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In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan Cottrell is joined by performance coach Nash Cohen to explore what it really means to coach with conviction.

From defining winning beyond the scoreboard to building trust under pressure, the conversation digs into principles, skill detail, and creating environments where players think, adapt, and grow.

Nash is the Head of Player & Performance Development Jamaica UK and Programme Director Elite Rugby Academy.

You can find out more about the work he does at:

eliterugbyacademy.co.uk

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What does real toughness look like in rugby?

In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan Cottrell is joined by Jack Heald, Director of Rugby at Barnes RFC and rugby professional at Felsted School, to unpack what toughness truly means in modern coaching environments.

Drawing on over 15 years of experience across school, club, and national league rugby, Jack challenges the idea that toughness is about bravado or confrontation. Instead, he reframes it as consistency, resilience, and the ability to turn up and perform week after week, often while balancing full-time work, study, and life pressures.

The conversation explores how tough, competitive training environments are created without tipping into chaos, how feedback should be handled to build confidence rather than erode it, and why core skill development is still the most overlooked driver of long-term player success.

Key takeaways for coaches

• Toughness is about consistency and resilience, not bravado or aggression.
• Competitive training environments must be intense but controlled.
• Players need psychological safety to make mistakes and keep learning.
• Feedback works best when it is individual, contextual, and proportionate.
• Core skills like catch, pass, and running straight underpin everything else.
• Long-term development matters more than short-term physical dominance.
• The most coachable players often outperform early physical standouts over time.

Instagram: @jhealdcoaching

LinkedIn: Jack Heald

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

To find out more about our Partner Club offer

CLICK HERE

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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What do you stabilise first when you inherit a team at the bottom of the table?

In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan Cottrell speaks with Ross Bundy, Head Coach of Leicester Tigers Women, about leading a rebuild in a high-pressure, semi-professional environment.

Ross shares an unfiltered account of what really matters when results are hard to come by. Rather than chasing quick fixes, he explains why values, defensive standards, contact dominance, discipline, and law understanding became the foundation for long-term progress. The conversation explores how to be brutally honest while keeping belief high, how to simplify systems without lowering standards, and how to measure improvement when the scoreboard does not reflect the full picture.

This is a grounded, practical discussion for coaches who are building from a low starting point and need clarity, patience, and conviction.

PS, Ross is one of the youngest pro-coaches in the game right now - only 26!

Key takeaways for coaches

• Stabilise culture before tactics: Values on and off the pitch must be clear, protected, and visible, especially when results are poor.
• Honesty builds trust: Players respond better to clear, direct feedback than vague reassurance, as long as progress is recognised.
• Defence and contact set the floor: You cannot compete consistently without collision dominance, defensive connection, and discipline.
• Discipline is a technical skill: Many penalties come from passive contact and poor post-tackle behaviour, not ill intent.
• Law understanding creates advantage: Coaching the laws deliberately leads to smarter decisions and fewer “cheap” penalties.
• Simplify to accelerate learning: Fewer systems, executed well, beat complexity when time together is limited.
• Progress is more than the scoreline: Improvements in behaviours, effort, and standards often appear before results do.
• Small wins matter: Tackles made, penalties reduced, values shown, and cohesion built are all markers of momentum.

Catch up with Ross on LinkedIn

Or Instagram

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

To find out more about our Partner Club offer

CLICK HERE

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!