On the evening of Monday 19th September, at the Sixways Stadium, Worcester Head Coach Richard Hill, a former England international scrum half, and ESPN rugby analyst (and ex-England international) Pete Richards led a coaching Masterclass for local rugby coaches from across the midlands.
In total, almost 100 coaches from 30 different local rugby clubs received expert advice and tuition on the importance of off-loading the ball out of a tackle. The event was part of a nationwide tour by ESPN all season long – which will see it visit each Aviva Premiership Rugby club – for its new Masterclass community series where the likes of ESPN’s former England internationals Austin Healey and Ben Kay visit grassroots rugby clubs and schools to coach coaches and players.
The event began with a presentation given by Richard Hill; using videos from previous Aviva Premiership Rugby matches, he highlighted sources of possession so coaches could understand what areas they should thing about giving priority to, based on how they received possession. He then went on to explore the ball out of the tackle as a means of not giving teams the opportunity to settle and organise.
After the presentation and analysis, the local coaches were then led to the Warriors’ impressive indoor training facility. Here, they were able to learn which drills are best used to enhance players’ skills and techniques. To the delight of the academy players being used in the demonstrations, Pete Richards also joined in with the drills offering his expertise to the coaches throughout the evening.
ESPN is broadcasting live and exclusive coverage of 43 Aviva Premiership games this season, including exclusive coverage of a semi-final fixture and the final.