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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

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