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Nick Bishop Here's what Nick thinks...
About Nick Bishop
Nick has worked as a rugby analyst and advisor to Graham Henry (1999-2002), Mike Ruddock (2004-2006) and latterly Stuart Lancaster (2011-2015). He also worked on the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and produced his first rugby book with Graham Henry at the end of the tour. Since then, three more rugby books have followed, all of which of have either been nominated for, or won national sports book awards. The latest is a biography of Phil Larder, the first top Rugby League coach to successfully transfer over to Union. It is entitled “The Iron Curtain”. Nick has also written or contributed to four other books on literature and psychology.
“He is currently writing articles for The Roar and The Rugby Site, and working as a strategy consultant to Stuart Lancaster and the Leinster coaching staff for their European matches.”
Nick Bishop's latest articles
Is the goal-line drop-out more important than the 50/22?Restarting the game from underneath your own posts makes a huge territorial difference, compared to a drop-out from your own 22 metre line. Analyst Nick Bishop details the outcomes of goal line dropouts in the recent All Blacks v Wallabies test match.
Analizando la defensa “Rush”Uno de los problemas mas dificiles en el Rugby moderno es la defensa Rush o Rush defence.
El analista de video Nick Bishop analiza como el ataque con un wing en un extremo puede ser exitoso.
How to chase the high kick – the Springbok wayAnalyst Nick Bishop spots some Springbox innovation in the Lions series of games where the pattern of play was both conservative and repetitive.
Getting around the 'Rush' DefenceOne the most difficult problems for coaches to solve in the modern game is the rush defence. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how a ‘single wing attack’ structure is proving successful.
How to get the ball away from the scrum quicksandWhat is the best way to avoid the scrum penalty/reset quicksand, and create usable attacking ball? Analyst Nick Bishop explains one option being used more by attacking minded teams.
How to make the pick-and-go really ‘go’The pick-and-go is often neglected, at least in field positions outside the opposition 22. Analyst Nick Bishop takes a look at some of the features that make the pick-and-go game tick over as smoothly as clockwork.
Is it better to play Rugby without the ball?The early evidence is that Test rugby is proving to be stubbornly resistant to the 2020 law changes, which were designed to promote quicker ruck delivery and more ball-in-hand attack. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at why this is the case
How to chop down the attack – the Shaun Edwards wayDefence coach Shaun Edwards has been around the game of Rugby Union for a long time. He has a history of teaching a low tackline technique known as the ‘chop’ tackle, and an equally well-documented dislike of high tackling technique (‘the choke’). Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how Edwards has safely amended and developed his low tackling, ‘chop’ philosophy with the times.
Why have the top teams stopped kicking for goal?It may just be the end of an era. The days of the penalty goal as the primary means of scoring in Rugby may be coming to end – at least if the English Premiership final is a true measure of judgement as Nick Bishop reports in this week’s analysis.
Decisions favouring the TacklerFollowing on from last week’s article, Nick takes a look at the different set of refereeing priorities which emerged during the Trans-Tasman Super competition.
