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
Why the ‘droppie’ may be coming back into fashion!Nick Bishop details how drop goals like George Ford’s are a simple and risk-free method of keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
How to beat the pressure with both feetHowever rare the genuinely ambidextrous may be, it is still important for rugby players at all levels to cultivate the same ability to ‘play both ways’ as Nick Bishop highlights in this week’s analysis using France’s No 9 Dupont as his prime example.
How to control the game with an accurate exit strategyNick Bishop balances the Exit Strategy ledger outlining the exiting in the case the All Blacks dominate their exit strategy against the South African return team.
How to win the #15/ #9 battle from midfield scrumsLaw changes frequently have repercussions, or send out impact ripples well beyond the original intention – for better or for worse. As Nick Bishop highlights how the Defending #9 not being allowed past the mid-line of the scrum trial law change has also changed how the backs attack and defend.
Why one ‘knee equals two feet’ against the high tackleThe solution is to drop body-height quickly and dramatically, and get at least one knee to the ground immediately. Nick Bishop details what knee on ground is a solution to and why it has become so effective in the tackle.
Why teams are feeling the need – the need for speed – at the scrum base [part 2]Nick Bishop highlights how the new law-trial requiring the defending scrum-half to drop back rather than chase up beyond the mid-point of the set-piece are having more of a positive impact than even the law-makers may have envisaged.
How to design and develop a ‘gadget’ move from lineoutInnovation can be the genuine discovery of something completely new, but far more often it represents the improvement, or streamlining of something already known.
Nick Bishop looks at how the ‘Teabag’ (lineout gadget play) has evolved as coaches ‘innovate’ the same concept from another angle.
How to control the opposition exit strategy, and play the game in the right areas of the fieldFine-tuning your own exit strategy, and pressurizing the exit strategy of the opposition is the most reliable way of creating those positions where you can reap what you’ve sown as Nick Bishop details in this week’s analysis.
The short-hand for winning the restartRugby fashions, like fashions in other areas of life, often work in cycles without obvious rhyme or reason.
Nick Bishop looks at the latest fashion in Restarts in this week’s analysis.
How to get on the right side of the referee at the breakdownFor defensive players in and around the tackle area, the challenge is to spoil and disrupt effectively while showing that they are following the rules.
Nick Bishop looks at one of the techniques to fit into this formula – the ‘fake pilfer’.
