Damian McGrath - Why the brilliant basics are so important to Leicester Tigers and Leeds Rhinos

Damian McGrath is a rugby coach with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from all around the world. Starting as a teacher, he has gone on to coach some of the powerhouses of English Rugby including Leeds Rhinos and Leicester Tigers. He was also part of the backroom staff under Sir Clive Woodward. Currently he is the Head Coach of the Kenyan National Rugby 7's team.

Show notes:

00:50 - Introduction to Damian McGrath

02:00 - The format of Rugby 7's

13:30 - The foundations he puts in place with the groups he is coaching

17:30 - The techniques Damian likes to emphasise when coaching 'along with the why'

22:00 - How is the coached on a consistent basis

23:45 - How to pressurise the skill ready for 'in battle' execution

25:30 - Mike McDaniel and his use of footage to emphasise

27:30 - Challenging himself as an introvert to talk Infront of teams and inspire them

30:30 - Building and developing relationships when performance is paramount

32:00 - Providing a way back

33:00 - Talent identification in Kenyan Rugby 'and it's challenges'

36:00 - How Damian upskills himself with knowledge when transferring between unfamiliar codes

41:00 - Engaging the team leaders to get others on board

45:00 - The trend of Rugby League coaches switching to union and why its becoming more common

47:30 - The challenge of having principles to allowing creative freedom

48:30 - Zigging when others zagged when coaching the German national team

51:30 - How would Damian liked to be described in 3 words and why

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