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
Angling for an advantage: scrum & maul at England vs. USAIn round two of the World Cup group match between England and USA, the American tight forwards outweighed their English counterparts by an average of over 2 kilos per man. In the event, it was nonetheless the England tight five who clearly dominated the power-based set-pieces of scrum and driving maul. Analyst Nick Bishop explains how and why in this week’s article.
All Black tournament preparation for the BoksPreparation for opposing teams on a one-off basis is relatively easy. The process of preparing for teams you play regularly, or those you are playing in a series of matches or in a tournament, can be far more complicated.
In those situations, you may not want to put all the cards in your hand on the table at once, but keep some secrets up your sleeve.
Analyst Nick Bishop details one of the key secrets New Zealand held back for their heavyweight clash with arch-rivals South Africa at the group stage of the current World Cup in Japan.
How the All Blacks made the ‘twins’ click at Eden ParkWhat is this ‘it’, the magic ingredient on a professional rugby field? Analyst Nick Bishop takes a look at ‘whether the new 7s ’twins’ are the All Blacks ‘it’ after last weekends Bledisloe cup match in Auckland.
How to set up your short-side defence – the All Black wayDefence of the short-side demands a keen sense of anticipation and vocal communication skills in the defenders allotted to the task.
Analyst Nick Bishop explains why and who is key in his latest article.
Why defence does not begin or end with a line-breakOne of the main measures of the effectiveness of your defence, was simply to count the number of times the opposition broke your line when they had the ball in hand.
Although that remains a useful statistic, it is no longer the be-all and end-all of defensive measurement. What happens after a line break has been made is equally important as Analyst Nick Bishop details in his latest article.
How to use ‘joined-up thinking’ in your game-planHow do you find a clear plan of action on a rugby field? Analyst Nick Bishop in his latest article outlines the ‘thinking’ and ‘factors’ to create a successful ‘Joined Up’ game plan.
Is it time for Ardie Savea to start for the All Blacks?Will the All Black selectors follow Wales coach Warren Gatland’s very successful approach and field 2 No 7s in the loose forwards? Nick Bishop analyses Ardie Savea’s recent development and claim for inclusion in the ABs starting XV.
How to mix backs and forwards at the set-piece!Backs can help the forwards in the tasks that used to belong solely to the pack – but only if they understand what their roles are and how best to apply their power. Analyst Nick Bishop investigate how that overlapping understanding is evident at the driving maul.
How to find mismatches against the single-line defenceArguably the biggest change in Rugby’s professional era occurred when the game started to import defensive coaches from League. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how modern professional sides are looking to break through increasingly tighter rugby league style defences.
How Warren Gatland won the preparation war in CardiffWarren Gatland’s knowledge of the game in the UK and Ireland is anything but one-sided. He has coached in Ireland, Wales and with Wasps in England and more importantly, he has coached on three consecutive British & Irish Lions tours. Analyst Nick Bishop details how that ‘inside knowledge’ gave him and Wales a priceless advantage against England in Cardiff.
