“Behind the Cups” is a series where we sit down one-on-one with people from club land for an in-depth conversation discussing their rugby journey. In honour of Community Coach Week (6-12 March), we will be sitting down with a few community coaches who are making an impact on our game.
Nick McCarthy, a well-known figure in the region, is current Brumbies Country Head Coach and Wagga Waratahs Assistant Coach, having been Head Coach of the SIRU Senior Rep Program and Assistant Coach of the ACT & SNSW Griffins.
You’ve held many coaching positions throughout the years, but how did you first get involved in coaching?
“I was quite young, playing rugby and I blew my knee in 2009. I realised I wasn't going to be an elite player, so I thought why should I put my body through it anymore and then started coaching straightaway. That was at Wagga Agriculture College, I then started as Second Grade coach there in 2010.”
You’re coaching the Wagga Waratahs this season and you’re the current Brumbies Country Head Coach, how does coaching representative teams compare to club rugby?
“So the rep sides, I actually think they add a completely different challenge to the coaching side of things. You don't necessarily have the squad together for as long a period, so it's about trying to get a little bit of culture into a group of fairly talented footballers and pull out what you are trying to expose. You don’t want to put any constraints on the way they play, so I look at rep coaching more around the idea of trying to really drive the culture side of things and letting the footballers express themselves on the field.
“I think with club footy you've got more time with the playing group, so you can really try and build some really specific on-field parts of the game. But you also have to look after that culture as well because that's where you get the buy in from the playing group.”
The ACT & SNSW Griffins claimed the Australian Rugby Shield in 2022 with a 34-31 win over the NSW Cockatoos, what was coaching that campaign like especially with the win?
“It was exciting, it was really a lot of fun. We had pretty high hopes and set pretty high goals for that trip and their goals were to win the carnival. We knew it was going to be a difficult task but we thought with the squad we had and the coaching group we had, that it was something we could achieve. So, to fulfil our goal was really satisfying and it was very exciting to be involved in a national Rugby Australia facilitated event.
“It was difficult on the playing group and our physio trying to keep all the boys on the park with four games in five days, but the I think the fact that we were performing well across the way kept the guys right. It was really satisfying to get that out of the players from my point of view, it was a really exciting experience to be involved in.”
I guess it was nice to get back on the park and have that kind of competition with other states after Covid?
“Yeah great, a really good carnival and competition for Rugby Australia to bring back in. Something that I think they need to continue to grow and develop. It would be great to see all the sides get a go, taking a women's team, as well down the track if it all keeps working well, looking at a Colts side or Under 20s carnival. I think it's a really important cog in the wheel that is grassroots and pathways rugby.”
Do you have a specific highlight or favourite memory from your time as a coach?
“That’s hard. The first premiership with Queanbeyan Second Grade in 2013 was a real highlight. But I think the biggest highlight and the most enjoyable coaching I've done was going away with the Griffins to the national carnival. We had a difficult workload there but it was really satisfying and really rewarding just to be involved in something like that again.
“I also take great satisfaction staying close to and watching players growing through ranks and enjoying the professional rugby. In 2018 Corey Toole was still a schoolboy and was on the wing for us against NSW Country, now he's developed from a schoolboy coming out of Mater Dei College, to tearing it up for the Brumbies in this short space of time, that's just as exciting for me as any carnival.”
You’ve been through the Brumbies and Rugby AU coach educator and coach mentor programs in the last 12 months and are currently completing your Level 3 accreditation. How important has having those resources been to your learning journey?
“Those coaching courses are imperative not only for what you learn and self-reflection on your own coaching style, but also the ability to sit in a room for two or three days with like-minded, willing learners; guys who are willing to share their experiences as coaches as well. It helps us not only to reflect on how we do things but pick up really good ideas that might not have crossed your mind.
“The coach education courses that I've done, they give not only the ability to help grow the next generation of coaches but also more tools to help reflect on the way I do things and the way the coaches around me do things.
“As Rugby Australia said from the top for the last 12 months, every player deserves to have a great coach. I think the more we embrace those courses, stay up to date with our accreditation and put our hands up to do those sort of things, the better the game’s going to be. The [Brumbies and Rugby AU] have done a brilliant job in really embracing the country regions, we get lots of courses out here now for people who are going through their level two and three accreditations and the more of them we have in the bush the better it is for the game in general.”
Is there a coach in your life that has really stuck with you?
“Yeah, I've got a few coaches right back to even the schoolboy level. Mark Lesburg was one of my first schoolboy coaches and his style of footy just stuck with me for a long time.
“I suppose from a senior mentor, out of all guys that mentored me heavily over the years and continue to do so, Adam Fahey. He was the head coach at Uni-Norths then Queanbeyan while I was the Second Grade coach. I still talk to Adam regularly about footy things.
“Also Richard Skellern. He was the rep coach down here when I was first involved with the side and he’s also the Director of Coaching at the Wagga Waratahs now. He's been an ongoing source of knowledge and he challenges me on my ideas and how I want to do things. I think that sort of mentorship and those hard conversations we’re willing to have with each other, they help me to be a better coach. Also knowing I have someone in my corner who only wants to see me be successful.
“It's important for coaches to be someone that you trust, someone that you like working with, but also someone who is not just going to agree with everything you say but can challenge your ideas and help you grow.”
What would you say to someone who is thinking of starting their coaching journey?
“Just have a go. Get involved at your local club, find out what courses you can do and be willing to learn.
“A lot of people who come into the game as coaches have got a great understanding of the technical aspect of rugby, but the more courses you do and the more coaches you watch coach, you will pick up really quickly the best ways to deliver that knowledge that you've already got inside your head.
“You can't start until you get started. So get in and coach kids, coach juniors, coach women, coach anyone you can. Put your hand up for every opportunity because what you learn in all those different settings will form you into the coach you become.”
The Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies have many coach education sessions coming up including Foundation Coaching Course (Level 1) and Developing Coach Course (Level 2). All available courses can be found on myaccount.rugbyxplorer.com.au/dashboard via the Learning Centre, or you can contact ACT Brumbies Coach Development Manager Sam Norton-Knight via s.nortonknight@brumbies.com.au for more information.
