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 find scenarios to make the 50/22 work

The 50/22 kick is beginning to grow in value as the different scenarios in which it can be an Attack option are recognised more clearly.
Nick Bishop details some recent examples in this week’s analysis.

Why rugby news travels fast in the global game

A prop in the back field returning kicks in Australia Super rugby one week and in then the 6 Nations the next!
Nick Bishop explains how it has come about and why?

Anatomy of a try: how kicking duels create countering chances

Why is defence and the kicking game so important?

Analyst Nick Bishop explains why and how its lead to constructing an effective attacking game.

How to make a same-way attack really work

The most basic version of attacking in the professional era is the so-called ‘same-way’ or ‘around the corner’ attack.
Analyst Nick Bishop details how to really make this attack work.

Is the box-kick exit going out of fashion?

How to successfully pressure the box? Nick Bishop illustrates how teams are now finding ways to pressure the box kick even with ‘caterpillar’ protection.

Why do you need ball-playing forwards to create width on attack?

Ball playing tight forwards are the ones creating space in which their backs can flourish. Analyst Nick Bishop details how and the positive results.

What can ‘tactical periodization’ mean in a game of Rugby?

‘Tactical Periodization’ is becoming a popular phrase in the sporting vocabulary. What is it? How is being effectively used in Rugby? Analyst Nick Bishop explains ‘TP’ and how it is being adopted into Rugby.

Why the modern lineout peel is back to front

The times they are a-changing, and peels from the lineout are no longer confined to the open-side of the field. Nick Bishop explains why in this week’s analysis.

How to locate and exploit the low-energy defender

Nick Bishop depicts how Teams like to use multi-phase attack to exploit the low-energy defender.

Why ‘lefty-righty’ is so important on attack

Nick Bishop highlights the attacking value of distributors who can offer superior quality with their left-to-right passing.