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FAB – Academy builds global reputation

Palmerston North was ablaze with some of the biggest names in rugby on June 11.

The occasion was the International Rugby Academy's coaching school, and they had come to participate in position-specific training sessions with 20 young participants from inside and outside New Zealand. (Some were supported by Philips and NZRU Scholarships).

FAB's Grant Fox, Laurie Mains, Richard Loe, Sean Fitzpatrick, Ian Jones, Graham Mourie, Dave Loveridge and Jeff Wilson were joined by Australia ‘greats' Nick Farr-Jones and David Campese, plus leading NZ coach Graham Henry at the adidas Institute of Rugby.

Managing director of the International Rugby Academy (and FAB) Murray Mexted says the world-wide reputation of the academy is growing, with the next coaching school – attended by the same coaches – scheduled for July at Wellington's Police Academy.

“We are so fortunate to have probably the best array of coaches in the world anyone has assembled at one time for both our June and July schools.

“The academy's position-specific coaches were fantastic and the knowledge they shared with the players and coaches has proven to be a winning formula. The key to success is its concept of running the high performance players and coaches courses in tandem, which allows Laurie Mains to implement and analyse his blueprint with the academy team.

“The player and coaches schools run hand in hand and they work off each other. Players are tested each week on their physical and mental development and what is needed to help them improve. The position-specific coaches will spend an intensive time one-on-one with the players, developing their understanding of their position.”

Mexted says the focus is on positional specialisation and identification of what is required to improve players and coaches. “The coaches we have got are passionate about the knowledge they pass on.”

The International Rugby Academy is the brainchild of Mexted who set up two companies from his Oriental Bay office in Wellington to provide international recruitment and development services for rugby in early 2002.

One is Mexsport, a global placement specialist agency, and the other is the International Rugby Academy, which is run by Mexted, Sean Fitzpatrick, former IRB and NZRFU chairman Eddie Tonks and Kevin Roberts, the current worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency.

June 9, 2002 was the kick-off for the first rugby tuition academy of its kind in the world, bringing together the game's leaders, aspiring players and coaches in a series of concentrated coaching courses.

The academy has an alliance agreement with the NZRFU which, Mexted says, allows them the use of the best and most current coaches available for the courses that run throughout the year. Mexted says the courses are designed for players and coaches who want to make a professional career out of rugby, as well as advanced courses for players as young as fifteen.

‘It's really about improving skills for those who want to make a difference at the level at which they coach or play,' says Mexted. ‘Rugby is a global game today and it's exciting that we are attracting interest and applications from players and coaches from around the rugby world.'

‘The UK people, particularly the Scottish guys, like our modules that focus on mental toughness. They think we can help in that area and I do too. When I played for the All Blacks we won about 80 per cent of our matches, according to the statistics, but I reckon we shouldn't have won about 20 per cent of those games. We only won because we were mentally tougher.”

This winter six of the top eight clubs from the English Zurich premiership – Wasps, Sale, Leeds, Leicester, Harlequins and Bristol – are utilising the International Rugby Academy by identifying and sending their most promising talent, both coaches and players.

Mexted says that a number of the 2002 players to the academy have already gone on to play first-class rugby. “Last year, two Japanese test players impressed coaches at the academy and there were also three French players from Biarritz. Six Australian coaches attended one of the schools in February and the Scottish Rugby Union were so impressed with the academy last year that they have enrolled three elite players and three coaches on this year's courses.

“There is a real mix of nationalities attending the coaching schools this year, with players and coaches from Scotland, England, Zambia, Romania, Fiji, USA, Japan and the New Zealand provinces.”

Above all, the coaching schools provide an opportunity for talented young players to understand that while rugby is a brilliant game, it's also big business today and it could be mega business in the future, believes Mexted. “If rugby makes it to the Olympics, both China and the United States will be very interested and that will lift the game into a whole new league.

“China is already playing rugby and is the national sport for the Chinese Army, rugby game is shown on TV every week in the United States (oddly it's very popular TV even in countries where rugby isn't played) and a Pro US circuit is looking to start up in the States in the near future, bringing in stars from New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Europe.

‘It's very heady stuff and great for the future of the game. I see the International Rugby Academy tapping into this global market which will be good for New Zealand and the wealth of coaching talent we are lucky enough to have here.”

For further information on the International Rugby Academy coaching schools please contact Murray Mexted or operations manager Johanna Murray 04 382 9119 or 0274 502 299.

One of the players attending the June Academy was David Thorne, son of Tanalised Promotions Manager Grahame Thorne.