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
Running attacking decoy plays in theory and practiceThe viability of using decoys on attacking plays has become absolutely essential at all levels of the professional game. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at how effective decoys/block are in attack plays.
Aggressive ball-placement options at the Women’s World Cup finalThe women’s game has the virtue of being different in character to the male version of rugby. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at why the women’s game is on the rise, especially after the outstanding World Cup final played last weekend between the New Zealand Black Ferns and the England Roses.
How to use your eyes – the 10/15 hybrid and engaging the last defender on attackThe first Bledisloe match of 2017 between New Zealand and Australia was decided partly in advance, by selection before the game ever started. How did the All Blacks achieve this? Analyst Nick Bishop explains in his latest article.
Why the Lions series confounded expectationThe recent series between the New Zealand All Blacks and the British & Irish Lions was one which confounded expectation. Received wisdom suggested that the Lions needed to dominate set-piece and gain ascendancy over the Kiwi tight forwards in order to succeed. Analyst Nick Bishop looks at what actually did happen during the series.
What is the currency of the British & Irish Lions after New Zealand 2017?The simple answer to the question in the title of the article is $69 million NZ dollars. That is the monetary amount that educated estimates suggest will be generated by the Lions cycle (every four years) for the host union. Analyst Nick Bishop outlines who benefits most from the tours and ways it could be improved for all involved.
How the All Blacks sidestepped the Lions rush defence in the first TestOne of the great questions in the build-up to the Test series between New Zealand and the British & Irish Lions was: How will the All Blacks attack the Lions’ rush defence? – masterminded by Ireland defence coach Andy Farrell. In this week’s article, leading analyst Nick Bishop explains how it was achieved.
Integrating the forwards into phase attackWhy are teams from New Zealand the best in the world at integrating their forwards into attacks as they develop through phases. Analyst Nick Bishop shows how the Blues put into practice what Ex All Black coach Sir Graham demonstrates at his recent Stanford clinic.
How to use the ‘double pump’ to unlock the Press defenceLeading analyst, Nick Bishop looks at the use of the pump-fake or double pump as another method of dislocating the Press defence, but on this occasion by keeping ball in hand.
Unlocking the Press defence (part 2) – using the kick-passIn Nick’s most recent article, he looked at the chip kick and this week discusses how Beauden Barrett uses the kick-pass to great effect break down the Press defence.
New learning and a way to unlock the Press defenceOne of the biggest challenges for both sides during the up-coming Lions tour to NZ will be how to find ways to break down the versions of Press defence which will be employed by both sides. Leading rugby analyst Nick Bishop examines merits of both sides likely approach.
