Warren is the kicking coach at Prem Rugby Club, Sale. He has played for Italy, Italy 7s, England u21s and England u18s. He has over 20 years experience in elite level rugby as a player and coach.

I am blown away with the coaches and athletes that have given me their time and insights on the Coaching Arena. These chats are gold, and this chat with Warren has completely changed my mindset on coaching and how I thought my son was results driven, when perhaps in hindsight, he isn't.

This was an incredible chat on developing people, players and as coaches.

We spoke of many things, including :

• Common coaching themes from juniors to elite level
• Inside out coaching, Transformational Coaching vs Transactional Coaching
• Understanding people and what motivates them and what players need
• Collaboration
• Superpowers of a player
• Being curious
• Minimum standards and the consistency of practice habits and skill challenges
• Mindset, routine and clarity
• The rewards of sport
• How you know you are making progress
• The importance of feedback loops
• Skill sets, not pigeon holing

I really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did and thanks very much for listening

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul is currently Head Coach of India Women's 7s, having previously coached South Africa Women's national rugby 7s team.

As a player, Paul played for the Lions and Stormers before focusing on rugby sevens, where he captained the Blitzboks and has won the IRB Sevens World Series. Paul also captained South Africa at u19 and u21 level and has won the IRB World Championships.

This was a brilliant chat, really focusing on the human element of coaching and understanding the why.

Paul has a huge amount of experience and shared his insights into coaching, speaking about :

• Care, Connection, Standards and Challenge
• Understanding the 'why'
• Showing the players you care and having a willingness to connect
• Putting the team first
• Nurturing a player's growth and development
• Outlining standards
• Passing on knowledge
• A coach doesn't need to have all the answers
• A team's immune system

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex is Head Coach of Sweden Men's rugby team, having previously been Scotland's Women's u20s Head Coach.

This was a brilliant chat, with Alex giving his insights on :

• The importance of a mentor in order for coaches to develop
• Understanding the player
• Connection with players and having open and honest dialogue
• Winning is important but results do not define a good coach
• Coaching in different environments
• Standards not rules
• Metrics to measure progress

I really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rod's CV speaks for itself. Rod is a former player for the Queensland Reds and Glasgow Warriors. He has also played for Australia in rugby sevens.

In March 2025, Rod signed with Irish side, Connacht Rugby as Senior Assistant Coach with responsibility for team attack. Prior to this, he was Head Coach of the Queensland Reds Academy, assistant coach at ACT Brumbies and in Nov24 coached the Australia XV on their UK tour.

This was an incredibly enlightening chat and I took so much from it. We spoke of many things, including :

• Always learning, learning from both good and bad coaches
• Knowing your audience
• Be it elite or learning, the best coaches are the ones that want to be there
• Facilitating the knowledge to the athletes so they can problem solve
• How to ask questions to get good learning
• Not always needing to have the answers, but you do need the logic to your thoughts
• The importance of body language, not just words
• Focusing on the growth, not the score
• The biggest mistake new coaches make
• A coach can learn from everyone, from u7 player to international athlete

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, I had the absolute privilege and joy to sit down and hear the views of Grand Slam Tennis player and coach, Sofia Shapatava.

This was an incredible chat as we spoke of many things, including :

• Patience
• The trust between a coach and athlete
• Understanding the individual
• How and when to give feedback
• Why the post match car journey home is so important
• Sport does not define the person
• The importance of embracing defeat, not dwelling on it
• Embracing the journey
• Avoiding burnout and maintaining your love of the game
• Quantity vs quality
• Always learning

I really hope you enjoyed this chat as much as I did.

Let me know what one lesson resonated most with you

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An incredibly enlightening chat, full of insights and advice from a highly talented coach.

We spoke of :

• Connecting and adapting to people and the situation
• Understanding your environment
• Engagement players
• Results vs Process
• The types of mistakes
• The how, not just the what - a coach's tone, body language and demeanour
• Treating players as humans, not machines

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rhys is a rugby coach at Saracens RFC academy and was previously at London Irish.

This was an incredibly insightful chat jam packed with advice on becoming a great coach

We spoke of :

• Understanding your players
• Falling in love with the process
• Goals, process and outcomes
• Core Values
• Becoming a professional rugby player
• Building connections
• Being open to changes and adapting
• Measuring progress
• Leadership

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott is the Women's head coach at Oxford University, founder of Rugby Allstars, professional rugby player at Chinnor and an academy coach at Bath.

This was such in inspiring chat, full of insights, experiences and knowledge that Scott passed on, including :

• Why it is the person first, then the player
• Being approachable to ALL players
• The sheer importance of honesty and consistency
• Taking opportunities.
• Despite setbacks, opportunities will still exist. It is the role of the coach to help provide solutions
• Having a leadership group
• Understanding your environment and finding your own way
• Creating an environment, culture and tools for players to excel in life, not just sport
• What three points create good culture

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim has played at the elite level across the world, including with Western Province, Sharks, Stormers, Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons, Saracens and Chicago Hounds.

Tim is embarking on his own coaching journey and it was brilliant to chat on many topics, including :

• What is the most underrated coaching skill
• What a coach looks for in a player
• What a player looks for in a coach
• The importance of a team's culture
• The process versus outcomes
• Dealing with individuals
• How do you know you are making progress

Thanks for listening and let me know what advice resonated most with you

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I learnt so many things in this chat as we spoke of many things, including :

• What makes a good coach
• What is a coach's ultimate goal
• What is the biggest responsibility a coach has
• The power of flexibility and communication
• The importance of being able to adjust
• Reframing performance, not results
• Why you should get it wrong to get it right
• Developing people by using rugby
• Short term goals, long term mission

I really hope you enjoyed and took as many things away as I did from this chat with Mike.

Thanks for listening and let me know what advice resonated most with you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.