Chapter 42

I got back to my room and had a shower before making a coffee. I lay on the bed and read my notes for the following day. The massage had been just what I needed to help me relax and my back felt so much better.

I fired up my laptop, checked my emails, deleted, and replied as needed before logging onto a rugby coaching website and I watched a few videos of the stuff I would be using as part of the coaching session the following day.

I woke up at six AM with the laptop on the bed next to me. I turned it off and got into my gym gear and headed down to do a workout before breakfast. I did half an hour on the rowing machine after some warm-ups and then used the weight machine for half an hour.

After a shave and a shower, I headed down to the restaurant. I got a coffee and some juice. For breakfast I had a huge bowl of fruit and then what they described as the traditional Canadian breakfast platter.

A couple poached of eggs, some fried potatoes, a couple of sort of sausage patty and three slices of buttered toast. After that, I had another coffee and re-read my notes. The nerves started to make me wonder if I was doing the right thing.

After breakfast, I filled my kit back and headed down to the car park. I put my kit bag in the car boot and fired up the sat nav.

I got to the Calgary Bears ground and grabbed my kit bag. As I walked across the car park a guy in a tracksuit walked out of the clubhouse and headed my way. He was a big lad, obviously a front-row player, or should I say an Ex-front-row player.

“Hi mate, you are Zak Robinson!” he said and extended his hand. We shook hands he was a strong lad but he didn’t show off my trying to break my hand.

“I am!” I replied.

“I am Logan Benjamin,” he told me.

“Nice to meet you Logan” I replied.

“I saw you play a few times in France!” he said, “I was playing for Agan in Rugby Pro D2.”

That was the French second division, if he played in that league, he was not a mug!”

“Wow, did we play against each other?” I asked.

“No, I was injured for six months and saw you play a few European Cup games!” he said.

“And are you coaching now?” I asked.

“Yes, I am the Canadian national scrummage coach!” he said and I will be one of the team of today. He led me over to the clubhouse and showed me into the away team dressing room.

“Right mate, get changed and come to meet us in the bar!” he said.

I got into my gear and picked up my notebook before heading off to find Logan.

He was in the bar with three other guys, we were all introduced. I was offered a coffee and croissant. We all sat down and they asked me what my plans were.

Once they were happy, they told me what would happen that day. I would lead the team through warm-ups, then I would have a session with the forwards, then we would have lunch then I would have a session with the backs before a team session to close the session.

At any time, the assessors could stop the session if they felt it was not going well then at the end of the day the assessors and the players would mark my session. No pressure then.

They asked me about the kit I would need and when I told them they said they had all I needed over at the training ground.

“Right Zak, are you ready?” Logan asked.

“Born ready mate!” I said.

He led me over to the training ground showed me the kit store and introduced me to the physio, her name was Kelly. She was there just in case there were any issues during the session. There was also a Calgary Bears assistant coach who would act as my second in charge. His name was Brad. He would also coach the forwards while I was working with the backs and back whilst I coached the forwards.

We had been there for less than ten minutes when the Bears squad came over and Logan introduced them to be fair there were a lot of names to remember and I won’t bore you with them all.

They all knew why I was there, but they were shocked when I told them I had seen their last game.

The captain, a lad called Ethan, asked me what I had thought about it.

I was honest and said they had stuff to work on and that I hoped to help.

“Right lads, Zak here has played at the top level in the UK and he can teach you a lot, so please listen to him and do as he says,” Logan said and then he looked at me and said, “Over to you mate!”

“Right lads let’s get warmed up!” I said and led them through a half-hour warm-up that concluded with two laps of the pitch. I did the warm-ups with them.

Then we split into the teams I took the forward to one side of the pitch. It is hard to change things in a short session but I would do my best. After watching them in a live game I knew that they struggled when I came to a simple part of the game. They needed help when it came to their pick and drive. In the game, too many of them had not shifted the ball when they could have.

So, I explained that to them and then gave them a chance to show me how they did it, half the forwards attacking and half defending, then I got them popping the ball up to the next incoming forward. The idea is to not die with the ball but to keep it moving. I split them into four teams and showed them not just how to pop the ball in attack but also how to defend against it.

After a good hour of that, they were making real progress. They were great to coach as they asked questions and listened to all I had to say. We stopped for a water break and I explained that keeping the ball alive would speed up the game and give the backs better chances of getting the ball in hand and that is what the game was all about.

I saw two older blokes watching and I asked one of the players who they were. They were the DOR, the director of rugby, and the first-team coach. I got the lads working and went over to say hello.

We did the introductions and shook hands. The DOR, who said to call him Jim, asked if I was around all week. I told him I was and he said he would get me a free ticket, they were playing at home again that Saturday, the Coach was called Noah and he was eager to talk to me about coaching and the rugby I had played.

I told them I would talk later and went back to the coaching. The lads were doing really well, running the lines we had talked about and making sure that the ball was staying in play.

I made sure all the lads got to practice their skills in both defence and attack. They picked it up well and I was impressed with them. I just hoped they could put it into practice during their game that weekend.

I glanced at my watch. I still had half an hour before we had to break for lunch. I got the lads together and showed them some tips and tricks when it comes to jackling. I was a top-class jackler, I had been told that by many of the guys I worked with, both players and coaches.

The jackler is the first arriving team-mate of the tackler at the tackle, or the first person to get to an isolated ball carrier who is on the ground. In short: they are a defender who gets over the ball when the ball-carrier is down before a ruck can form.

The jackler must remain on their feet to contest for the ball directly. However, if they were initially involved in the tackle, they must first clearly release the ball carrier before trying to take the ball off of the attacker on the ground. The jackler must support their body weight throughout their attempt to take the ball – they cannot go to the ground and then reset themselves. As I say there is an art to it.

I got the lads doing some drills around that skill and I gave advice as they worked at it. We went slightly over the time but the lads seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I blew the whistle and had a quick chat with the lads before we headed up to the clubhouse.

I went and had a quick wash and used the toilet before heading into the team canteen.

It was a buffet lunch, and yes you guessed it chicken, pasta, and salad. I got some food and a pint of water before sitting down at the same table as Brad and Logan. We chatted as we ate.

Logan said the lads were buzzing about me being there. That was good, I hoped to get some good feedback. After the chicken and pasta, we were treated to some pecan pie with ice cream.

Logan and Brad asked me about my time in the rugby premiership. Logan had played two seasons in France and one in Japan before a nasty knee injury forced him to retire early. Brad had played in Canada’s top league for ten seasons.

After we had eaten, I went for a walk around the ground to let my food settle and to get my head into gear for the afternoon session.

I got back to the training ground ten minutes before the lads. The afternoon for me was to start with training with the backs. When I had watched them in the game, I noticed that they didn’t have any ‘trick’ moves. So, I had decided to teach them the tunnel ball pass. This play can be used from the base of any breakdown.

The tunnel ball pass is a term used to describe a wide pass that goes in front of one player and behind another to a third attacker. It breaks defences and often can lead to a penalty when a defender tackles the guy that the ball goes behind.

So, when the backs got to the training pitch, we did introductions and stuff and then we did some walk-throughs, running the play at walking pace.

Once the lads had done it a few times we speeded the tempo up and did a few runs at jogging pace and then at full speed, some of the lads got it straight away others took a few runs at it to get the hang of it. I knew that if they could get it off to a T it would really help them in attack.

Once I was sure they had that move well practiced I got the lads in for some water and a breather. I told them they needed to think of a call for the move. I suggested they try it in the game at the weekend and the lads agreed it was worth a try.

I still had an hour with the lads so we worked on a basic backs moves, the scissors. It’s a really simple move but it can break defences. Basically, the man with the ball passes it to the first receiver who runs diagonally to the player on his outside. the outside player also runs diagonally the opposite way so he crosses over just behind the first receiver.

Again, we walked through the move, then jogged, it then we moved up through the gears until the lads were doing it at full match pace. I stepped in where I was needed gave advice and even ran the move a few times with the lads.

I saw the assessors making notes and talking to Logan, Jim, and Noah.

I blew my whistle to end the session and called the lads in for water and a breather.

We had a quarter of an hour before I had the combined team training. I had decided to work on defensive lines as that was an area they were weak in. I went and sat on a bench and re-read my notes. Brad came over with two coffees in takeaway cups.