Articles
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
How to cure the blight of scrum penalties in modern RugbyWhy have today’s scrums resulted in more penalties and less usable ball than in amateur rugby days. And it is not due to a lack of technique as Nick Bishop explains why in this week’s analysis.
How to expose the ‘spare man’ in defenceLocating the spare defender is the short-hand for deciding the direction of attack on the next play. In this week’s analysis, using a recent European Cup game as an example, Nick Bishop looks how an attack can exploit defending team’s ‘receiver’ role at Lineout time.
How to create breathing space on restartsThe concept of hang-time can be used as a strategy by both the kicking and the receiving team on restarts as Nick Bishop highlights in this week’s analysis.
Identifying weaknesses from restartsRestarts are one of the biggest momentum-changers in the game of Rugby. In the recent Tri-Nations series in the games between Argentina and Australia, the Pumas enjoyed a lot of ‘pay’ out of their restarts. Analyst Nick Bishop, reconstructs some of the thinking behind their choices.
Why tackling has become high stakesThe hold-up tackle is still very much on the cutting edge of team’s defences. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how it has had to transform itself in order to remain there.
Changing perceptions at scrum-time: All Blacks-Pumas - the SequelThe challenge facing the All Blacks’ coaching staff and players after the previous Pumas match was to reverse the perception of the left side of their scrum. Nick Bishop explains how they accomplished this in definitive style.
Why the All Blacks front row is in a bindDuring their recent Rugby Championship match, the Argentenian scrum had the All Black’s scrum in a real ‘Bind’ as Nick Bishop explains. It has created some questions that need to be answered, a scrum selection bind that needs to be broken.
How to manipulate the short-side from lineoutThe lineout drive is a more robust, manageable platform for set-piece attack than the scrum, especially if the short-side is the target area as Analyst Nick Bishop highlights in this week’s article.
How to deal with the rush hour in the red zoneIt is no coincidence that the recent upswing in France’s international fortunes have coincided with Edwards’ arrival as their ‘minister of defence’. Analyst Nick Bishop details everything you need to know about the immediate impact of ‘the Shaun Edwards effect’.
