'Having played the game for a few years doesn't make you a good coach' - Brock James on resharpening Ospreys' attacking talons
It wasn’t until Brock James boarded his connecting flight from Singapore to Paris that the magnitude of what he had signed up for hit him harder than a freight train. The French announcements crackled over the tannoy, but they might as well have been in Swahili.
Buckled up in the cabin, James realised how alien his new world would be, how he had plunged himself and his wife-to-be into the unknown with a one-year contract at Clermont in the industrial centre of France.
Nearly fifteen seasons later, James left France this summer, bringing down the curtain on a sparkling playing career to join Toby Booth’s revamped Ospreys coaching staff. He departed as one of the most iconic and skilled pivots to grace the Top 14. He will forever be linked inextricably to Clermont, the swaggering play-maker with the fingerless mitts propelling his team to the summit of European rugby.
“My first year, in 2006-07, we made the Top 14 final and we should have won it,” James tells RugbyPass. “From that first year, very quickly it just became about winning. I didn’t want to move on. There was always just that drive.
“It took four years to win the Top 14, another few to get to the Champions Cup final, and then another few more to get back there. It was that drive of winning, to get so close and not quite get there.
“It was frustrating each time we fell short but each time we learned something new and grew from it. I think that helped drive us. It is tough obviously to get so far and not come away with victories but we believed it was controllable and we did move forward from them.”
For ten years, James served the braying masses of the Marcel-Michelin. Their road to the Top 14 crown was fraught and arduous – three losing finals on the bounce, before glory in 2010. Their route to a Champions Cup triumph was more brutal still and ultimately impassable. Semi-final defeat followed final despair. It was to be their white whale.
James was one of Vern Cotter’s first signings as the gruff Kiwi took charge in 2006. The fly-half needed a move, John Mitchell having made it blindingly clear that he would seldom feature for the Wester Force back home in Australia. He and Cotter grew together, moulding a continental powerhouse.
“When I look at Clermont now, I see the infrastructure that Vern put in place still exists today,” James says. “He was a hard taskmaster and he really expected a lot from boys. I don’t think he changed too much from the beginning to the end but we went through a lot and we learned along the way.
“His detail around every part of the game, he was across everything, defence, attack, backs, forwards. He was 100% buy-in, so if he expected something of the players, he expected it of himself and his coaching group as well.”
The challenge for James, whose final season at La Rochelle was curtailed by the spreading pandemic, is to extract the great wealth of rugby data from his mental hard drives and deliver them to his squad.
Great players do not necessarily make great coaches. James is a cerebral, free-thinking customer, but he is a baby in coaching terms. Reinvigorating the Ospreys will take all of his nous.
“I want to be someone who encourages players to express themselves, help them discover situations and be comfortable in making choices,” he says. “I want to build up skill levels so that guys in different situations can make their own decisions but technically be able to execute.
“I like to tap into my experience and how I see things, but know that individuals don’t all feel and see things the same way. That’s something that I can transfer into coaching, you need to be open and listen and as a coach some of the best teachings you can give is being open to them and learning from the players themselves.
“Having played the game for a few years doesn’t make you a good coach. Learning from a guy like Toby, who has been around for a while, done pretty much all the coaching jobs, it was a perfect opportunity to join the Ospreys. And I want to figure out how I’m going to get all my rugby knowledge across to players as a coach, which is not easy.”
In an era where collision is king and defensive bludgeon reigns, this task is all the more difficult. At times, the game resembles a chess match with 120KG pieces. The role of the attack coach is vital.
“You need a team that’s adaptable,” James says. “During the game you need to be able to change the way that you want to play. That is a very hard thing to do, to get to a point where you’re capable of changing your style of play mid-game.
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“You want to be in a position where you can dictate the play more with ball in hand than the defence dictating the attack. Everybody is stronger and faster, so there is a massive importance on game managers.
“And recognising momentum is one of the biggest things. When you lose your go-forward, you need to find a way to get it back. That comes back to what I want to encourage, decision-making in players, to equip them with the skills they need to find those decisions.
“I want to put them in as many situations as possible so that they see an opportunity and execute a skill instead of seeing opportunities and letting them go by because they are a bit risky. I want my players to be brave. That bravery is already starting to pay off for us this season, but the execution needs to be there.”
The Ospreys of the here and now are a pale shadow of the galacticos James faced back in the region’s glory days, the teams of Jerry Collins, Justin Marshall, Tommy Bowe, James Hook and Shane Williams. The teams of trophies and glamour and wealth.
Last season, the Ospreys finished bottom of PRO14 Conference A. They mustered two wins from 15 games and their points difference was -170. How the mighty have fallen.
Already, the improvement is stark. The Ospreys still have such colossal luminaries as Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, George North and Justin Tipuric; they have brought back Rhys Webb from France and Mat Protheroe from Bristol. They have a new wave of fearless young backs vying for selection.
“Proths just goes 100% the whole time; he’s been great for us and so has Keiran Williams,” James says. “Keelan Giles is coming back from injury. Joe Hawkins has just turned 18 and he’s played a couple of games for us and is pushing as well. It’s good to have guys with all the experience around him to learn from.
New Attack Coach Brock James casting a watchful eye over training today ???
ICYMI – you can catch Brock's first interview with Ospreys TV here ?
? https://t.co/eDASjPrkLr#OurBloodIsBlack pic.twitter.com/oT1eLQFwh5— Ospreys (@ospreys) July 31, 2020
“Josh Thomas at 10 has played when Stevie Myler’s needed a break. We’ve got nines in Harri Morgan and Reuben Morgan-Williams who have done a good job for us while Rhys Webb has been away. There is plenty of talent here and they are all really keen to learn and work hard.”
The coaching voyage has barely begun. James signed a three-year deal in Swansea and with all of his knowledge, leadership and street-smarts, he could prove a fabulous acquisition.
It seems almost destiny, though, that one day, someday, he should be back at the Marcel-Michelin, where he and Clermont came of age, patrolling the touchline he found for so many years with the raking sweep of his instep.
“I’ve come here with Toby for three years, that’s what I’m worried about at the moment, and developing myself as a coach,” he says. “We want to create an environment here where we can be successful and bring on some of these young kids. Beyond that, it’s a bit tough to project, but it would be nice story, wouldn’t it?”
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
76 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments