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In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan Cottrell speaks to coach and former professional player Sam Mace about the journey from playing to coaching and the lessons that shaped his philosophy.
Sam played professionally in Major League Rugby with the Toronto Arrows, before concussion injuries forced him to retire early. That experience changed the direction of his career and sparked a passion for coaching that is now reaching thousands of players and coaches online through his SMPerformance platform.
In this conversation, Sam explains what truly energises him about coaching. For him, the biggest influence was the feeling of being supported by great coaches and the opposite experience of feeling small or unwanted. That contrast shaped his commitment to creating environments where players feel belief, ownership and agency over their own development.
Dan and Sam explore how honest conversations build trust, why players improve more when they understand why they are not selected, and how coaches can balance challenge with care.
They also dive into coaching contact skills, discussing the technical side of tackling, the importance of control rather than aggression, and why the best defenders focus on precision and positioning rather than simply hitting harder.
Along the way, Sam reflects on social media coaching, the limits of short-form content, and why great coaching is always about the human connection behind the technique.
Key themes
Building belief and agency in players
Honest feedback and player ownership
Coaching confidence after mistakes
Teaching tackling through precision and technique
The difference between social media coaching and real coaching
If you want to connect with Sam, you can find his coaching content at SMPerformance on Instagram.
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What does sustainable performance actually look like in elite sport and leadership?
In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan speaks with Lúcás Ó’Ceallacháin, a high-performance coach and leadership specialist who has worked across rugby, wrestling, artistic swimming, ballet and Olympic systems worldwide.
Lúcás helps leaders build performance “one brick at a time” through social learning, psychological safety and deliberate coaching design. 
From coaching in Russia and Kazakhstan to supporting Olympic programmes and even ballet companies, he shares powerful lessons about:
• Why psychological safety is misunderstood
• The balance between accountability and freedom
• How culture shapes coaching effectiveness
• Why framing matters more than motivation
• How small check-in rituals can transform team dynamics
This conversation goes beyond theory. It explores what it really means to be the adult in the room — to create clarity, set standards and invite contribution without losing performance edge.
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What does it really mean to be the adult in the room?
In this powerful and honest conversation, I sit down with Tara Lynn, transformational coach and trusted adviser to high performers who have reached the edge of what got them here. We explore how leaders and coaches can regulate themselves under pressure, avoid slipping into “parent” or “child” reactions, and communicate with clarity instead of ego.
Tara shares her A.D.U.L.T framework, breaks down the difference between training and coaching, and explains why language, timing and self-awareness determine whether challenge feels like growth or threat.
We also unpack:
How to stay calm when others are not
Why attachment to outcomes undermines leadership
The fine line between coaching and rescuing
How men can communicate with women without patronising
When to engage… and when to walk away

To find out more about Tara and get in contact with her:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/taralynncoaching/

www.taralynncoaching.com 

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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In this episode, Dan Cottrell is joined once again by skill acquisition specialist Job Fransen, Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University and Managing Director of SkillACQ.
Together they explore what really matters in coaching practice design, feedback, and player development.
Job shares why elite coaches rarely need “disrupting,” why most coaches intervene too quickly, and why sometimes the best coaching decision is to step back and let players solve the problem.
They dig into:
Coaching through mistakes rather than stopping at phase three
When feedback helps learning… and when it creates dependency
Why prescriptive feedback should be used sparingly
How confidence and competence are not the same thing
The controversial place for drills in developing short-term performance
Why skill acquisition science cannot prescribe one “best” method
🔑 Key Takeaways
Players often detect and correct errors themselves. Coaches may be over-intervening.
Feedback is powerful. Use it deliberately, not habitually.
Prescriptive feedback can create dependency if overused.
Letting play continue through errors can enhance collective learning.
Not all improvement is conscious. Players do not need to verbalise change to learn.
Drills can build short-term confidence, but they do not equal long-term learning.
The best coaches are obsessive about craft, but open to nudges, not disruption.
There is no universal “best practice.” Context and coach intuition matter.
Find out more here:
www.skillacq.com
www.skillacq.com/pathways/build
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 actually happens on a Saturday night when the final whistle blows and rugby stories still need to be told?
In this episode of the Rugby Coach Weekly podcast, Dan is joined by Ben Jaycock, assistant editor at The Rugby Paper, to explore how parts of a national rugby newspaper are produced under extreme time pressure.
While much of The Rugby Paper is planned days in advance, Ben explains how key match reports, ratings, and analysis are written live as games unfold and filed within minutes of full time, ready for a Sunday morning readership that already knows the score.
The conversation lifts the lid on writing for readers who have watched the game, not those discovering the result, why creativity matters more than formula, and how editors balance honesty, criticism, and respect for players, coaches, and referees.
They also discuss the importance of grassroots coverage, why The Rugby Paper resists clickbait, and what excites Ben about the modern game despite its financial challenges.
A thoughtful insight into rugby journalism, storytelling, and why good reporting still matters to the health of the sport.
Reach Ben on X
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Get weekly rugby union coverage from internationals to grassroots at
therugbypaper.co.uk/subscriptions
To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly
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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!