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 run the “I” formation and mask your intentions on attackNick Bishop details how Italy has extended the ‘I’ attack formation to great effect in their recent international matches.
How to turn a profit from off-the-ball work on kick returnsIt takes a lot of hard work to create a platform to unlock a good opposing kicking game, and the chase which backs it up, on counter-attack.
Using Scotland’s 6 Nations performance against England at the weekend, Nick Bishop outlines what is involved and the potential returns from the off the ball hard work.
Why rugby has yet to find consistency in contact heightNick Bishop investigates why consistently refereeing a tackle height is proving challenging for match officials.
How to split the middle with your kicking gameIn open play as well as from formal restarts, the kick straight up the middle is becoming an increasingly viable option for the side in possession. Nick Bishop explains why this trend has recently started and how it is being executed in this week’s analysis.
How to move the point of contact close to the goal-lineIf you play it safe, it can often lead to the sporting syndrome of ‘tightening up’ psychologically. Typically, sportsmen turn to increased focus on the detail of their performance, a technical hypervigilance – and that only makes things worse.
Nick Bishop looks at the expectations of scoring a try close to the goal-line.
How to use ‘lightning quick ball’ at the Lineout DriveThe principles of LQB and KBA don’t have to be confined to the skills of offloading and quick ruck ball production in open play.
Nick Bishop, Leinster and soon to be Racing 92 analyst, starts the year using footage from the clubs’ recent match, how Lightening Quick Ball can be used at lineout time.
How to organize the roles of your forwards on attackNick Bishop examines the value to a team of coaching with ‘clarity of purpose’ highlighting the All Blacks 2nd half of 2022 campaign with new coaches Joe Schmidt and Jase Ryan clarifying effect.
How to ‘spy’ on the number 9 at ruck and set-pieceOne of the focuses of the professional game on defence is to ‘spy’ on the opposing half-back and minimise their influence on the game. Using examples from the recent Autumn internationals, Nick Bishop details how the ‘spy’ operates.
How to work around a dominant maul defender on attackThe ability to establish a dominant maul defender is key for the defence, and as Nick Bishops details it is equally vital for the attacking side to formulate alternate strategies to overcome that dominance once it has been proven.
How the Professor’s good teachings influenced the All Blacks at TwickenhamDeliberately or not, there was a transmission of essential I.P from the Black Ferns RWC coach Wayne Smith ‘the Professor’ to the All Blacks at Twickenham As Nick Bishop illustrates in this week’s analysisa
