Join us for the final webinar of the Summer series! Russell Earnshaw joins me on the 10th August. Rusty and I will chat all things coaching craft, and I can’t wait! Expect conversations around coach-player interactions and challenges

Click here to register for the Coaching Craft webinar on the 10th August

The webinar will be held on Zoom. In order to attend, please register using the link above. The webinars are available for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

The recording will be available afterwards for paid subscribers.

Join in, bring your questions, get ready to boost your practice!

Quick reminder that all summer series webinars are free and accessible to everyone (subscribers and non-subscribers), any recordings are available to paid subscribers.

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I’m an assistant coach in a women’s rugby team. I was formerly head coach of the same team. My philosophy is to get women and girls playing whatever the format. Just get a rugby ball in their hands and get them enjoying it.

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I’m a neurodiverse coach and sometimes it affects how I am perceived. People may expect me to not be as capable. A lot of the time people actually forget, or don’t know enough about my condition and therefore I’m expected to perform to the same standard as a neurotypical person.

I’ve found my neurodiversity impacts my coaching in a few ways including:

• Organisational skills and prioritisation.

• Impulse control when dealing with the people management side.

• Rejection sensitive dysphoria - being incredible sensitive to constructive conversations as there is a deeply routed neurological belief that everyone already hates you and thinks you’re not up to it.

I’ve also found it has enhanced my coaching:

• I have a passion and excitement for my hyperfocus (rugby),

• It gives me problem solving skills, empathy and understanding of other neurodiverse people.

What I wish people knew

It’s a constant battle to be good enough. You have all of these things that neurotypical people can do with ease that you have to put double the effort in to, or just cant achieve sometimes.

You’re also battling your sensory needs. For example you may have a session where everyone is a bit loud/disruptive/giddy and if your sensory overwhelm is kicking in it can be hard to control the group professionally.

Neurodivergent people are already struggling in the world. A bit of kindness and understanding goes a long way to allowing them to be their authentic selves and build their confidence coaching. A confident coach benefits everyone as they coach better.

It’s been a long time since I did the formal RFU qualification (such as the level 2) but I find that CPD can be difficult to access. There’s a lot of hands on courses - rightly so- it’s a physical skill, but that can also have it’s own drawbacks.

For example, when booking CPD I might ask myself:

How am I feeling?

Can I cope being around people I don’t know right now?

How do I feel from a sensory perspective - i.e. can I do contact drills with people?

What is the environment going to feel like?

More e-learning and opportunities to do CPD in a more flexible way would be welcomed.

I would like to see neurodivergent champions within coach developer teams. This would be someone with lived experience. Diagnoses of neurodivergent conditions are on the rise because people (particularly women) flew under the radar as children.

1 in 5 people are neurodivergent, so in a coaching team including administrative staff, there’s probably already at least one neurodivergent volunteer within your group whether you’re aware or not.

Coaching for people with ADHD (which is my main diagnosis) is vastly different than for neurotypical people and requires specific skills. If the RFU are reading this- I accept the job!

It’s important to note that even though this is my experience of being neurodivergent, and although there are common symptoms and themes within each neurodivergent condition, it differs vastly person to person.

The best way to find out what your neurodivergent colleague needs is to ask them and be willing to understand and listen.

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A post with a difference this week.

I’m delighted to announce that I have partnered with Freedom4Girls. Finding allies within similar spaces is so important and I’m excited for the work to continue

Having them as an ally publicly as well as supporting each other offline and off pitch is so important.

To find out on periods and how to support players with their menstrual cycle (whether their teens or menopausal) you can watch the webinar on period-inclusivity:

In other news, I have now created a page and portfolio on the website that lists some examples of my consultancy, mentoring and coaching work.

You can find more details of ways you can work with me (online and in person) through that page. I can work with individuals as well as groups, keen to chat so please reach out.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

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We have seen power and bias mainly through coaching decisions. For example - a previous coach ignored the team’s inclusive values and used selection as a way to favour people he personally liked, with the result that some players received minimal to no game time.

Older players, quieter players, and anyone who didn’t fit his idea of “real rugby” were sidelined. Complaints weren’t taken seriously, and he dismissed inclusion as “pandering”.

This situation made me lose trust in the coaching setup. It felt pointless trying to build an inclusive team culture when the person in charge didn’t believe in it. It also made me more protective of teammates who were being overlooked, and ultimately created a large rift within the team between the favoured ones, and everyone else.

It really hurt some of the players. One older player who was technically strong was repeatedly benched in favour of the coach’s preferred player, and it knocked her confidence.

Others barely got any game time and felt like they didn’t belong. We had frequent conversations with players that were considering leaving because they felt invisible.

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When people see bias and favouritism, they stop seeing rugby as welcoming. It makes the sport look cliquey and political, especially for women and gender‑diverse players who already face barriers.

This is especially true in a small town, where everyone knows someone. One dismissive comment can be mistaken for being an entire team’s ethos, which was certainly not the case.

A lot of it comes from people being put in positions of power without training or oversight. Some coaches bring old‑school attitudes, and at grassroots level, people often get away with things because there’s no real accountability.

Especially within the women’s game, and in regard to coaching, it is very much still a “you get what you’re given” type situation – and if you raise a problem with this, support to correct attitudes and issues varies greatly depending on the attitude of your Club as a whole.

Both Clubs and Teams need to be clear about their values and actually enforce them, in a cascade approach from the top, with no room for poor behaviour. Coaches should have training in inclusion and player development.

Complaints should be taken seriously, and there should be consequences when someone ignores the club’s ethos.

The Active Bystander training, and the RFU’s Speak Up are great resources for helping with this, but ultimately the problem is likely to remain a problem until people are comfortable with confronting these behaviours consistently at source.

What I would like to see

I’d like women’s grassroots rugby to have proper support, proper coaching standards, and a culture that values development, coming all the way down from top Executive levels.

I want players to feel valued, to get fair game time, and to have coaches who actually develop them. Everyone should feel like they belong, no matter their age, ability, or background.

I want coaches to have proper training in inclusion and player development, and to be held accountable when they misuse their role. Good coaches should be supported; bad behaviour shouldn’t be ignored.

As women, we place a lot of value on transparency. This can be translated into sport into transparency in selection, clear expectations around behaviour, and leaders who actually live the values they talk about. Bias thrives in silence — so the more open and accountable things are, the better.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

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Buying me a coffee (starting from £5 or purchasing a subscription helps to keep the work going and means important topics can be discussed, shared and explored. Your support is much appreciated, whether you share, buy me a coffee or purchase a paid subscription

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Walking rugby is on the rise across clubs. It’s a great way to get people down to your club.

It’s also a great tool to use in coaching sessions for players of all age ranges and abilities.

Here’s some ways you can use it and adapt it:

Manage the heat of the session

There’s been a major heatwave in the UK recently. Lots of training sessions were cancelled or modified. If you’ve had safety discussions and your training session is still on then using walking rugby can be a great way to manage players in the heat.

If you’re managing the heat of the session then try using a basic level of walking rugby to start:

• Players can walk with the ball

• If they get touch-tackled they stop and pass the ball to a teammate

• All passes must go backwards

If you’re wanting to include the game in a warm up, you can also add in activation exercises after a player has passed the ball.

Lower the intensity of contact

I’ve written about my approach to contact contact before and how I have used hugby.

You can also put players into a small tackle skill activity and ask them to have a walking pace to start to lessen the intensity. This allows players to build confidence as you increase the pace.

I love to use walking rugby in a game of hugby. The game tests the players ability to track and wrap a tackler as the players are moving. It’s a great way to test player’s tackle technique and it’s easily manageable from a safety perspective.

If you’re playing walking rugby hugby, here’s some ways you can level up the game:

• After a wrap is complete and the ball has been passed, the tackler completes a standing tackle on the ball carrier. This lessens the intensity of the tackle whilst allowing players to tackle and be tackled.

• When a player has been wrapped. The tackler releases the wrap and the ball carrier goes to ground and either presents or pops the ball. This allows the ball carrier to practice their fall and present in a game.

Focusing on a skill

One of the main benefits of walking rugby, apart from the scaled down intensity, is that it pressures players’ handling. When introducing walking rugby to players, I state this as a main benefit. This is often helpful if you have a group of players who might be skeptical to playing walking rugby.

Players cannot run onto the pass as easily when playing walking rugby. Therefore any passes thrown have to be accurate, as a team cannot rely on speed to make up for any inaccurate passes.

Try adding in the following rules to take the game up a level:

• Players have to pass 5 times before they can score

• A team using a loop earns a point

• Teams have 2 replays each they can use if a ball is dropped

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In this episode of Challenging the Game, Jess speaks to Kathryn Meadows, Female Athlete Health Specialist. They chat about the current landscape of teen sport, girls rugby and some of the female health topics that need to be included within practice and system change.

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Music: TVARI - Tokyo Cafe

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Join Dan Lycett and I to chat about coaching contact on the 20th July. Dan brings his experiences from coaching a girls rugby team and from his role as Head of PE and Sports at St David’s College. We’ll explore approaches for coaching contact that work for all ages and abilities, including players with a low playing age.

Click here to register for the Coaching Contact webinar on the 20th July

The webinar will be held on Zoom. In order to attend, please register using the link above. The webinars are available for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

The recording will be available afterwards for paid subscribers.

Join in, bring your questions, get ready to boost your practice!

My Experiences of Bias

The main bias I have encountered is gendered leadership expectations. I’ve seen that where men are direct, confident or demanding, they are described as “strong leaders”. Women displaying these attributes are often labelled “bossy” or “difficult”.

This is also reflected in a prevalent unconscious bias where women are constantly required to demonstrate their competence and ability.

I’ve also experienced situations within many clubs where women have to fight to get the social media coverage, sponsorship, facilities, funding, and recognition that they deserve.

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Power is held by those who control where resources are allocated, and women are often at the bottom of the pile.

Many sporting organisations still have committees made entirely or mostly of white men. This not only causes a power imbalance from a gender point of view but from a general equality point of view.

There’s also a positive: power can be a good thing. I have used my influence and power in a positive way to recruit women to sport, grow women’s rugby, and challenge existing power structures.

The power imbalance and gender bias within sport causes a feeling of needing to work harder than male counterparts to gain the same level of respect and credibility,. It also causes extra time spent justifying decisions or proving myself.

The mental exhaustion is incalculable. Mental health decline is a real concern- from the anxiety caused by overthinking every thing you do and say, to the imposter syndrome and just not feeling good enough.

As a leader I feel a responsibility to advocate for my players and this puts a lot of pressure on me to get them the result that they want.

When players witness bias towards their coach/leader, they may become aware of the inequalities that still exist in the sport which can have an affect on how they perceive themselves as an athlete.

Conversely, players see a female leader presenting as strong and prepared to stand up for them and they can find this empowering.

Women’s sport is still considered to be the sub-par version of men’s sport, in many circles. Yet we have more successful national teams than men, greater uptake in participation among all ages of females in most sports, and increasing sponsorship opportunities for top level female athletes.

However, when we allow our biases to surface, this hinders us. We risk losing women from sport/clubs because of the power imbalance. This in turn impacts the financial viability of the club and sport as a whole but also affects the pathway to professionalism. All which sets us back.

Biases Across the System

Historically there’s been lots of issues with women playing sport. My sport is rugby and there were times when rugby was played by women but wasn’t recognised, received little support and faced criticism.

We live in a society where gender based representations often mean that people have in the past believed that women are too delicate for certain sports and even that sport and their associated kit or equipment aren’t ladylike. We are therefore still battling against a patriarchy.

Power imbalances in sport can be addressed by creating fairer opportunities, increasing representation (you’ve got to see it to be it) and challenging the biases that already exist.

Governing bodies and clubs need to continue to work towards a place of equality by ensuring women and under-represented groups have a voice and aren’t afraid to use it. Women need equal access to social media, equipment, coaching, facilities and funding.

England Rugby were trailblazers in awarding professional contracts for female players and they’ve reaped the rewards. If we follow their example- invest, empower, and support the female athletes, the results that follow pay for themselves.

What I would like to happen

I would like equal opportunities for all club members- no more first team mens sport mindset. Female representation on committees - but beyond that, females on committees who actually get to contribute and are listened to. Equality and diversity training as standard for sports club representatives to challenge unconscious bias.

Players need all of the above in order for their to be an environment where they feel physically and psychologically safe. Where they feel empowered to call out wrongdoings. Where they are supported and backed by the club. Ultimately leading to happier, better players who stay year after year.

I would like coaches to be able to feel confident and be the strong leaders that they can be without being seen as bossy. To receive support, including mentoring and appropriate feedback instead of being forgotten- currently many women only get this when they “do something wrong”.

Reducing power dynamics and bias in sport comes from the top- so commentators, influencers, athletes - they all need to be calling it out, making it known that it isn’t okay for power dynamics to be at play in sport. When the general public start listening to this, the hope is that over time their thoughts on women in sport will change.

People need to realise that having women in sport benefits them too. At grassroots level it means more membership, more families involved, more volunteers recruited, more money over the bar and in sponsorship.

At professional level it again creates money. Stadiums are used twice as much bringing in revenue. Sponsorship is more lucrative as big companies want to get the most value for money. And ultimately the fan base grows.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

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Here’s the recording from Monday’s webinar with Sasha and I. We chatted all about period friendly training and club environments, including levels to training and having caring environments.

Quick reminder that all summer series webinars are free and accessible to everyone (subscribers and non-subscribers), any recordings are available to paid subscribers.

Here’s a handy resource list from Freedom4Girls/Sasha to accompany the recording:

F4g Resource List 26

1.52MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Sign up for the other two webinars here:

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Sport has the power to boost mental and physical health. Women and girls are faced with pressures about how they look and face gender-based health inequalities throughout their lives. Sport can be a way to combat some of this. However, these same pressures can present barriers that prevent people from accessing and continuing with sport.

The latest research from Women In Sport looks at these barriers and some shocking stats (less than half of girls meet the recommended levels of physical activity). There is a need for more opportunities for women and girls to try different sports and for more female teams (at clubs and at schools).

Mixed opportunities

For many sports, including rugby, mixed-gender opportunities are found at the mini and junior age groups. This means that for many girls, their first potential introduction to a sport is within mixed-gender offerings.

Women in Sport looked the opportunities for girls, including mixed-gender options for participation:

• 27% of opportunities in contact sport are for girls only

• 7% of opportunities in individual sports are for girls only

• 20% of opportunities in boy dominated sports are for girls only

The report from Women in Sport highlights that most sporting opportunities for children and young people are listed as mixed. The report mentions that whilst mixed-gender offerings are open to boys and girls, it does not mean that all girls will experience it the same as boys.

There are multiple benefits to mixed-gender participation including building positive communication, teamwork and normalise female participation. The research also shows that for girls who are the most skilled and competitive, they often find mixed-gender environments rewarding.

However, Women in Sport are keen to stress that those girls are not immune from sexism and stereotyping.

The report matches up with a lot of second-hand stories and experiences that I hear about in Rugby Union. People have told me stories and fears about girls who have thrived within mixed-gender rugby and the move to girls-only rugby.

I also hear a lot of stories about girls who are struggling in the latter years of mixed-gender rugby, they’re often left out and not being passed the ball. This act of bullying is supported within Women in Sport’s report:

• 32% of girls have experienced being teased or bullied by boys whilst playing sport

• 27% of girls said teasing or bullying comments had put them off playing sport altogether

Due to the lack of sporting and movement exposure girls have in their early years, compared to boys, mixed-gender sports can often expose a skills gap. This gap can be worked on, however Women in Sport found that this doesn’t often happen within mixed-gender environments. Instead there is an uneven playing field created through the session design or practice.

This, therefore, is a call for coaches working within mixed-gender environments to consider how their practice design can create equal opportunities and challenges for all players to stretch and develop.

How are you creating opportunities for everyone to be stretched? How do you incorporate this into your practice design?

There also needs to be a re-framing of what constitutes ‘winning’ or what ‘best’ means. A narrow framing of hitting a ball the hardest or putting the most points of the board is exclusionary. This is not to say that girls don’t value being able to hit a ball hard or aren’t competitive.

However, there are ways to create competition without a win/loss mindset so that everyone gains from being involved. A win/loss environment can enable bullying (of everyone, not just girls). An environment which recognises the value of different skills (physical, tactical, technical, mental) can help to reduce the potential of bullying.

How do you place value upon the different skills? How does this show with your actions and your practice design?

Mixed-sport opportunities can have a range of benefits for boys and girls. In order for this to happen, Women in Sport suggest that the sessions and offerings must be designed and delivered with girls’ needs at the forefront.

There also needs to be more girls-only sessions and opportunities. A lack of girls-only sessions place a barrier to activity to girls from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, who may want/need girls-only spaces due to cultural, religious or preferential reasons.

• 1 in 6 sporting opportunities for children and young people in England are girls only.

Girls-only activity spaces can provide a safe space for participants to be social and enjoy skill/movement development, often without the bullying that can occur within mixed-gender environments. Women in Sport mention that some studies have shown that girls are more physically active within girls-only sessions. The study also shows parents are frustrated by the inequality that can occur within mixed-gender environments, by the lack of value placed on girls sport and want more girls-only options.

Some thoughts

It’s clear girls-only opportunities can more easily create environments for girls to thrive physically and psychologically. The research also shows the benefits that mixed-gender opportunities have for boys and girls, however this needs to be well designed and delivered. Mixed-gender sports should not be the only way we educate boys and girls participation should not be solely seen as a cure for sexism.

There is a potential balance emerging within rugby union in England. Mixed-gender rugby exists until U12s when they split. However, prior to this U12s bracket, I hear stories of girls not getting passed the ball. I also hear stories of girls loving mixed-gender rugby and then not enjoying a girls-only environment because it feels like a regression for that child.

This, to me, reaffirms a need to invest within girls-only environments and the coaching within it. In rugby union, there’s been a push to create more girls-only experiences and opportunities at the younger age groups alongside the mixed-gender ones.

We need to support the coaches that deliver across these environments. Coaches need the tools to feel confident to support a range of abilities and confidences. This gives girls the choice to play sport in an environment where they feel supported and comfortable.

Alongside creating better mixed-gender opportunities, consider how you can create more girls-only opportunities at the younger ages at your club, as well as the teenagers and young adults.

It’s clear that an exclusionary environment within mixed-gender sports will exclude girls and others. By thinking about ways to create inclusive practices, you will include girls and everyone.

In the next few weeks/months, I will be sharing some ways to create inclusive environments within practice design so that everyone can be supported and challenged.

The report highlights some case studies which are well worth checking out

Don’t forget there’s two Whatsapp groups to chat and connect with fellow coaches and sportspeople:

Female Coaches Whatsapp

Subscribers (of any gender) Whatsapp

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Andy is Lead Coach for Men’s and Women’s U18s at Barton Peveril, Bath Rugby Academy U16 PDG Lead Coach, RFU Coach Developer and Mentor and Hampshire RFU Coaching Lead.

Andy’s game is a mix of ultimate frisbee and netball that you can add into your session.

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How to set up and run the game:

• Set up a playing area

• If there are a large number of players you can use a full rugby pitch

• If there are a small number of players, create a playing area with lines across to create zones

• Split players into two teams

• Players have to pass the frisbee from zone to zone on their journey to scoring

• Players can’t run with the frisbee

• Players have to catch the frisbee in the scoring zone for the score to be valid

Level up the game

• Players can now run with the frisbee, if they are touch-tackled they must stop and pass

• The frisbee is turned over if it hits the floor twice

• Play Queen of the ring: Split players into smaller teams. Each time a team scores, they stay on the pitch. The team that conceded is swapped for another team. The winning team stays on to face the next team.

Why play this game?

You can play this game all season-round. I use it as a warm up activity or as a way to put some fitness in a session without it being running drills or burpees. As well as fitness, the game works on: teamwork, scanning, evasion, tactics and contest for possession.

It also brings the fun into your session so it can be a great way to kick off training. As the game is so adaptable, it can fit into any session. Coaches can just change their questions or the way they set up a player-player problem solving huddle depending on the focus of the session.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

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The size 4.5 ball has come back into the spotlight recently, due to the announcement of it’s use in the upcoming WXV Global Series.

The ball has had some trials across the HSBC SVNS, U18s and U20s international competitions, domestic competitions in Spain and Colombia and elite domestic club training sessions.1

Upon it’s announcement Zoe Harrison, Red Roses Fly-Half, called it the “worst decision someone has ever made”.2 Trialling it in a major tournament that has ramifications upon world rankings is what some people are finding problematic. Others have issue with the total idea of the ball size change.

Why your support matters

The ball:

• Same weight as a size 5

• 3% smaller than a size 5

• Weight was changed after a trial in the U18s Six Nations tournament

This is a contentious issue. Zoe Harrison and others are firmly on the con side. Former player Shaunagh Brown released a statement on Instagram on the pro side, saying why not try it, citing the size difference between men’s and women’s hands.

Is Rugby On It’s Own?

If the ball change is rolled out across the sport, rugby union will not be isolated in it’s decision. There are size modifications in different sports, including cricket, athletics, basketball and handball:

In cricket, the men’s ball must weigh between 155.9g and 163g must have a circumference between 22.4 cm and 22.9 cm. The ball in women’s cricket must weigh between 140g and 151g and have a circumference between 21.0 cm and 22.5 cm.3

In the 400m hurdles in athletics , the hurdles in the men’s race are 91.4cm in height. In the women’s race they are 76.2cm.4

In handball, the weight and circumference rules change depending on whether the ball is resin or non-resin. For both categories of ball type, female players use a lighter and smaller ball.5

In water polo, the men’s ball must have a circumference between 680mm and 710mm and the women’s ball must be between 650mm and 670mm.6

In basketball, all male players aged 14 and above use a size 7 ball and all female players aged 14 and above and male players aged 12-14 use a size 6 ball.7 The smaller size ball was introduced in the 2004/2005 season.

I want to look into the affects of a smaller ball in other sports. I did a quick search to see if other sports had published research into the differences of ball size and the impact upon skills. I couldn’t find much (this is not to say there isn’t research, just that it’s not accessible, published in a journal or easily found via some searches).

I’ve found some recent research that looked into the smaller ball size in basketball. Full disclaimer, there are other published papers, a few that are pre-1990. I’ve tried to stick to more a recent source so that it’s research that’s been conducted on the newer ball. (There were a few ball changes in 1974 and 1984 from what I can gather)

A study published in 2012 stated that the smaller size of ball did not improve in shooting accuracy. It’s important to note that this study looked at shooting and not other skills affected by the ball change, such as dribbling and passing. The study concludes that the introduction of a new ball may not have been fully needed within women’s basketball.

Another study published in 2016 looked into the effects of using a lighter and smaller ball in women’s football. The researchers did state that this is a small study, so there might be some differences that emerge with a larger study. However, in their research, was no difference in the number of passes (including short, medium or long passes). There was a higher kicking speed when using the lighter ball.

As well as measuring passes, the study looked at average heart rate. There was no differences in mean heart rate during match play when using either ball. The study concluded that there was no technical or physical differences in match play between the two balls.

What Does The Current Data From Rugby Tell Us?

It is important to note that World Rugby are responding to the trials. You can see some of their data here. (Thanks to YSC for linking this in their article). That data is from 2024 and mentions the ball being lighter. They subsequently changed the weight of the ball after the U18s Six Nations tournament.

I want to briefly examine men’s and women’s rugby to see what the current state of play is.

Let’s compare some data from some men’s and women’s competitions. It’s important to state here that this data is from the elite game.

World Rugby’s Blueprint For Growth8 looked at some playing statistics from the 2021 and 2025 Women’s World Cups. There were increases across different aspects of play:

• Average tries per match increased by 30%

• Successful kick penalty rate increased by 11%, to 85% success rate

• Average ball in play time increased to 36 mins

Let’s compare those to the stats from the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2023:

• 50 penalties were missed, approximately 34%9

• This means the tournament had a 66% penalty success rate

• Ball in play time was 34 mins10

It’s important to state that these stats are snapshots that tell one particular story about elite international men’s and women’s rugby. For example: the penalty kick stats from the women’s World Cup don’t tell me where those kicks were taken from.

However, the ball in play stat is key. Women’s rugby has a higher ball in play time. This means more rugby for the fans.

World Rugby cited fewer knock ons and more tries as some of the fundamental reasons for the trial. However, YSC went through further data in their article and cited faster ruck speeds, more tries and fewer knock ons in the 2025 Women’s World Cup compared to the recent 2023 Men’s tournament. The caveat here is that this data is from the elite game and a ball change would presumably affect all levels of the sport, but this is our main source of data.

If the aim is to take fundamental elements of the women’s game (more tries, higher ball in play time) and advance those features, then that should be spoken about.

Introducing a trial as potentially enhancing the USP of women’s rugby, might have been received differently.

Framing something as a solution to a negative, when some of the data suggests otherwise, becomes problematic.

Why Change It?

If it isn’t broke don’t fix it. This is a comment that I’ve heard alot, and they’re not wrong (especially when data from others sports potentially suggests that a ball size doesn’t work within an elite level).

There are also other pressing issues that could be examined first within women’s rugby. Is this an invented problem? Is it an immediate problem?

As of 2025:11

• Women’s rugby brings £6.7b in value to society

• There are 7.3m W&Gs players across the globe

• 65% of women’s rugby fans have increased their engagement

• 29% of womens rugby fans are under 35 years old, compared with 25% of men’s rugby fans

• 43% of women’s rugby fans are female, compared to 39% of men’s rugby fans

The growth of women’s rugby is outpacing men’s rugby. Fans of women’s sport, including women’s rugby, care about all aspects of the sport, not just the on-field play.

In a women’s rugby report, published in 2025, the top things fans said they cared about were: the growth and development of women’s rugby, positive representation of women in sports, enjoyment of the style of play and supporting gender equality in sport.

These are all aspects of the game that could be affected positively or negatively by the ball change.

If women’s rugby is growing on and off pitch, then why is the change needed? A smaller ball is intended to improve accuracy of passing. Is that a problem within women’s game? Is a ball change the easy solution or the best solution?

The increases in ball in play time, kicking and tries per match average from the 2021 to the 2025 World Cup, were all done without a ball change. I would argue that increased investment, a focus on pathways and coaching workforce led to those positives.

What Are The Implications?

I can see the reasons for a trial. I understand the average size difference in men’s and women’s hands and how that might lead towards a trial of a smaller ball. I also definitely believe in equity.

However, I have some main concerns, especially around the grassroots game, and I’m going to try and organise these as best as I can.

Stealth Tax:

A rollout of a new ball size immediately means additional costs for clubs. For some elite clubs and top tier international set ups, this cost will be manageable.

However, every grassroots club that has a W&Gs side that requires a 4.5 ball, will need to purchase new balls. It’s true, that rugby clubs will purchase alot of new balls in the off season to ensure their club has good equipment. However, the introduction of the 4.5 will require purchasing a complete set for their W&Gs set up. This means multiple sets if they have more than one female team.

As of October 2025, there are approximatley 500 clubs in England offering women’s and girls’ rugby12. Not all of them will have a women’s side, but girls will probably start using size 4.5 in the U16s age bracket.

Each team needs approx 10 balls for training. They also need a match ball. Let’s say 1 match ball (although ideally you need approx 2-3). Clubs may purchase a number of new balls each season for their teams. Normally this is done by checking which balls are fine, which one’s aren’t and ordering replacements for the ones that aren’t useable. With the change, they will have to buy a new complete set of balls.

On Gilbert’s website (the manufacturer of the size 4.5), a size 4 rugby ball is £19.99 and a size 5 is £20.99. So, for now, let’s estimate the cost of the 4.5 as £20 (the cost of the 4.5 wasn’t visible in the shop). A match ball will approximatley cost £31.1913

This means that each club will have to spend a minimum of £231.19 for 10 training balls and 1 match ball. If there’s more than one team that requires a 4.5 size ball (U16s, U18s 2XV women’s team or 1XV women’s team), then they will have to purchase more - unless they want to share the new balls which seems like a logistical nightmare and hardly fair.

If you take that minimum purchase that each club will need to make and multiply it by 500 (the number of clubs with W&Gs teams in England). The spend for England is £115, 595. That amount is a minimum estimate (and maths is not my strength).

This feels like an accidential stealth tax on any club with a female team. It can be a hard enough battle to set up, run and finance a female team in a male-dominated sport. Yes, things are improving. However, this feels like an additional battle volunteers and players may have to fight at some clubs.

The Struggle with Perceptions

“Do you do contact, do you tackle?” “You don’t play on a full sized pitch?” “It’s not real rugby as you don’t tackle or use a full pitch.”

These are some of the comments I’m used to hearing, especially in my playing days. It always surprised people when I remarked that women did indeed tackle, scummage, it was full contact and on a full size pitch too - shock horror! I’ve noticed the frequency of these comments decreasing as the Red Roses have grown in popularity.

However, I fear that using a different sized ball will open the door to some of these comments and negative perceptions of women’s rugby - that it’s not “proper rugby.”

Is this a strong enough reason to not change something? No. Comments from bigots should never dictate a decision. Some people will find a way to undermine women’s sports regardless.

Any programme, across any sport, that is well-researched and equitable should be implemented regardless of misogynists or people that hold static views.

However, I don’t want an equipment change to undermine so much of the progress and amazing work that has happened over decades. I will admit it scares me. This feels like the next great test for sport and women’s rugby. It also reinforces the need for transparency in this decision and trial.

Conclusion

I’ve taken some time to dig through some research, articles and data. I’ve looked at rugby and other sports. It’s difficult to summarise but I wanted to end with some of my own thoughts/statements.

• I support any women’s sport questioning the current ways of doing and not copying and pasting what’s been done before.

• I’m also thinking about the need for innovation in our sport, across both men’s and women’s rugby.

• I’m thinking about the the benefits of clear, concise and publicly available data.

• I keep thinking about the often used statement: “women are not small men”. I wonder where this decision fits into that thinking. Does it support it or not?

• I’m also thinking about the money invested into the trial and wonder whether what the impact would be if it was invested into coach development instead.

• I’m also thinking about the different journeys male and female players often take in being physically active, finding sport and finding rugby.

• I’m thinking about rates of injury within sport and a range of factors alongside biological reasons that influence this.

• I’m thinking about the professionalisation of women’s rugby and how few of our elite players are paid full time for their rugby careers.

I would love World Rugby to release some of the data of the trials. Let’s compare the SVNS and WXV trials to existing years and other competitions. Transparency is vital especially if World Rugby wish to make this change across women’s rugby.

World Rugby’s own targets include 3.4 million women and girls playing rugby by 202914 and continuing to grow the playing pathways (including school and social rugby)15.

Women’s rugby needs to be convinced that these trials and this potential change would fundamentally enhance the sport. It needs to be convinced that this trial is one of the immediate concerns of the sport, and how it can help World Rugby achieve it’s targets for growth. It also needs to be convinced that the players asked for this.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

Click the links below to buy me a coffee or upgrade your subscription

Buy Jess a coffee to support the work

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As you may be aware, there’s been some growth of Care Coaching Creativity that is beyond a Substack newsletter. I’m so proud of the newsletter and the amount of resources there are.

(I’m thinking about a way to activate some of the previous content, but for now a quick reminder that the website is organised into different tabs for you to find different topics)

Webinars

Alongside the articles, this Summer there’s some webinars. Each one looks at a different topic: period-friendly clubs and sessions, coaching contact and coaching craft. For each webinar I’m joined by a superstar guest: Sasha Squires, Dan Lycett and Russell Earnshaw will help make this Summer your time to learn and reflect.

Register and find out more here:

Each webinar will be held on Zoom. The webinars are available for subscribers and non-subscribers alike. The recording will be available afterwards for paid subscribers.

Support networks

There are two whatsapp networks designed to help build your support network. As a coach/person working within sport, having a good support network is vital.

There is a whatsapp group for any subscriber. It’s a place to share ideas and support each other.

Here is the link to join:

There is also a whatsapp group for women+ coaches. This is open to female coaches, in any sport, anywhere in the World.

It’s a place to support each other, chat and share ideas. We also have regular online meet ups for people to connect with each other.

Here is the link to join (pass this onto anyone you know):

Help me continue to build the work

Here’s where you come in. Your feedback is vital to help me find topics that are helpful. It also helps me build up new projects and gather feedback. I’m working on something new alongside the articles, newsletters and webinars, and you can help me with this.

I’ve created a survey to gather some feedback, it takes approx 5 minutes of your time, and I would greatly appreciate you filling it in.

Fill in the survey here

On the 22nd June Sasha Squires and I will discuss ways in which you can make your club and training period-friendly. Sasha will bring her experience from her role as Periods in Sports Lead for Freedom4Girls. We’ll look at why period-friendly approaches matter within sport and what a strategy looks like on and off the pitch.

Click here to register for the Period-Friendly webinar on 22nd June

The webinar will be held on Zoom. In order to attend, please register using the link above. The webinars are available for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

The recording will be available afterwards for paid subscribers.

Join in, bring your questions, get ready to boost your practice!

In this episode of Challenging the Game, Jess speaks to Emily Handyside who is Coaching Team Lead at UK Coaching. They chat about what needs to happen to ensure female coaches thrive, how to recuit and retain female coaches and experiences of coach development.

Subscribe to Coaching Care Creativity, a newsletter and site for coaching, for coaching women’s rugby, for coaching with care and creativity

Music: TVARI - Tokyo Cafe

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Following the article on adding elements to preseason so it doesn’t feel like ‘fitness, fitness, fitness’, here’s some activities that you can bring into a preseason training session to focus on defence. You can also use these activities all year round. I’ve listed them here because you can easily slot them into a preseason session.

I’ve focused on the principles of play: go forward, support, continuity and pressure. Each PoP has a technical station and a game station. Both stations add in fitness, but it’s less overt. Rugby fitness is diverse, it’s important to stress this through a range of different activities. Defense-focused preseason training can help with this message through activities like races and contact wrestling.

Build upon strong foundations by using Contact Confident activities in preseason and in the regular season. The programme contains examples such as bearcrawls and partner carries that are ideal for preseason technical or fitness stations.

Why your support matters

Go Forward

Game station: Races

Split players into two teams. Make sure there is a mixture of sprint pace across the teams to make it fair. Ask players to find a member of the opposition who is roughly the same pace as them. The players race against someone from the opposition. If a player wins that race, they get 1 point for their team. The team with the most points wins.

You can vary this by giving one player a ball and making another player a defender. If the defender tags them, the defender wins. If the ball carrier scores a try, they win. Players can start from the same line or you can angle the cones so the defender has to track the ball carrier down.

Technical station: Partner carries

Every player finds a partner. They line up and must race to the finish line. Each race is a different type of partner carry. The partner carries could include piggybacks or wheelbarrows. Check out Contact Confident for a video on different partner carries and how to coach them.

Support

Game station: Double tag

Play a game of touch. If the defending team make a double tag (2 people touch tackling the ball carrier), then the ball is turned over. This game is best suited for larger numbers (5v5 or more). You can make the playing area larger to make the defenders work harder.

Technical station: Bearcrawl squares

Set up a number of squares using cones. The squares should be a minimum of 3mx3m. Players must bearcrawl round the squares, but they face the same way at all times. This gets them moving fowards, right, backwards and left all in a bearcrawl. This is ideal to work on fundamentals of ruck, scrum, maul and tackle.

Continuity

Game station: Gainline game

Play a standard game of touch rugby. If the defenders make 3 touches that get the attackers behind the gainline, the ball is turned over. You can level this game up in challenge and intensity by adding a rule: the defenders now must get the attackers behind the gainline twice in a row to win the ball. This increases the focus on continuity in defence and increases the fitness challenge.

Technical station: Repeated tags/tackles

Create a small playing area. Give the attackers an overlap (2v1, 3v2). The ball carriers have to score on the tryline, if they do they turn and burn (attack the other tryline). Attackers have 3 rounds of attack before swapping. The defenders aim to continously make touch tackles, hugs/wraps or tackles. Each time a tackle is complete (this will vary depending on the scale of contact), the defender must aim to make another tackle. The defenders aim to continuously get up and make tackles to force the attackers to make a mistake. The fitness comes from the repeated energy in defence (especially if using the 2v1 version).

Pressure

Game station: Defend the zones

Split the pitch into 3 zones. Attackers are allowed 4 touch tackles in each zone. If the defenders pin them in a zone for 4 touch tackles, the defending team gain points. If the attackers don’t escape the 1st zone, the defenders get 3 points. If the attackers don’t escape the 2nd zone, the defenders get 2 points. If the attackers make it to the 3rd zone but don’t score within 4 touch tackles, the defenders get 1 point. If the attackers score, the defenders don’t get a point. The defending team has 3 rounds to defend before swapping. The team that has the most points wins.

Technical station: Rip and wrestle

Organise players into pairs. Give each pair a ball. Players start with the ball in between them, with both their hands on the ball. On your signal, they must continuously try and rip the ball from each other for 30 secs. If a player successfully rips the ball away, they score a point and iimmediately reset. After the 30 seconds, the player will the most points wins. Winners move to a different partner. If it’s a tie, both players stay. The activity resets and players go for another 30 second round. This continuous activity is a lower level contact exercise, but it helps players get confidence in contact as well as develop their fitness.

It’s also a great reminder that rugby fitness can look like a range of things, including being fast and being strong.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

Click the links below to buy me a coffee or upgrade your subscription

Buy Jess a coffee to support the work

Subscribe now

I’m always really proud of the content and community that is built through this Substack/newsletter.

Articles twice a week plus a podcast is alot of content, so it’s often good to take a pause and reflect on some good bits. It serves as a chance for me to reflect as well as an opportunity to revisit/read any bits you may have missed.

Here’s some of the top read

1. Postpartum Return to Rugby

Jo Perkins and Izzy Moore returned to talk about the new global return to rugby guidelines for postpartum players. There’s two options, one for elite and one for grassroots players.

2. A Week 1 Session Plan for Players New to the Game

It can be daunting to know what to scale up and scale down for players new to rugby. Here’s a handy session plan that you can tweak

3. The Benefits of Team Sports for Perimenopausal Women

Laura Wallace explains her work which looked at perimenopausal women taking part in walking football. There’s some benefits listed which can help you reflect on your sessions and potentially include them in your recruitment tactics.

4. Are Girls Dreaming of Becoming Athletes?

Women In Sport’s research looked at the dream rate of girls. This research is vital for rugby coaches as the report looked at results after the Rugby World Cup.

5. Get the Stats Story: Women’s Six Nations and Your Team

Sam Larner returned to preview the Six Nations. He also discusses how to measure stats in your team, including what’s helpful and what’s not.

6. Coaching in the UK is a Hostile Environment for Women - Part 1

This research from Women In Sport was heavy and important, so I split up my articles and experiences into 4 parts. The final part has just been released. Read part 1 here which looks at the employment landscape for coaches.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

Click the links below to buy me a coffee or upgrade your subscription

Buy Jess a coffee to support the work

Subscribe now

Following the article on adding elements to preseason so it doesn’t feel like ‘fitness, fitness, fitness’, here’s some activities that you can bring into a preseason training session to focus on attack. You can also use these activities all year round. I’ve listed them here because you can easily slot them into a preseason session. Rugby fitness is diverse, it’s important to stress this through a range of different activities. Attack-focused preseason training can help with this message through activities bearcrawl football and turn and burn,

I’ve focused on the principles of play: go forward, support, continuity and pressure. Each PoP has a technical station and a game station. Both stations add in fitness, but it’s less overt.

Why your support matters

Build upon strong foundations by using Contact Confident activities in preseason and in the regular season. The programme contains examples such as bearcrawls and partner carries that are ideal for preseason technical or fitness stations.

Go Forward

Game station: Bearcrawl football

Bearcrawls are fundamental for skills across attack and defence, including: rucks, scrums and tackles. This game means that everyone bearcrawls and aims to score by rolling or throwing the ball in the opponent’s goal. The activity gets players looking to go forward in attack whilst working on some contact skills that will be valuable if they’re looking to get clean and quick ruck ball in attack

Technical station: 1v1

Exactly what you’d imagine. Split players into pairs. This is a rapid activity that takes place in a small playing area. One ball carrier versus one defender. The defender attempts to touch-tackle the player, with a two handed touch. The attacker aims to use their speed and footwork to get to the otherside to score. Limit the time between repetitions to increase the test of fitness.

Support

Game station: 2 touch

Play a game of touch rugby. The ball carrier can keep running after the first touch, but they cannot score. After the second touch they stop and pass. Challenge players to run in support after the first touch to allow the ball carrier to pass before they get touch tackled a second time and the rate of play slows down. Limit the number of players and have multiple game stations to stretch the support and fitness.

Technical station: Piggy in the middle

Set up a small circular playing area. Give the attacking team more players (3v2, 4v3). The attackers attempt to pass between each other without the pass being intercepted or touched. If the ball is touched by a defender, the person who threw the ball and the defender swap. Players can run with the ball and pass in any direction. However, the pass cannot be shorter than 1m and the players can’t pass back to the person who passed them the ball.

Continuity

Game station: Offloading hugby

Hugby is where players play a game of rugby, but instead of it being a full tackle a defending player aims to wrap a ball carrier. This can help players work on their tracking and wrap in defence, it’s also helpful to still work on contact principles without players going to ground if the ground is firm due to the Summer heat. Focus on attacking principles by adding in an offload rule. If the ball carrier is wrapped, they must stop, if there is a support player there within 3 seconds the ball carrier can offload. If there is no support player, the ball gets rolled through the legs similar to rugby league.

Technical station: Fall, present and pop

Split players into small teams (3v3 or 4v4). If the ball carrier is touch tackled, they must fall to the floor, move to present the ball or pop the ball to a teammate. If they’ve presented the ball, the next person acts as scrumhalf to play the ball. This gets the players working on falling correctly, presenting the ball or popping the ball to a teammate to keep the ball alive.

Pressure

Game station: Turn and burn

Play a game of touch rugby (adapt the rules depending on your team). Add a turn and burn. As soon as the try is scored, the attackers retain possession and now look to attack the other tryline. The keeps the intensity and pace of the game high, as well as applying pressure to the defence.

Technical station: Kick chase

Although a kick chase would also fall under a defensive session as well. The focus here is on regaining the ball to score. Split players into small groups (4v4, 3v3). The attackers must score via a kick. The players or coaches can choose what type of kick (depending on what kick you want to focus on). The game is fast. Limit the time between repetitions to speed it up. Give the attackers a time limit to get as many scores as they can before swapping attackers and defenders.

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

Click the links below to buy me a coffee or upgrade your subscription

Buy Jess a coffee to support the work

Subscribe now

What are the shields?

The Raeburn Shield and Utrecht Shield are lineal titles. It is essentially: ‘winner stays on’, on a global scale. Beat the holder and you take the prize off them.

In 1871, there was the first ever international, Scotland beat England at Raeburn Place and become the first holder of the men’s title. In the women’s game, France beat the Netherlands in 1982, in Utrecht, and become the first holder.

Whoever beats the holder takes it. If you’ve got it, you defend it every single match, home or away, and the next team to beat you takes it off you. It’s playground rules applied to the entire history of international rugby and I just think that’s brilliant fun.

The work started in 2008 with a group of rugby nerds online talking stats after New Zealand had lost the World Cup. We were all messing around with the idea of what if rugby had a winner stays on title.

It was one of those daft internet conversations that probably should have died there, but I looked at it and thought that it could genuinely add something to the game. Everyone else drifted off eventually and I just kept carrying it.

The shields are fan driven. It wasn’t created by a sponsor or a governing body trying to manufacture a product. It came from people who genuinely love rugby. And honestly, that’s why I think it resonates.

I also think in decades rather than years. Long after I’m gone there’ll still be rugby fans arguing over who’s going to take the Shield next, and I really love the idea that I helped add something lasting to the game I care about.

The history of the game

Tracking the titles doesn’t necessarily tell you who the best team in the world is. What it tells you is who took their opportunity when it came. That’s the bit I really love.

You get these moments where maybe a side isn’t the best team overall, but for one day they rise up and take the title. Over time the great teams still tend to emerge because it’s incredibly difficult to hold onto these things for any length of time. You just have to keep winning.

Fans live on stories. Rugby is built on stories and meaning and little moments that become part of the game’s folklore. The response online has shown that massively.

People instantly understand the jeopardy of it. Suddenly a match has this extra layer where one result can completely change the direction of the title. That emotional hook really lands with people.

At one level it’s just data and results. It’s basically an algorithm. However, what I’m actually trying to do is tell stories and create a narrative thread through the history of rugby.

I can connect players from over a hundred years ago directly to players today through the same title. In the women’s game that’s especially powerful because I can connect today’s players directly back to the trailblazers from 1982 who played in that first international and who are still around to engage with and celebrate.

There’s something quite magic about that. It’s like this hidden layer of rugby history that’s always existed, we just hadn’t surfaced it properly before.

Why does it matter?

The shield adds meaning without changing the game. You don’t need extra fixtures or you don’t need another tournament. The shield adds a new layer onto matches that already exist. Every game suddenly carries jeopardy. If you’re the holder, you’re defending a global title every single time you step onto the pitch.

In New Zealand (my home), we have the Ranfurly Shield in domestic rugby. People talk about “shield fever.” It completely changes the atmosphere around matches.

There’s this sense of “you’re not taking this off us,” and equally for the challengers it’s this huge opportunity because you might only get one shot to take it.

That same magic exists with the lineal titles. One game, one chance, and suddenly you can become world champions. Fans absolutely connect with that because sport lives in those moments.

History of the Women’s Game

The women’s game has this really unique birth story because it’s modern enough that many of the players who started that journey are still around. That’s incredibly special. You can directly connect today’s players and fans with the people who built the foundations of the international women’s game in 1982.

The Utrecht Shield creates this continuous thread through all of that history. It gives us a way to celebrate the trailblazers, connect generations together and surface stories that maybe haven’t always had the recognition they deserved. That’s a really powerful thing for growing the game, because history and identity matter.

There are some brilliant stories and facts. The Black Ferns held the Utrecht Shield for 20 straight matches between 2002 and 2009 which is just ridiculous dominance, especially when nobody even knew the concept existed at the time.

South Africa held the Raeburn Shield from 1937 until 1953, although there was a world war in the middle and they only played 12 matches. Romania were effectively world champions for a period in the 1980s which is one story people always love.

One that still feels wild to me is that Canada never held the Utrecht Shield until 2024 despite having some incredible teams over the years and being such a major force in women’s rugby. There are also little quirks in history like Great Britain briefly holding the title in the women’s game before disappearing entirely. I actually love those strange bits because they reflect rugby history exactly as it happened.

I took the Utrecht Shield back to Utrecht in 2022 for the 40th anniversary of the first women’s international. That was incredibly special. We got the shield into the hands of players from that original 1982 match, and suddenly this thing stopped feeling like an idea and became real.

Since then I’ve become quite cheeky about sneaking it into places it probably shouldn’t be. During Rugby World Cup 2025, I got it into the Brighton stadium and into Ashton Gate for the semi-finals.

We actually got it down into the stadium bowl during the England versus France semi-final and even managed to get it into a BBC photo from the day, which made me laugh quite a lot. Those little moments are brilliant because you can see people instantly connect with it.

Why your support matters

How could the sport tell it’s stories better?

I think rugby sometimes gets too obsessed with four year cycles and building towards World Cups. Obviously the Rugby World Cup is the pinnacle and should absolutely be treated that way, but there’s room for more stories alongside that, not fewer.

Sport lives in moments. A single upset, a single challenge, a single chance to take something off somebody.

Teams can do more to embrace those moments and connect the stories of players and generations together. Fans don’t just connect with trophies, they connect with narrative and emotion and jeopardy. The more rugby leans into that side of itself, the stronger it becomes.

For grassroots clubs and teams: just give people narratives they can grab hold of. The beauty of the Shields is they don’t ask for more rugby or more pressure on players, they just add significance to what’s already happening.

If clubs and teams can surface those stories better, people naturally buy in because humans love stories far more than they love fixture lists.

Check out the Utrecht Shield and the stats

Did you know there’s a paid subscription option for Coaching Care Creativity? None of the regular content is behind a paywall so your subscriptions or coffee clicks can help keep the content going. The subscriptions are £5 a month or £50 for the year. You can also buy me a one-off coffee for just £5.

Click the links below to buy me a coffee or upgrade your subscription

Buy Jess a coffee to support the work

Subscribe now