Intro

Ballet dancers. Sumo wrestlers. Cage fighters. Deep Purple blasting in the sheds. This is the world of Mike Cron – the Scrum Doctor who coached 217 Tests with the All Blacks, lifted 3 Rugby World Cups, and is now helping fuel the Wallabies’ revival.

For over 40 years, Crono’s been obsessed with one thing: making rugby smarter, safer, and more effective. But instead of just looking inside the game, he’s gone everywhere for answers — ballet studios for balance, netball courts for movement, cage fighting gyms for contact, even the New York Yankees for culture.

You’ll hear the raw stories and coaching philosophies that have kept him at the very top of world sport. No clichés. No tired coaching jargon. Just lessons that hit way beyond the rugby field — about leadership, curiosity, resilience, and creating safe environments for players to thrive.

Featuring insights from James Slipper, Harry Wilson, and Nic White, this is a rare deep dive with one of rugby’s true masterminds.

02:00 - The feedback Mike asked of Andrew
04:00 - Mike's never-ending birthday celebrations

05:30 - Learning from other sports (sumo, cage fighting, netball, baseball)

08:35 - How biomechanics influence rugby union

12:35 – How Mike integrates netball into rugby

17:35 – Sticking to morals as a coach

20:35 – How to do shorter performance reviews

22:55 – Coaching men vs women

24:35 – Book recommendation

27:35 – Reviewing and giving feedback to athletes

35:35 – How Deep Purple propelled the All Blacks to victory

38:35 – Applying Deep Purple to team training

43:35 – Communication, planning, and preparation

45:20 – “Too old to coach?”

47:35 – Entering Australian rugby with the Wallabies

51:35 – Nudgee College chapter

55:35 – Mike's training philosophies

56:35 – Mike's lessons and influences

1:01:35 – Creating a safe learning environment

1:09:05 – Learnings from coaching & advice for new coaches

Learn more about Mike here: https://www.mikecroncoaching.co.nz/ 

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Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at support@performanceintelligence.com today with your story and contact details.

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