Coaching Culture with Ben Herring

Ben Herring
  • 5.0 (7)
  • RUGBY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Coaching Culture with Ben Herring is your weekly deep-dive into the often-overlooked “softer skills” of coaching—cultural innovation, communication, empathy, leadership, dealing with stress, and motivation. Each episode features candid conversations with the world’s top international rugby coaches, who share the personal stories and intangible insights behind their winning cultures, and too their biggest failures and learnings from them. This is where X’s and O’s meet heart and soul, empowering coaches at every level to foster authentic connections, inspire their teams, and elevate their own coaching craft. If you believe that the real gold in rugby lies beyond the scoreboard, Coaching Culture is the podcast for you.

  1. Stu Edwards: Looking after Coaches Mental Well Being

    2D AGO

    Stu Edwards: Looking after Coaches Mental Well Being

    Add to the research here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEaFJl2Iks5RDGq93lTXyOv3RS5SoNJsibRPVWytiQgSWarg/viewform?pli=1 What if the biggest performance edge your team is missing is the well-being of the person leading it? We sit down with Stuart Edwards—defense coach for Finland and former police officer—who’s conducting one of the first deep academic dives into stress, burnout, and support systems for rugby coaches. From community volunteers to pro environments, the patterns are striking: invisible emotional labor, chronic isolation, rising scrutiny, and very few structures designed to help coaches recover rather than just “be resilient.” Stuart pulls lessons from policing that translate directly to high-performance sport: stress accumulates quietly, peer support is non-negotiable, and leaders set the emotional tone under pressure. We unpack how those ideas become practical systems in rugby—role clarity that prevents rework and turf wars, upward feedback that aligns head coaches and executives, mentoring that provides a true critical friend, and psychological safety that lets staffs admit uncertainty and adjust fast. We also explore sustainable habits at home and on the job: no-laptop family time, post-camp decompression, walk-and-talk debriefs, and the discipline to work smarter when the instinct is to grind harder. Across candid stories and early data, one theme holds: you can’t pour into players with an empty cup. If we want sustainable performance, we must build sustainable coaches. Expect clear takeaways you can use this week—whether you run a grassroots side with limited time and too many hats, or operate under KPIs, media cycles, and board expectations. Plus, Stuart shares how to join the research, helping turn visibility into structures that protect coaches and elevate teams. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with a coach who needs it, and leave a review telling us one support you’ll put in place this month. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    56 min
  2. Craig Newby: Losing Teaches What Winning Hides

    6D AGO

    Craig Newby: Losing Teaches What Winning Hides

    What do you do when the scoreboard won’t budge? We sit down with Cambridge head coach Craig Newby for an unfiltered look at leadership, culture, and performance in the middle of a 14-game winless run—and why this stretch might be the most rewarding of his career. Craig breaks down the simple, sturdy framework that keeps his team aligned: “Fit, Tight, Fight” as non-negotiable standards, and three big rocks—set piece, transition, and collisions—that shape every meeting, practice plan, and review. Instead of chasing every problem, he shows how focusing on controllable performance goals, GPS-informed training, and clear weekly rhythms builds confidence and intensity that survive results. We talk about accountability without blame, and why silent pointing poisons a locker room. Craig shares how leader behavior sets the room’s temperature, why “no-rugby Sundays” protect mindset, and how rare, deliberate emotion lands better than constant fire. He explains how stacking “next job” layers into drills hardwires recovery after mistakes, and how a young leadership group can carry aligned messages onto the field without overtalking. The conversation moves from tactics to humanity—celebrating academy debuts and milestones, growing community support, and finding resilience when sport doesn’t give what you deserve. At the heart of it all is authenticity. Craig owns a direct, transparent style that some might challenge, but it’s the anchor for trust and buy-in when losses mount. If you want a practical playbook for culture, leadership, and measurable improvement under pressure, this is it—clear, specific, and battle-tested. If this conversation gave you something useful, follow the show, share it with a coach who needs a lift, and leave a quick review to help others find it. What’s your one non-negotiable standard this season? Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    1h 9m
  3. Reflections: Work Rate Beats Game IQ More Than Coaches Admit.

    FEB 18

    Reflections: Work Rate Beats Game IQ More Than Coaches Admit.

    What if the fastest way to a stronger culture isn’t a better speech but a better session plan? We take a hard look at Gordon Tietjens’ legendary methods with the All Blacks Sevens and unpack why brutal fitness, unbendable standards, and purpose‑driven training turned talent into titles—and teammates into family. We start with the heart of Tietjens’ philosophy: the harder you work together, the closer you become. In sevens, effort is public and undeniable—everyone sees the chase, the clean, the reload. By holding stars and rookies to the same physical demands, he stripped away hierarchy and built humility. That shared suffering became a language of trust: when pressure hit, players didn’t need speeches; they knew who would still be there on the next sprint. Then we dig into non‑negotiables and how clear standards protect culture from drift. Tietjens tied selection to objective benchmarks, removing gray areas and mixed signals. Culture, he argued, is not what you say but what you tolerate. When lines stay still, people stop testing them and start owning them. The result is cleaner accountability, faster buy‑in, and fewer distractions—less talk, more do. Finally, we explore meaningful suffering and the craft of making training harder than the game. Pain without purpose breeds resentment; pain with purpose breeds resilience. Tietjens taught players to think while gasping, execute while doubting, and stay aware under stress so that matchday felt slower and simpler. Toughness became a skill, not a myth. We connect these lessons to modern coaching and leadership, showing how to blend empathy with edge: create shared effort, fix your non‑negotiables, and design stress that teaches. If you care about building winning environments—on the field or at work—this reflection offers practical takeaways you can apply today. Subscribe, share with a coach or leader who needs it, and leave a quick review to tell us which standard you’d never bend. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    11 min
  4. Gordon Tietjens: I Coach Intensity Before Tactics

    FEB 15

    Gordon Tietjens: I Coach Intensity Before Tactics

    What if the hardest session you’ve ever done became the moment your team truly bonded? We sit down with Sir Gordon Tietjens, the architect of All Blacks Sevens dominance, to unpack a culture built on honesty, humility, discipline, and relentless work—and why those values still win when talent alone can’t. Tietjens takes us inside his selection philosophy, revealing why character outruns hype in a sport decided by inches. He breaks down his traffic‑light model—greens who self‑drive, yellows who drift, reds who divide—and shows how clear standards, from nutrition to conditioning tests, create trust that sticks. With vivid stories about Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen, and captain Eric Rush, we see how leadership from the front and non‑negotiables on fitness forged teams that treated every match like a final and delivered when it mattered most. We also explore how to sell hard work to young athletes and their families, why care and demand must live together, and how rituals like haka and tournament simulations turn effort into identity. Tietjens contrasts the old school with today’s GPS‑driven limits and player leadership groups, offering a pragmatic path: choose athletes who will work, explain the why, and protect standards that protect performance. His experience shaping China’s high‑performance sevens program adds a global lens on buy‑in, recovery, and sustaining edge without burnout. Expect a blueprint for coaches and leaders who want consistency over noise: set real standards, select for character, build trust with your captain, and let the jersey mean something. If this conversation hits home, follow the show, share it with a coach who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    1h 1m
  5. Reflections: How to deal with Pressure

    FEB 11

    Reflections: How to deal with Pressure

    Pressure isn’t a detour in coaching—it’s the road itself. We open up about the weight leaders carry, from constant decision-making to public scrutiny, and why stress doesn’t signal failure but commitment. Instead of wishing problems away, we talk about building the muscle to walk through them, drawing on research-backed ideas about process-focused mindset shifts that shorten the emotional downtime after hard calls and tough losses. From there, we get practical. We lay out how to build a clean on-off switch so coaching mode doesn’t follow you through the front door. Think small, deliberate rituals: write tomorrow’s first task, pause in the car before you walk in, leave your bag by the door, and, if work truly can’t wait, move it to a neutral space like a café. Presence at home isn’t a luxury; it’s a skill that strengthens your presence on the field. The sharper your boundaries, the clearer your judgment and the more patient your conversations with players, staff, and families. We close with the third anchor: a controllable outlet that answers to effort. Training, running, lifting, reading, writing—anything with predictable feedback—gives your mind a stable win when sport gets chaotic. Set goals you own, track progress, and let that rhythm remind you that you’re more than a weekend’s result. Put together, these three habits—endure, disconnect, and control one thing—help you bounce back faster, coach with steadier energy, and enjoy the craft for the long haul. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a coach who needs it today, and leave a quick review so more people can find these tools. What’s your best switch-off ritual? We’d love to hear it. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    14 min
  6. Joey Mongalo: How to Deal with the Pressures of Coaching

    FEB 8

    Joey Mongalo: How to Deal with the Pressures of Coaching

    Ever feel like your work is judged on the tiniest slice of time while everything that matters happens in the shadows? We sit down with Sharks coach and leadership consultant Joey Mongalo to unpack how identity, conviction, and a clear model help leaders thrive under pressure—on the field and in the boardroom. We start with the uncomfortable truth: people judge coaches on 80 minutes. Joey explains how he anchors himself by revisiting his track record to counter noise with facts, then shows why the strongest coaching rooms share pain, not blame. From there, we dive into the power of a pervasive model—the kind that dictates recruitment, training blocks, and language—so decisions get simpler and performance becomes coherent. Think Pep Guardiola’s keeper call, explained in detail and translated for any organization. The heart of our talk is narrative and alignment. Joey makes a compelling case for “leading up”: enrolling boards and executives with a clear time horizon, milestones, and phrases they can repeat under fire. We frame strategy as story—plot, journey, characters, outcome—so fans, families, and teams know what to expect in year one versus year three. A Spurs ball boy moment becomes the blueprint: when everyone understands the model, everyone becomes a game‑changer. We translate high performance sport into business with practical tools: move from silos to fences with doors, use shared language to build repeatable behaviors, and coach teams to manage work‑ons, maximize strengths, and then mold and mobilize others. Joey’s Team IP3 framework—Identity, Purpose, Philosophy, Process—ties it together, giving leaders a simple way to align at the top and create cohesion on the ground. We close by reframing adversity: life is unfair and leadership is tough, which is exactly why clarity and courage are competitive advantages. If this conversation helps you sharpen your model or your message, share it with a leader who needs it, subscribe for more culture-first coaching talks, and leave a review with your three-word model—we’ll feature our favorites next time. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    1h 18m
  7. Reflections: How First and Last Moments Shape Coaching

    FEB 4

    Reflections: How First and Last Moments Shape Coaching

    A surgeon’s simple habit changed the way we coach. We dig into how the first and last moments of any experience anchor the emotion, memory, and meaning people carry forward—and how that insight can turn ordinary sessions into powerful learning events. Starting from an unexpected colonoscopy analogy, we translate a soft start and a calm finish into practical tools for rugby and any team environment. We walk through three levels of application. At the season level, we show how a strong opening meeting and a thoughtful closing ceremony frame the story your players remember, even when results are mixed. At the session level, we share quick ways to prime attention in the first minute and seal learning in the last—without bloated speeches or gimmicks. At the drill level, we lean into Mike Cron’s “pot lid” huddle: a fast circle where players toss in what they noticed, name one cue, and close the lid so insights stick. You’ll hear why perception becomes reality for each athlete, how small bookends shift motivation and mood, and which phrases keep things clear and human. Expect concrete timings to try tonight: 10 seconds to set purpose, one cue to guide reps, 30 seconds to harvest takeaways. The aim is simple—design the start and the finish so the middle gets better on its own. If you coach any sport, lead a team, or teach a class, this approach will help you reduce anxiety, boost confidence, and build lasting memory. Try the framework this week: start well, finish well, and watch buy-in rise. If this sparked new ideas, subscribe, share it with a coach who cares about craft, and leave a short review so others can find the show. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    13 min
  8. Andre Pretorius: Understand And Assist

    FEB 1

    Andre Pretorius: Understand And Assist

    A late-night training, a tired team, and a coach who missed the real story—that’s where everything changed. Andre Petorius shares how a single moment of misread effort led him to apologize, “break the chain” of how he was coached, and build a people-first approach anchored in three words: understand and assist. We dive into a definition you’ll remember long after the episode ends: culture as your team’s immune system. Andre shows how small daily behaviors—inviting young players into extras, how you leave a gym, the way you speak after errors—either strengthen or weaken that system. Coaching in Japan pushed him to listen differently, use humor to open doors, and bring player ideas into the room. The result is a team that speaks up, owns solutions, and learns faster. His mantra “calling up, not out” reframes feedback: praise the precise piece that worked, then fix the next layer. It’s not softer; it’s smarter, and it stops the spiral that turns one mistake into an identity. You’ll also hear why Andre stopped talking about winning. Not because results don’t matter, but because outcome obsession warps behavior and language. By doubling down on standards, process, and specific improvements, performances stabilize—and unexpected wins emerge: a debut earned, an aerial skill streak, a tighthead’s first linking pass. Andre’s journey from attack coach to defense coach adds another edge; defense teaches how to fight and protect, while attack learns to create and manipulate. Through it all, his faith grounds his identity, letting him lead without fear, serve his players, and keep perspective when the scoreboard doesn’t cooperate. If you’re a coach, leader, or teammate who wants a practical, human blueprint for culture and performance, this conversation will serve you well. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs it today, and leave a review with the one idea you’ll apply this week. Send a text For all your sports equipment and some of the most innovative rugby products going around, head to silverfernsports.com. If you want to chat directly or explore options for your school or club, flick an email to ben@coachingculture.com.au . Great gear. Built for coaches. Support the show Support those that support the show For the very best rugby gear shop here: silverfernsports.com

    1h 12m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Coaching Culture with Ben Herring is your weekly deep-dive into the often-overlooked “softer skills” of coaching—cultural innovation, communication, empathy, leadership, dealing with stress, and motivation. Each episode features candid conversations with the world’s top international rugby coaches, who share the personal stories and intangible insights behind their winning cultures, and too their biggest failures and learnings from them. This is where X’s and O’s meet heart and soul, empowering coaches at every level to foster authentic connections, inspire their teams, and elevate their own coaching craft. If you believe that the real gold in rugby lies beyond the scoreboard, Coaching Culture is the podcast for you.

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