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 ‘pocket protection’ is so important under the box-kickThe cross-fertilization of ideas between collision sports is on the increase.
American Football Pass Protection designed for the Offensive Line to shield the Quarterback who wants to throw the ball downfield is the latest IP transfer to rugby as Nick Bishop illustrates in this week’s analysis.
Why teams are feeling the need – ‘the need for speed’ - at the scrum-baseNick Bishop explains why he fully expects the SRP law-trial at the scrum to be implemented world-wide in due course.
Where defending number 9’s are no longer allowed to advance beyond the midpoint of the set-piece.
How to get some ‘bounce’ into the kick-pass!Attacking methods to get the ball quickly to the edge need constant refinement for the attacking side to be able to exploit the full width of the field.
One of the easiest methods to reach the wide channels has been the ‘kick-pass’. Nick Bishop details at the latest iteration of the ‘kick pass’
How to recognize opportunities to attack wide versus a ‘jockey’ defenceUsing some recent examples from Super Rugby Pacific 2023 Nick Bishop explains just why the more passive forms of defence, like the Drift or Jockey, are becoming less popular and more marginal in coaching attitudes to the game.
Why the wide ruck can be a big Achilles heel for the attackA ‘sweet spot’ exists where the defence can move over to the attack at the breakdown as Nick Bishop outlines in this week’s analysis..
How the new law trial at the scrum is creating new possibilities for the attackNick Bishop highlights some new ideas to create clean attacking ball from scrums encouraged by the latest law-trials, and (potentially) the scrummage returning to its former status as a potent attacking weapon.
How to cover the break on defence, and bring ‘chaos’ back to ‘structure’How can the defence return from ‘chaos’ back to ‘structure’, and the odds shift in the defence’s favour from an attack break? Nick Bishop details in this week’s analysis.
How to get a second bite at the cherry at the breakdownThe recent changes in officiating guidelines at the breakdown outlawed a second move on the deck, and reduced the options at presentation for the ball-carrier. Nick Bishop details how coaches are adapting so players get a second bite at the breakdown ‘cherry’.
The Lineout Drive - Beauty or BeastIs the lineout drive a ‘blight’ on the game or one of the most fruitful areas for set-piece attack in modern praxis.
Nick Bishop provides some analysis from recent 6 nations matches.
How to get into shape on attack and use your ‘spares’ – the modern way!The speed of modern ruck ball has now increased to a point where formations have had to become more flexible to maintain momentum and fan the flames on attack. Nick Bishop details why this has come about and its effect on game.
