of the game would you change to make it a better experience?

First, if a team doesn’t compete at a lineout I don’t think it should matter if it is thrown straight or not. And second, I have never got to being a fan of the goal-line drop out – the attacking team can have pressure to be held up. Defensive team drops out and if you knock on suddenly from putting the opposition under lots of pressure, penalties building, yellow card potentially coming, they get to relieve all of that and get possession back near halfway!

What advice would you give to anyone considering or just starting to get involved in coaching rugby?

Stick to what you believe in and trust it will work. Sometimes people can overreact to a loss and suddenly try and change everything. It can take all of pre-season to make some changes to how you play. When you only train for a couple of hours per week it doesn’t give you lots of times to be making big changes to aspects of the game.