Category: Player news

I am a supporter of Hansen and co. They’re the real deal and have done a good job so far.  

The core roles of the Head Coach are to select the team and develop the strategy.   

There is growing speculation that Kieran Reid will play at blindside against the Wallabies in Perth this Saturday.

The All Black selectors have learnt their lesson. A draw is not a loss for the All Blacks but for South Africa it’s a win away from home and with it will come self-belief. They will be even harder to beat in Yokohama. 

Sir Graham Henry presented to the IRANZ High Performance Coaches group this week and made a remarkable statement:  60% of being successful as a coach is selection.

“We’re going to have to be hungry for success,” Steve Hansen said, after announcing the squad. In my view this is the key attribute required to win the Rugby World Cup.  We have the players, we have the history, we have the technical and tactical skill and nous.  But we won’t win the Cup unless we have sufficient hunger! We often hear comments like “we need experience at this level.” This is true, but sometimes players with experience lack the hunger.  On the other hand they have the ability to apply themselves mentally – to live, think and play in the moment, without the mind being distracted in any way or form.  This is what we call mental toughness. Most experienced players have this attribute.  The hunger is desire – to be desperate to do as well as you possibly can.

It was an absolute cracker and the Crusaders totally deserved their win.  It might have been by the narrowest of margins, but they led all the way. 

Since IRANZ was established in 2001, 16 of our Player and Coach Graduates from the USA have pushed on to become USA Eagles.

I guess with 20 years of player and coach development at IRANZ and half that total coaching at club level, from age grade to Premier, I am equipped to make the following statement.

Reeve Satherley attended the Advanced Players Course in December last year, and has quickly progressed into senior rugby ranks.

IRANZ Staff caught up recently with his mother Julz to hear how he’s been getting on.

To win the Rugby World Cup, you need the ball – and the lock’s role of aerial possession is now far more significant to secure the ball for their team.

Another busy month looms for IRANZ – with five different Courses available in July for rugby players & coaches looking to grow and develop.

Three Hookers will be selected in the All Black Squad for the Rugby World Cup Squad this year.

It’s time we, the punters, started picking the All Black Squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

For the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking down who I would select for the squad, and the reasons behind each selection.

Over the years, IRANZ have kept a close eye on the achievements of both Player and Coach Graduates on the International Stage.

However, there have been numerous counts of our Graduates achieving great things at other, competitive levels of rugby. The story of IRANZ Graduate Robert Taylor for example, is nothing short of remarkable.

When asked for his thoughts on IRANZ Player Courses, former International Head Coach Brian Ashton labelled the programme as “gold for young players.”

IRANZ believes “to be the best, you have to learn from the best.”

High Performance player & coach participants were treated to that very opportunity when All Black Assistant Coaches Ian Foster & Mike Cron joined them during the final section of their programme last week.

Rugby 7’s is fast becoming the show piece of Rugby Union.

An Olympic sport, played on a global circuit in exotic locations such as Dubai, Cape Town, Hamilton, Sydney, Los Vegas, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Paris.