Coaching & Officiating E-News: August 05

COACHING NEWS

Coaches appointed for 2006 Women's World Cup Campaign

Australia's Women's World Cup campaign has taken a major step forward, with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) announcing the appointment of a Head Coach and Assistant Coach for the national women's team, the Wallaroos, for the 2006 IRB Women's Rugby World Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

2003 Southern States Championship winning coach Steve Hamson, from Carcoar in the Central Tablelands of NSW, has been appointed Head Coach of the national women's team, while current Sydney University 2nd Grade coach John Manenti will fill the role of Assistant Coach.

Between them, Hamson and Manenti bring more than 35 years of playing, coaching and administrative experience to the Wallaroos, a solid history Hamson says they will use to guide the team to improving on their fifth place finish in the last Women's World Cup, held in 2002 in Barcelona, Spain.

For the pair, the task of selecting a side to represent Australia at next year's Women's World Cup began last week, as they used the 2005 Telstra Australian Women's Invitational Tournament to evaluate players before naming a national women's training squad in September.

The training squad will be monitored in their home states from October to March 2006, then reassessed at next year's Telstra National Women's Championship. A final World Cup touring squad will be assembled in late August 2006.

The 2006 IRB Women's Rugby World Cup takes place from 29 August to 18 September in Edmonton, Canada and will showcase 12 of the world's top Women's rugby teams, including 2002 champions New Zealand.

Australia's road to the 2006 IRB Women's Rugby World Cup

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Playing with the "Ball in Hand"

Very often, coaches state that they want to "...play expansively, with the ball in hand."

In addition, our Australian heritage and " 'ave a go, ya mug" attitude, along with long daylight hours and firm grounds lend themselves to this ideology.

But what exactly does it take to play this style of Rugby?

ARU Coach Education Manager, Warren Robilliard explores the question. For the full article click here

Update your coaching skills with new QRU resources

In addition to the lineout CD, the QRU has a range of other coaching resources available.

For further information about the QRU's coaching resources including prices and an order form, click here or contact the QRU's Game Education Manager, Martin Field-Dodgson at martin.dodgson@qru.com.au

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REFEREE NEWS

Where the ball will be!

While undertaking his Level III Referee Coach program, Rick Watsford wrote the following summary of a paper he'd prepared.

The paper considers the issue of when a referee arrives and departs from the tackle phase and the impact this has on the refereeing of subsequent phases of the game.

For a full copy of the summary, click here

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What the Referee really needs to know

While participating in the Level III Referee Program, Geoff Patching prepared a report on some of the issues faced by new referees. The following is a summary of the major points raised in this report.

In addition to raising some of the issues, the points also offer some suggestions on how they can be addressed, not only by the referee, but by those who provide the support for these individuals when they begin their refereeing career.

Summary Points

1. Assist the referee in developing a checklist for his/her first team chat and practice going through this checklist with him/her.

2. Make use of referee shadowing and reverse shadowing until a new referee's confidence has been established.

3. The positive nature of the referee - referee coach relationship should be emphasised at the Level I Referee course.

4. The ability of the referee in applying the laws during the first couple of games is secondary to the need of the referee to feel supported and encouraged by the referee coach to build up their confidence.

5. The development of checklists and strengthening of law knowledge and application is essential as the new referee begins to make a transition from "not knowing what they don't know" to "knowing that they don't know".

6. The Referee Development Officer needs to have the skill to direct the needs of a new referee to appropriate resources within the association that can best develop the referee.

7. The referee association plays a critical role in ensuring that enough attention and resources are provided to the referee through its membership.

8. Equal peer discussions can provide a learning opportunity for discussions at a common issue level.

9. Senior referee discussions can provide a learning opportunity for new referees to learn from the experiences of others.

10. Development of new referees by referee coaches should be through a directing style with a high emphasis on passing on of knowledge from the referee coach to the referee.

11. As the new referee begins to make a transition from "not knowing what they don't know" to "knowing that they don't know", the referee coaching style should move towards a more traditional referee coaching role of directing and supporting the referee.

12. The emphasis for developing new referees should be on referee coaching rather than mentoring.

13. Senior referees with a certain level of experience can provide additional coaching resources and a role model for new referees.

14. New referee specific training has been overlooked. Emphasis should be placed on the practical development and practice of "Skill, Drill, Game" for new referees.

15. Professional referees can be used to assist a new referee understand their own style and their style's strengths and weaknesses.

16. Referee appointments should be at a level that will allow the new referee to gain confidence and experience and allow them to apply the coaching principles that they are taught.

17. Assessment of a new referee will be more subjective and should apply additional emphasis on the ability of the referee to apply the coaching advice they have been given, game management techniques and safety.

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COACH & REFEREE PROFILES

Paul Hennock, NSWRU Coach Education Manager

I began fulltime work with the NSW Rugby Union (NSWRU) in January 2000 in Dubbo as a Rugby Development Officer. Since then I've held several different roles with NSWRU in both country and metropolitan NSW.

In 2001, I moved to Orange to continue my role, before moving to Sydney for a role as Match Official at Rugby World Cup 2003. After the World Cup, I took a role with the NSWRU Coach Education department and after a 12 month stint with the NSWRU Referee Department, I returned to my current role in Coach Education.

I have a varied background in Rugby having played, refereed and administered at many levels. My passion for the game took off while I was studying at Charles Sturt University in Wagga in 1989 where I played and managed teams for the Rivcol Rugby Club.

After completing my studies, I played with the most southern Rugby Club in New South Wales - the Deniliquin Drovers. After two years with the Drovers, I headed back to Wagga to play for my old club until injury halted a humble but enjoyable playing career.

Still wanting to be involved I coached the 3^rd Grade team to a premiership in 1996 and took up the whistle the following year. I continued refereeing until 2002, but it was during 1996 I began to assist the NSWRU development officer in the area, Dave Gibson, with implementing NSWRU programs in the Riverina zone.

During this time, I was involved in school programs, managing representative and development programs and became involved in the NSWRU Talent Identification Programs. I continued in these roles until mid-1999 when I moved to Bathurst while working for Charles Sturt University.

I have been extremely fortunate to live and work in Rugby as it has given me many opportunities. My greatest thrills still come from assisting people in the game who want to try hard, play by the rules and give to the game so the game can grow.

While Rugby has taken me many places and given me unforgettable memories like being at Telstra Stadium in front of 80,000 people for the presentation of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, it owes me nothing - I owe Rugby everything.

The great benefit Rugby has for individuals and for our society is that Rugby teaches us that if you work hard you get results, but some days you just can't win because life's not always fair, so get over it and move on.

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Ron Mancell - NSWRU Referee Education Manager

In January 2003, I joined NSW Rugby Union (NSWRU) as the Community Rugby Referee Coordinator after a long career in the Army. By the end of 2003, I was Acting Referee Manager after George Ayoub, the then NSWRU Referee Manager accepted a contract with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). I was confirmed in the position in March 2004.

My participation in Rugby started when I was 12 years old and seemingly typecast as a hooker, playing most of my Rugby in that position for the next 20 years. I played at school, in the Army, in club Rugby in Brisbane and in various country clubs in Victoria and New South Wales. During this time, I also did some coaching with junior and Army unit teams.

At 28 years old, I retired from playing temporarily due to injury and began my involvement in the game as a referee. When I returned to playing the game, I continued refereeing, combining the two for the next four years. I finally stopped playing at the end of 1981 and became serious about refereeing. At 54 years of age, I am still actively refereeing - my wife says that it has become an obsession!

In the early days, I refereed matches three to five times a week including Services matches and weekend club competitions. On one occasion in Brisbane, I remember doing nine matches in 11 days! On average, I refereed 50 - 80 games a year from 1982 to 1990. I took advantage of being in the Services - doing Service matches - and refereed firstly with the Queensland Referees Association and subsequently the Sydney Referees Association.

In 1991, I was posted to Lismore and continued my refereeing with the Far North Coast Rugby Referees Association. During my time in Lismore, I was also appointed by the NSW Rugby Union as the Zone Referee Development Officer.

In 2002, I moved back to south-west Sydney and started my association with the Illawarra Rugby Referees Association, with whom I'm still active.

I am now in my twenty-eighth year of refereeing. My time with the Far North Coast and Illawarra Rugby has helped round out my experience as a referee as prior to that I was only associated with big city associations.

I have been active in educating and training referees since 1982 when I first instructed on a Services referees course in Brisbane. Since then, I have delivered referee courses to service personnel in New South Wales and been active with the Sydney Referees Association Examination Board.

Coupling my experience as a referee educator and an instructor in the Army, it now seems a natural progression that I should be employed doing something that I enjoyed doing as a volunteer for so long.

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