Five up-and-coming coaches to keep an eye on
In the wake of Jim Mallinder’s departure from Northampton Saints on Tuesday, the rumour mill has whirred into action around the coaches that could potentially fill the void left at Franklin’s Gardens.
The usual names have all been mentioned, with Mike Ford, Stuart Lancaster and Jake White all linked with the vacancy.
Any of the three could do a fine job but are they the men Northampton want to build around long-term?
The likes of Johan Ackermann and Pat Lam are highly-prized coaches and seem to combine the four key characteristics that club’s want in head coaches and/or directors of rugby. They are innovative, they have an attacking mindset, they are experienced, and they are great team-builders.
With this in mind, we thought we would take a look at five up-and-coming coaches who, whilst not having the experience of Lam or Ackermann, do tick the other boxes.
They might not be the prestigious names that Northampton will have in mind for this role, but they are talented rugby coaches who are worth keeping an eye on over the coming years.
Tom Williams, Harlequins
The former Harlequins player has been on the coaching staff at the club for the last two years and, as Academy Transition Coach, played a key role in moulding the Quins side that won the U18 Academy League last season.
He has helped develop budding stars like Marcus Smith, Gabriel Ibitoye and Joe Marchant and the rugby IQ of the players coming out of the Quins academy is a testament to his ability as a coach.
Joe Shaw, Saracens
Alex Sanderson and Kevin Sorrell rightfully get their praise for helping mastermind Saracens’ march to the top, but what about skills coach Shaw?
The club may be in a wretched run of form right now, but has there been a northern hemisphere side in the professional era that so effectively and so consistently executes the basic skills as well as Saracens? He has clearly had a marked effect, alongside Sorrell, on Saracens’ attacking proficiency over the last few years and would be quite the coup for any side looking for an attack or head coach.
Richard Whiffin, Gloucester
Whiffin, the head of Gloucester’s academy, has had the Gloucester U18 side playing fast, clinically and with no shortage of skill, and is another example of why academy coaches have so many of the qualities that clubs seem to want in their senior coaches.
Academy coaches can’t go out and sign players for their academy, they have to develop and make the most of the talent they have at their disposal. Many of them are excellent candidates as “team-builders” and whilst not being flashy names, they could do excellent jobs if given a chance.
Chim Gale, Worcester Warriors
Another academy manager, Gale has helped turn Worcester’s academy into one of the most productive in the Premiership and has helped produce talents like Jack Singleton, Jamie Shillcock and Will Butler, as well prospects like Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence, who will make their marks in the coming years.
Gale has experiencing playing and coaching in 7s, something which is becoming a much more valued attribute in prospective senior coaches.
Mark Laycock, Newcastle Falcons
A largely unheralded figure in Newcastle’s dramatic improvements over the last few seasons, Laycock holds the dual role of academy manager and senior skills coach at the Falcons.
As with Shaw and Saracens, the uptick in Newcastle’s ability to execute skills in offensive situations has a lot to do with Laycock and he should be a highly coveted coach for any club looking to develop their attacking game.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments