If rugby coaching was just about 90 minutes of coaching, perhaps twice a week and a game on Saturday, then it would be easy.

Add to that analysis, selection and planning and then the time mounts up.

But it is always the case that you actually spend as much time “coaching rugby” as you do being a mini psycho-analyst.

Take for instance the revelations this week about Gareth Thomas and his sexuality. It was an open secret amongst a number of people in rugby circles. As such, the open announcement was no surprise to some, but obviously a shock to others. He confided in his coach at the time, who was able to give some advice and support.

I have played against an openly gay rugby team and once we started the game, it was a game of rugby and no one cared. Just because you are a man, it doesn’t mean another gay man automatically fancies you. The game is great leveler and is full of fun characters who happily see the ridiculous within themselves.

As a coach, you have to deal with various personal issues for the players. Sometimes you have little involvement and it might be good to keep it that way. However, whether you seek the role or not, you are likely to become a source of counselling for other players.

The more you can empathise, the easier it is to communicate with the players. The more you can study the way the mind works, the better coach you will be. It may be better to spend time on the “mental” coaching of players than the tactical and technical.

Here is an article written just before the 2007 World Cup.

It was written by Spiro Zavos September 7th 2007 in the Roar. The sentiments make for interesting reading.
Clive Woodward is one of only five coaches who worked out how to win the Rugby World Cup.

In ‘The Times’ he has given his 10 Commandments on ‘How To Win The World Cup.’

1. You need the whole game behind you. 2. Try to arrive as favourites. 3. Experience. 4. Playing in your own hemisphere and particularly your own country 5. A settled team. 6. A tried and trusted way of playing. 7. Leadership 8. The need for world class people in support of the players. 9. Deal with the energy sappers and the termites. 10. Totally understand your opposition.

These 10 Commandments are very similar to the 7 Factors that I described in ‘Watching The Rugby World Cup‘: Home ground advantage, Capabilities of the Coach, Chemistry of the side, Quality of the first five-eighth, Leadership qualities of the captain, Kind of game played, Momentum.

Woodward points to the build-up by the All Blacks, 38 wins out of their last 43 tests as being similar to that of England in 2003 with their 35 test wins in their 40 games going into the 2003 RWC, as the factor that makes them favourites to win the Webb Ellis trophy: ‘In most sports, favourites tend to win.’

However, he says that being favourites does put a team under huge pressure: ‘I await with interest to see whether New Zealand can withstand it.’

‘The big danger,’ Woodward suggests, ‘comes from France.’ And also the Wallabies: ‘Australia will not be afraid of New Zealand on neutral ground so an All Black triumph is not a foregone conclusion.’

If you had forty seconds with any player, what would you do to make them a better player?

Well, it does depend on so many factors, like how much you know the player.

But let’s say you have never met him or her before. You know the standard of rugby they play and what position they are.

Would it be a tactical, technical or conditioning thought?

I think that I would use none of the above. Instead I would work on giving them a method of thinking about their own game and how they approach it. It could help them build on something they have already, or something they might consider anew.

I would ask one quick question and then give my reply based on that answer.

As the week unfolds I will say more about this.

An injured player is damaged physically and mentally.

There are plenty of sites and people who can help fix the player physically, but what can we do as coaches to help the mental anguish.

An injury leads to a number of mental states, which can go from despair to denial to realisation.

Avoiding psycho babble at this stage, you have to empathise with the situation first. Then you need to reassure the player about coming back to play.

It is such a crucial area of man management which is often left to quick words at rushed moments which can exacerbate the player’s emotional state. More on this area in the next few weeks.

From Wednesday through to Sunday, I coached, watched and refereed rugby every day. Not unusual, but I thought I would draw breath to reflect on the three things I learned over those days.

1. Competitive nature is a force on the edge of good
2. Coaching is sometimes sudden
3. Refereeing is a thankless task, despite the thanks

Train as you play is a motto of a number of coaches. It adds pressure and motivates players to work harder. Older players may find themselves “cheating” in training to gain an advantage. How far you go to stop that is an interesting ethical debate.

More worrying, the over competitive child, who cannot control his edge. It can make him win the 50:50 possession, break a tackle, drive over to score. However he can find it difficult to accept losing. This manifests itself in arguing over decisions, whether they are right or wrong.

Striking the balance, for young and old, is a tricky coaching dilemma. Better to be in that situation than have no edge. Hard to manage though.

More on points 2 and 3 over the next few days.

Here is an excellent piece from Voxy, a New Zealand website.

All Blacks Need ‘Full Monty’ Not Marvin The Robot Home ›

Dave Griffith Monday, 14 September, 2009 – 13:48

What has Graham Henry got in common with Marvin the Paranoid Android and General Montgomery? He is all ‘Marvin’ and no ‘Monty’.

In the North African desert during the Second World War, the British 8th Army was on the verge of collapse. The Germans and Italian Afrika Korps under Rommel had driven them back to the Egyptian border. The 8th Army’s men and equipment were as good as the Africa Korps, but they were weak in leadership. None of their previous commanders could outsmart Rommel, and troop morale was low. Plans were already being made to retreat down the Nile River.

The British commanders did a better job of talking up Rommel than Goebbels did, which was quite an achievement. How were soldiers supposed to win when their commanders at all levels kept praising the opposition?

In stepped Montgomery. He wasn’t the first or second choice for the job, but in he came. Immediately he announced that there would be no more retreat. The army would stand and fight where they stood at El Alamein. He set about getting better equipment from the Americans and trained his men in his simple battle plan. Knowing the attack would be renewed soon, he had to get his army to hold the line, and hold it they did. This gave self belief. More men and equipment came in and when the 1000 gun barrage opened up on the Afrika Korps three months later, the 8th Army drove them back all the way to final defeat in Tunisia.

They were not as tactically brilliant as the Afrika Korps, but they played to their strengths and that was good enough to grind out a win. Monty had his faults but his men loved him for believing in them and guiding them to victory.

Douglas Adams gave us Marvin the paranoid android, the ever depressed comical presence in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Marvin’s problem was that he was so smart that he got depressed that he only got to ever use a fraction of his intellectual capacity.

Graham Henry used to be a bit like that. He always gave the impression that he had super intelligence when it came to rugby coaching. Being forced to explain his plans to the media and grass roots rugby fans in terms we could understand was an unnecessary hardship for him. How could mere mortals hope to understand his brilliance?

Graham backed up his ‘superior airs’ with results. Four years ago the All Blacks were the undisputed masters of World Rugby. Then came rotation and conditioning in abundance. Critical voices were swatted away. The Quarter Final exit at the 2007 World Cup should have spelt the end for Henry but he was reappointed. Now two years down the track the All Blacks find themselves comprehensively knocked off the top perch.

Graham has allowed himself to slide into a Marvin like state of fatalistic depression. It took Marvin thousands of years to perfect his depressed state. Graham has achieved it in less than a year. Previously it took Graham months to admit that there was the possibility he had got something wrong. Now he is admitting it at half time in a test match. When it gets to that stage it is no wonder the All Blacks have no confidence left in the game plan. They were out their trying their hardest and the white flag was already being raised.

Faced with defeat the All Blacks threw out the plan and had a go. They almost pulled it off too. I have seen that before in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The Welsh team coached by Hansen claimed they had no faith in the game plan and went out and had a crack at the All Blacks as a team, only losing in the last 10 minutes.

The All Blacks have the talent but they have been over drilled and tied up in knots. The coaches and Captain spend more time talking up the opposition than ever before in our rugby history. When the focus is on the opposition then we are stuffed before we start.

The High Command at NZRFU needs to admit that the current coaching set-up is no longer working. They need to have the courage to appoint a ‘Montgomery’ style coach. He was a nobody plucked from ‘left field’ who transformed a beaten army into a winning one by believing in them, giving them a battle plan that played to their strengths and training them to carry it out.

Peter de Villiers for all his theatrics has done just that. He has created a good team environment, with a game plan the players believe in, and the results have come.

There are good coaches in New Zealand rugby who would do a better job than the current set-up. It is time one of them was given a chance.

Playing Donald out of position at second five echoed past position switch failures like Christian Cullen at centre in the 1999 World Cup and Leon MacDonald at centre in the 2003 World Cup. Steven Donald wasn’t experienced enough for the second five role. There are a number of good second fives in kiwi rugby, but instead we put in a player out of position. This gave the Springboks an instant weak link to exploit – which they did.

Graham, when I listen to you and all I hear is Marvin the robot telling me how great the Springboks are and what the All Blacks failed to do. It signals that its time you went and coached Italy.

For the All Blacks fans we need to see the ‘Full Monty’. Give us a coach who believes in his players and the core values of All Black rugby. We don’t care if he hasn’t coached Wales before, we just want someone who believes they can win and has got a plan to achieve it. Like the players we will follow. Win or lose it has got to be better than this.

When Dan Carter returned to All Black colours a couple of weeks ago, he made a difference. A big difference.

If you are wholly concerned with results, you know you want your best players on the field to win your games. Imagine South Africa without Montgomery, Smit and Matfield in 2007, or England without Wilkinson, Johnson and Hill in 2003.

Carter was injured in the French domestic season and was not fit until after the All Blacks returned empty handed from South Africa. Whatever the talent in New Zealand, he adds something extra. For the sake of the All Blacks, he needs to be fit.

But he can’t play all the time and he certainly cannot be played when he is half fit. Hence, a dilemma.

Last night I watched my local team limber up for their first match of the league season. I know they have a couple of key players back and training. If they stay fit, then who knows. Last season, close games slipped away in their absence. What can the coach do? Give them some weeks off to keep them fresh and injury free – madness perhaps.

I would contend that the bravest coach rotates for a long term campaign. He keeps more players interested and makes it easier to fill in the gaps when there are genuine injuries. Only at the end of the season does he go for broke. However it might be too late by then…it makes for an interesting strategy.

Research in a leading sports journal suggests that an aggressive player in youth sport is likely to come from a team that is aggressive.

If it is the norm for the team to do it, so will the individual. The research also highlights a positive link between the nature of the coach and aggressive behaviour.

It suggests that the team member can take on some of the personna of the coach. If they have a tendency to aggression, this excerbates any agressive behaviour already in the player, perhaps making it worse.

Individual, Team, and Coach Predictors of Players’ Likelihood to Aggress in Youth Soccer
Graig M. Chow, Kristen E. Murray, Deborah Feltz
pages 425–443
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology
Volume 31, Issue 4 (August 2009)

The rugby world never sleeps. There is always some rugby being practised or played every day of the year.

I am in the UK, so we are counting down to the start of the season. It seems strange since the Lions have only just got back, the Tri Nations is in full flow, as well as Currie Cups and other competitions around the world.

Last week I was on the road a lot, hence no blogs, and I managed to interview some very interesting people. Their thoughts will be coming out soon, but what struck was the clarity of their vision. Simple ideas, constructive sessions and player focused.

Here are a couple of thoughts for those counting down to the season, or those looking for something a little different:
1. If there is one skill you could improve now, what would it be?
Think about the detail of that skill, think how you might want to improve it. In exercising that skill and putting it into game situations, the players will benefit from a detailed approach AND all the complementary skills that go with it. Handling needs footwork, balance and decision making. Tackling needs footwork, balance and decision making. A handling drill needs tackling to make it real. And so you are working on the detail, the game and the core skills.
2. How well do you know your players?
Can you find something new about each player that you never knew before? By asking the question and being genuinely interested in the answer, you build another bridge to their thoughts and learning.
3. Can you increase the players activity time in training by 10%?
Over a 90 minute session, it is possible to make the players work for 9 minutes more than a normal session. How? First, cut in half the time you spend explaining and feeding back. Put the drills up on a board before the session. Feed back during the drill to individuals. Finish with a succinct round up and move on. Second, put all the water and kit centrally, so there is no need to go so far to fetch anything. Third allocate groupings before training starts. It might be several combinations, like groups of eight or pairs, or teams for the final game.
Do this and you will find 9 minutes of extra activity, if you are not doing this already!

Don’t be fooled into thinking that players know what they are doing. Most don’t, they just follow orders.

Well, you wish they did follow orders, but sometimes they forget them altogether, and make even more horrendous mistakes.

And then, just when you think they might be progressing to the next level, someone on a coaching course tells you that you should be using more “game sense” exercises. You go back, tear up the rule book and watch as the players become even more confused.

Game sense is the fancy term for playing “football”, a term I knew when I was starting out playing first class rugby. The “footballer” knew when to pass, kick or run because he played what was in front of him, rather than keeping rigidly to a set of rules.

Introducing game sense sessions to more established players and coaches can be difficult. They prefer the drill-based nature of training, where the drills neatly lead to players moving evenly around the stations over a period of time.

There is no harm in that. It creates repetitive situations allowing players to hone their skills in different environments. Many drills are game related and are arguable already game sense in their nature. A 2 v 1 drill is a good example.

However, the game sense approach is more subtle than that. Instead, players have to make a multiple range of decisions based on a number of factors. These factors are plucked directly from game situations. Interestingly you don’t need to have just purely rugby related situations to help communication, footwork and handling.

But the key to all this: there are lots of right answers and plenty of probably wrong answers. The best players EVALUATE the best options and execute them accurately and on time.

I helped select the final 30 boys for this year’s Osprey U16 squad for the winter 2009 campaign yesterday.

The process is not quite over because we had a trial match which was videod, so that footage needs to be reviewed.

We all know the most difficult part of the process: telling the boys who didn’t make the selection. No amount of the good words and advice can quite remove the disappointment felt.

Deciding on the marginal players is the most taxing part of the selection meeting. The good ones take little time to decide on. It is the “third” hooker or scrum half who vexes minds the most.

We are lucky this year. We have been coaching these boys since January. They have already been through one trial match, plus an intensive six week training programme. Another trial match yesterday confirmed a number of things, plus just tipped the balance for some others.

However, we must not forget that it is game. The pleasure of human movement, of the contest, and the camaraderie is delicately intertwinned in all this. If these players stop smiling then I am not sure it is all worth it.

Rugby, like all sports, is about respect. It is about comradeship and belief.

When Bakkies Botha was banned because he had charged into a ruck and subsequently injuryed Adam Jones, there was plenty of debate on whether it was right or wrong.

Forget personal opinion. The powers that control the game decided it was wrong.

What use is the armband?

It purely inflames the situation. It shows that there is no respect to the processes involved. It says to anyone that plays the game, “don’t respect the authority”. If you don’t like the decision, then there are proper channels to follow.

The World Cup winners, and winners of this series need to take responsibilty for these actions, because they have an impressionable impact on the game.

There are two issues in world rugby that most vex coaches at the top level: the breakdown and the scrum.

Each referee interprets the breakdown differently. Many commentators say that referees “guess” the infringements at the scrum engagement.

Therefore you need to pick a team that will win the game given what the referee will do, and not necessarily what the opposition will do.

The Lions have picked a front row that will scrummage, but not destroy the South Africans. What is the point of destroying a scrum if the referee ignores this and resets the scrum every time.

They have picked a pack that will get to the breakdown quickly, so there is less chance of the ball being stolen.

So though the likes of Gethin Jenkins (loosehead) and Wallace (openside) have been on great form, their selection meets those criteria perfectly.

Here is an interesting video from the US on tackle mechanics. It is also has a tip on weightlifting to prevent rugby injuries.

I have been editing a piece on nonverbal communication and decided to research some of the data. I found a couple of articles which show that nonverbal communication might not be as important a concept that some of the courses or communicators tell us.

The big myth about nonverbal communication
By Kim Harrison,
Consultant, Author and Principal of www.cuttingedgepr.com

You have probably heard this type of statement: “Effective personal communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice and only 7% content of the words you use.” This is an actual quote from a website.

These percentages are used over and over by communication consultants, body language ‘experts,’ media interview trainers, speech delivery coaches and HR instructors. How comforting it must be for them to quote such exact and scientific figures when this type of information is usually quite general or occurs in the narrow confines of an experiment.

Unfortunately, the figures are just an urban myth. For example, when you think about it, the words in personal communication logically should carry much more weight than a mere 7%. But this formula has been twisted and distorted, and has become a factoid, which is a false statement asserted as a fact.

Regrettably, the 7% 38% 55% statements continue to pop up in published works:

“Only 7 percent of face-to-face communication is actual words.”
“Studies in communication have shown that the verbal aspect – the basic content – only comprises 7% of the total message that we send or another person receives.”
“One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Another study indicated that the impact of a performance was determined 7 percent by the words used, 38 percent by voice quality, and 55 percent by the nonverbal communication.”
Do a Google search and you can find variations on the same statement in many locations.

So, what is the truth?
The two original research projects on which this information is based, actually found something decidedly different. UCLA psychologist, Dr Albert Mehrabian, and fellow researchers came up with quite narrow and limited findings, as many research projects do, in their experiments going back to 1967.

The findings only relate to inconsistent communication – where contradictory messages are being conveyed simultaneously by words and other behaviors of a speaker. We may express something verbally while our facial expressions, postures and positions, tone of voice or gestures indicate the opposite.

Further, the findings only relate to an audience that doesn’t know the speaker, apply in situations in which “the cues are limited to feeling (pleasure, arousal, dominance) and like/dislike,” according to Dr Mehrabian (he only tested 9 words in the original experiment).

As a communicator by profession I was determined to find out what the facts were, and so I went to the trouble of buying Mehrabian’s book, Silent Messages, directly from him. Sure enough, Mehrabian’s claims were much more modest than the sweeping conclusions many others have drawn from his work.

He said, “Is there a systematic and coherent approach to resolving the general meaning or impact of an inconsistent message? [my emphasis] Indeed there is. Our experimental results show: “Total liking = 7% verbal liking + 38% vocal liking + 55% facial liking” [page 76]

“This can also be: “Total feeling = 7% verbal feeling + 38% vocal feeling + 55% facial feeling” [page 77]

“These assertions…are limited to feelings (pleasure, arousal, dominance) and like-dislike.” [page 79]

But “Numerical values in this equation are only approximate.” [page 77] “Implicit cues have about 12 times the power of verbal cues.” [page 78]

“In a recorded message or phone conversation, if the vocal expression happens to contradict the words, then the former determines the total impact. This can work either way: the words may be positive and the vocal expression negative, or the vocal expression may be positive and the words negative.” [page 76]

“Obviously implicit expressions are not always more important than words,” stated Dr Mehrabian on page 79. Implicit communication deals mainly with feelings and like/dislike or attitudes.

In many conversations, implicit messages are not even present, eg “I will meet with you at 2 pm next Wednesday.” However, if you say “I’m looking forward to meeting with you again at 2 pm next Wednesday,” with a pained facial expression or if you avoid looking at the person when saying the words, your expression will convey a stronger implicit message than your explicit message (your words).

From all this, when you hear someone self importantly quoting spurious interpretations of Dr Mehrabian’s work, just laugh in their face. I’m sure your facial expression and tone of voice will be consistent with your words.

References
Albert Mehrabian. Silent Messages. Second edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company 1981.

About the Author
Kim Harrison is a recognized authority in the public relations field. His website, www.cuttingedgepr.com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on public relations techniques and management.

You might have the best ideas or greatest knowledge, but if you don’t know how to present it, it can all be lost in translation.

Here are some fantastic ideas on presentations which you can adapt for your own coaching.

London Irish did not win the Guinness Premiership final. But the story of their coach, Toby Booth, makes inspirational reading.

Most top teams have former internationals at the helm. Booth rose from the lower regions of the pro league system. He built his career through working in less glamorous roles before gaining a reputation in age grade rugby.

His story is told in a recent interview with The Independent before the final.

David Melville runs a team building business.

He knows a thing or two about building a team and a winning team at that. He pulled together a disparate group to come third in 2004 / 05 Global Challenge Yacht Race. This race is a truly unique event: 12 yachts, with 17 amateurs and one professional skipper compete to be the first to sail around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. There is nothing that the sponsor can place onboard to make the boats go faster – this 9 month experience is a fascinating test of leadership and teamwork.

I interviewed him yesterday for an article in the International Rugby Technical Journal. In light of the Lions team building experiences, he has a lot to say on what really works for sports teams. It could change the way you think about your coaching.

One snippet worth considering: how do you react to criticism? In a 360 review, jargon for an open feedback session where players and coaches can “appraise” each other, the coaches often find the process even more demotivating than the players!

Have a look at his website for some of the stories of how he built his team.

In all the excitement of the Lions announcements, plus all the usual “emotional” guff about bonding and self discovery, the England international management must be pretty pleased.

To go on a Lions tour is very special. For the individual. It will be an amazing experience, but it is unlikely to make them much better players.

It is not good news from a rest and recuperiation point of view. These players are coming off a long season to face one of the strongest club nations in the world, where little quarter is offered. It is not what the doctor, and the countless physios, ordered.

Looking at the England group going away, three are unlikely to play a part in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Worsley, Vickery and Shaw (so old I played with him at Bristol!) are in their twilight years. Of the others, England will be looking to wrap Flutey in cotton wool, and perhaps Sheridan if they can find enough.

The England players not going, can rest, go on the national tour and start the new season a month ahead of their contemporaries. They will be even more determined to fight their corners when Six Nations time comes around again.

The Irish contingent is interesting because of the average age gap between forwards and backs. Many of the Irish forwards are at the back end of their careers along with Brian O’Driscoll. This could stretch these fine players physically.

Wales should be most worried. They underperformed in the Six Nations. Their coaching staff and players are away from the rebuilding process for at least three months. Several of their crown jewels are not 100% fit now, so need to time to recover. Make a diary note to see how many of the thirteen players are fit for the autumn internationals.

So it is the best of times and the worst of times, depending on whose interests you have at heart. The incoming Scottish coach might be secretly the best pleased!

In the UK, at this time of year, it is FESTIVAL TIME!

Across the width and breadth of the country, hardy souls tramp across valley and dale to sit in the sun or rain or wind and watch a flurry of foreshortened games against a range of teams.

On the one hand there is plenty of rugby on show. On the other hand, that tends to be if you are one of the better players.

Let’s consider Under 11s and below.

The coaching departments who roll out the Level 1 courses say that this age group is all about training to play. They don’t endorse leagues.

Yet these festivals have “cups”, leagues and all the incumbent competitiveness that goes with it. It unfortunately brings out the worst in the adults.

Here are a couple of things I heard “shouted” at a tournament on Sunday:

“Legs, legs, you have got to bloody tackle, am I speaking a foreign language or something, don’t you understand?”

“If you play like that you won’t play another minute in this tournament.”

This was to nine year olds.

The tournament was beautifully organised, there was some thrilling rugby. But festivals cannot be run on this basis unless there is no cup. One of my fellow coaches noted a number of teams who kept on their best boys throughout the tournament. Where is the “train to play”?

Not good.

Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you are nervous. Perhaps you are going to talk to a senior figure in coaching or be at a function with famous players or simply meeting a group of players you have not met before.

Some coaches will just “talk”. Others will struggle to find the right words.

Here are some approaches to ease yourself into the situation and finish off confident of a good outcome.

1. Start with just smiling.
What do you feel if somebody smiles at you? if you the same thing, they will feel as you too. A smile can break the situation and make everyone feel better.
2. Just talk about simple thing that it is not directly related to the situation.
It may be about current topic, the weather, your journey. Ask them about their journeys or health. For instance, “You look well”.
3. Give respect to what others say and try to listen carefully.
Your body language will open up and put everyone at ease.
4. Introduce your self and try to explain what you are interested in.
5. Avoid talking any serious business straightaway.
Make sure that other trust you as a person.
6. Show that you are a serious person.
Don’t be flippant or offhand in the way you treat individuals or subjects. It is better to be complimentary and respectful.
7. Say good bye and leave with positive words.
A simple thank you can be good enough. A formal end to the conversation again shows respect. “Please excuse me” is enough if you are moving only a short distance away.

Yesterday I was involved in the start of the selection process for the Osprey Under 16 squad for the season of 2009/10.

It is not actually the start because the wider process has been going on for months. Players have gone through “district” trials and systems, come to training evenings and days and filled in forms to tell us their position, favourite players and all sorts of other things.

They will play in a trial in week or so’s time where approximately 90 boys will be whittled down to about 50 or so and then eventually by the end of July about 30. All the coaching staff have had quite a lot of contact time with the boys and though many of the names to faces are not there, we certainly know the faces.

The first rugby trial will confirm many things and perhaps add some others. The game will be videoed and the group of 50 (the number is not exact because we would prefer to include than exclude) will be chosen by a large group of coaches who have watched the games or coached the boys at district level.

This new group will train for about two months, followed by some more trial games, where the final squad will be chosen.

I would think that few players would slip through the net. Of course there are some injuries along the way. The length of the process should get around this.

Pretty comprehensive.

And then I listen to Ryan Jones, Wales captain and probably a Lions tourist this summer talking to some Under 13s at a Easter training camp. “I didn’t start playing until I was over 16″ he says.

Should we bother then?

Sometimes a great player comes along and yet is still eclipsed by a true great. Imagine if you were the openside flanker who played in the same era as Michael Jones or Richie McCaw, two of the greats of All Black rugby. Well Marty Holah is one of those. He still managed to get over 30 caps, in spite of McCaw.

He now plays his rugby in South West Wales for the Ospreys.

I know him a little through my work at the Ospreys as a skills coach with some of the age grade players. His work ethic is outstanding. One would expect that though.

However I saw what makes him a great role model. My son’s U13 side had a presentation evening. It had a quiz, raffle, some of the boys played some songs in a band, speeches, cups and cabbages!

Marty, along with Ian Gough, the Wales lock forward, were there to help present the awards. They smiled, chatted, got involved and didn’t look to sneak off at the end of the evening. Their warm demeanour prevaded the whole clubhouse. They were down to earth and friendly.

Excellent…I have now have to follow that with my U9 presentation evening, under pressure from my other son!

Did you miss the most interesting ELV?

Under the radar of the ELV debate a very interesting law might well be getting an airing in the new season. It is aimed at the community game and for those of us who of us who have used it before, it has lots of competitive implications.

Rolling substitutes has been “recommended to the Rugby Committee”. This has arisen out of the ELV debate last week.

I have used this system when I was a school coach of an Under 18 team. It meant we could take players to a game with a guarantee of some game time for them.

No need to hold a substitute back for an injury. I used to rotate a front row player, so each prop would get a least two thirds of a game.

For me this is exactly what the community game needs. It involves players at the amateur level who give up their time to play.

Of course it is open to abuse. Why not have a specialist kicker who can’t tackle to roll on and off when it suits you. But if you are a team who want to do this, then so be it. The greater good will prevail because more players will still be involved.

I am always amazed by the confidence that some people show in their assessment of a performance based on the evidence of the game watched from one angle and without the benefit of replays and analytical software. How often do you watch a replay of a game on the TV after being at the game the previous day and change your opinion? And yet there are plenty of pundits still ready to pick out minute points of detail which have had no bearing on that game.

Let’s take a snapshot of the “Lions” squad first XV selection. Then look at the main players in contention. Pre Six Nations it would have read Lee Byrne, by some distance, then perhaps Rob Kearney with Chris Paterson in with a shout as a goal kicker. As the tournament has worn on, Delon Armitage, with his silky running skills and tries, has made significant progress. So each home nation has a chance of having the next Lions’ number 15.

Assessment criteria

What do you want from a full back at the top level? Excellent under the high ball, long kicking game, ability to break the line and finally, a dependable last line of defence.

What do the South African’s want from the Lions’ full back? Someone who cannot read the game, a player they can pull out of position, a predictable player.

Subtly, the “best” player tag looks a mite different if you look at what the opposition want. The non-negotiable talents of high ball security and long kicking game can be muted. Just don’t use high balls, don’t kick to allow a long kick back.

Breaking the line now becomes a more important issue. A good defence can line up a front runner (how far has Wales’ Andy Powell got in this tournament), but a 15 can join the line from behind the front line.

However, for me, the crucial element must be the unpredictability, the chance that the 15 will step instead of kick, will chip rather than boom, will release another player out of the tackle. The casual watcher will not see this. In part this is because the watcher will not have seen how the defence reshapes itself to deal with the threat.

How does this change the selection?

Looking at the elements with best first:

• Kicking and fielding games: Byrne, Armitage, Kearney.
• Break the line: Byrne, Armitage, Kearney.
• Subtle passing skills: Armitage, Kearney, Byrne.
• Unpredictable: Kearney, Armitage, Byrne.

My choice: Kearney. His game cannot be read in the same way as Byrne’s. That does not mean that Byrne is not a class player, but I sense that something that the quick match pundit cannot see is more important than the obvious.