Why being 'hugely dyslexic' hasn't thwarted new England assistant
New England scrum coach Tom Harrison has revealed his passion for rugby helped him overcome some of the challenges of living with dyslexia. The 32-year-old likens the learning difficulty, which mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling, to running a 100-metre race “but your lane has got hurdles in it”.
He would often lean on twin brother Sam for help during childhood but eased his literacy issues by devouring match-day programmes bought during trips to watch Premiership club Bath.
Harrison joined the national team from Leicester at the start of June to reunite with head coach Steve Borthwick and is tasked with ensuring the England forward pack is firing in time for the forthcoming World Cup.
“I’m hugely dyslexic, so found school hard,” he said. “If you don’t like doing something, the majority of the time you don’t do it and I wasn’t very good at reading.
“But then when you find a love for something, you’re like, ‘Okay, I can do this’. The bit for me was I found a love in rugby.
“I’m not saying had I not bought a match day programme or had I not bought a rugby magazine I would never have been able to read or write. But what it allowed me to do is hone other skills that were underdeveloped.”
People with dyslexia often have strengths in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem-solving. Harrison feels that could prove advantageous to his country during the upcoming showpiece tournament in France, which England begin on September 9 against Argentina in Marseille.
“You have to coach players equally but differently,” he said. “Everyone has a different way of retaining information. For me personally, I see it as a positive. It’s almost like you are in a 100-metre race but your lane has got hurdles in it.
“Over the course of growing up, I have developed different ways of thinking – some call it cognitive diversity. Sometimes they are brilliant ideas, sometimes they are horrendous but I probably think slightly outside the box to different people.
“I see that as a problem-solving tool, it can be very beneficial. (But) I’m not the biggest fan of writing on a whiteboard and people probably can’t read my notes!”.
Harrison replaced Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill in the England set-up by following Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick along the well-trodden path from Welford Road to Twickenham.
Having never played the game at the top level, he has taken a less conventional route into elite coaching. The former prop studied for a sports coaching degree at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire, where current England stars Jonny Hill and Ellis Genge were among his contemporaries.
Alongside teaching the game, he went on to play for French Pro D2 side Auch – Antoine Dupont’s club as a junior – and Plymouth Albion in the Championship.
“It’s a quick route in some aspects because I’m young but actually if you go career experience, I have been coaching for a long time,” said Harrison, who helped Leicester win the Gallagher Premiership title in 2022.
“I do have moments where I go, ‘Wow, I’ve got one of the coolest jobs in the world, I get to coach my country in a sport that I love’. But it’s very much you are then back down to work and actually let’s do the job rather than be in that honeymoon period.
“If we want to get England back to being one of the world’s best, then the scrum is an aspect where you do have to improve.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Tamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
1 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe 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?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 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 …
33 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
4 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!😭😭😭 !!!
33 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
33 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 comments