Coaching Culture with Ben Herring

A rugby club with 1,500 players shouldn’t feel personal, yet Newman Club in Buenos Aires somehow does. Alfredo Cordone explains how Argentina’s club-first rugby pathway creates a level of belonging most countries have lost, where the club becomes a second house and the community is the culture. We talk about the values that sit underneath it all, from humility and respect to sacrifice and long-term development, and why rugby is used as a tool to build better people, not just better athletes. 

We get practical about coaching culture, too. Alfredo shares simple behaviors that scale, like treating every player as a person first and making it a non-negotiable that coaches learn every name. We also unpack what it takes to run a huge amateur program like a real organization, aligning dozens of volunteer coaches, coordinating professional medical staff, and creating routines that keep people connected, including late-night trainings and the legendary Thursday barbecue that turns “team bonding” into real life. 

Then we go to the hard place: losing seven semifinals and finals by one point. Alfredo breaks down how purpose bigger than results and commitment to process kept Newman growing until the championship finally arrived, plus the long-term selection decisions that prioritize the future over short-term fixes. We finish with an honest look at ego and leadership, including what it means to step aside so the team can thrive. If you care about leadership, team culture, and sustainable player development, you’ll take notes from this one. 

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A lot of talent pathways talk about “development,” but few are honest about what it really takes to build better players without losing the person. We sit down with Euros Evans, Director of Rugby at Coleg Sir Gar and Head Coach at Llandovery RFC, to explore how one of Welsh rugby’s most productive 16 to 18 programs operates inside the Welsh Rugby Union pathway and the Scarlets region. The result is a hybrid model that manages workload, aligns coaching identity, and gives young athletes a clear view of what professional rugby actually demands.

We dig into the nuts and bolts: how the season structure works, what “elite player” means, and why facility investment, S&C, physio support, and coaching time are not luxuries, they are the foundation. Ross shares what has changed most over two decades, including the rise of agents at school games and the growing need to educate parents and players about realistic timelines, selection, and rejection.

The heart of the conversation is culture and holistic development. Euros lays out the standards he cares about most: education first, professionalism, punctuality, discipline, integrity, and resilience. We talk late developers, why the journey is rarely linear, and why “don’t write yourself off at 16” is not motivational fluff, it is a practical truth backed by real careers.

If you care about schoolboy rugby, player welfare, leadership, and building a sustainable high performance pathway, this one will stick with you. Subscribe, share this with a coach or parent, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.
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A lot of people talk about “culture” like it’s a slogan. Dan Elsom lives it, by building a brand-new representative rugby team for the British and Irish expat community in Australia, then turning it into a real platform for players who want more than a club season and a few match fees. This chat gets into the real work: selection standards, coaching alignment, logistics, media, and why making something legitimate matters when you want players and supporters to buy in. 

We also dig into the bigger vision behind the Heritage Cup, a new annual fixture that pairs British and Irish Expat Rugby with the Pacific Warriors to celebrate the heritage that shapes Australian rugby every weekend. Dan shares what it means to create unity across different backgrounds, how you build a “we” fast with limited prep time, and why exposure through live streaming can be a game-changer for semi-pro talent across the Shoot Shield and beyond. 

The most human part of the story is what happens off the field: cold outreach for sponsors, self-funding before there’s proof, juggling the stress of launch while raising a newborn, and learning the hard way about the admin nobody warns you about. We close with the charity partnership with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), honoring Dan’s mate Max Oliver, and why purpose makes the grind worth it. If you enjoy conversations on leadership, team culture, grassroots rugby, and building community through sport, hit subscribe, share this with a rugby friend, and leave us a review.
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Watching pro rugby on TV can make school rugby look intimidating, but the truth is far more hopeful and far more practical. We’re joined by Tim Murdy, Director of Sport at Shawnigan Lake School, to talk about how a youth rugby program becomes a place where kids feel safe, challenged, and proud. Tim explains why rugby is a powerful shared experience for younger students, especially in a boarding school setting with athletes arriving from many countries and sporting backgrounds.

We get specific about how to coach beginners without overwhelming them: small-sided games, fun-first progressions, and a skills-based approach that teaches passing, catching, tackling, and decision-making for every body type. We also tackle the hard questions parents ask about contact sports. Tim breaks down how qualified coaching, controlled contact teaching, and prescriptive refereeing reduce risk, and why it’s essential not to compare 13-year-olds to professional athletes.

From there, the conversation widens into coaching culture and leadership. Tim shares his definition of excellence: preparation and performance for competitive pathways, and an excellent experience for every student. We explore fundamentals under pressure, training intensity, using wrestling as a safe tool for body control, and the long-term impact of opening your school’s doors to visiting teams and national programs.

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A lot of people talk about “culture” like it’s a slogan on a wall. We wanted something more real, so I sat down with Campese Maafu, a three-time Rugby World Cup prop and 63-test Flying Fijian, to hear what actually holds teams and people together when pressure hits. For Campese, culture is values plus standards, fueled by faith and the responsibility of “upholding your name” for your family, your community, and everyone watching you from back home. 

Campese’s journey is just as gripping as his definitions. He walks us through representing Fiji with Tongan roots, the family pride that comes with international rugby, and the unforgettable moment of debuting against his own brother in the scrum. Then the story takes a turn most fans don’t expect: he retires, becomes a plumber, finishes his apprenticeship, and learns how coaching shows up in everyday work through patience, communication, and repetition with apprentices who all learn differently. 

That repetition mindset becomes the engine of his coaching career, from schools and clubs to one-on-ones and pathways, until he gets the call to join the Fijian Drua as a professional coach. We dig into what the Drua means for Fijian rugby, why young players see rugby as a path out of poverty, and the hard shift from village-style rugby to professional behaviors like nutrition, recovery, strength and conditioning, and set piece pride in scrummaging and mauling. 

If you care about rugby coaching, leadership development, and building a high-performance culture without losing your humanity, you’ll take a lot from this one. Subscribe, share it with a coach or player who needs it, and leave a review, what’s one standard you want your team to live by this week?
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