Coaching

We simply don't have a game without our coaches. Coaching is very rewarding and is a great way to contribute to your community, give back to the game, and to meet others who share your love for rugby. 

In Wellington we have over 1,000 committed rugby coaches from Small Blacks to premier and 1st XV rugby, these volunteers really are at the centre of our game. We aim to connect and engage rugby coaches with rugby content, coaching ideas, concepts, activities and information to assist them with delivering great rugby experiences to players and teams. 

We hope you find some information here to assist you in your role as a coach.

Please give us your feedback as we are here to help you along the way to be a better coach and give you a great rugby experience.


ACCREDITED COACHING COURSES
If you're going to be coaching, you will need to complete the appropriate course for the level you're coaching at.

RugbySmart
This course is to be completed by all college and senior club coaches each year prior to the start of the club and college competitions. This course is focused on player saftety and coaching safe and effective technique in different aspects of the game.

Coaching Teenagers Module 
All college coaches will complete this module (when they attend a college coaches RugbySmart course). This module looks at ideas on how coaches can better engage their college players.

Small Blacks
This course is be completed by all U6 -U13 coaches each year. The course focuses on a range of topics including planning and running a training session, how to coach skills, refereeing and creating a good team environment.

Coaching Females Course
An chance to learn specifics and considerations for coaching female rugby players. Hear from those closely aligned and working in Women’s rugby. This is the first time an opportunity to focus on female coaches such as this has been offered in Wellington.

Foundation Course (Level 1)
The Foundation course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 1 course. The course has been developed to provide coaches with an understanding of how to coach as well as a basic understanding of some of the key skills required in the game of rugby.

DRC Course (Level 2)
The DRC course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 2 course. The key focus of this course is the coaching process. This relates to the application of how to apply the principles of play (attack and defence) to your planning, implementing and review of your team’s training sessions and game performance. 

Performance Course (Level 3)
The Performance course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 3 course. The format for this course is very similar to the DRC course, but goes into more detail. In general, coaches will need to have completed DRC and complete additional criteria in order to apply to attend this course.


NON-ACCREDITED COACHING OPPORTUNITIES **
Great opportunities to advance your coaching knowledge.

WRFU Coach Development Workshops

Junior Coach Pop Up Clinics
Open sessions for junior coaches to observe, grow and share ideas

Senior Coach Pop Up Clinics
Open sessions for senior coaches to observe, grow and share ideas

HPU Coaching Seminars
Lions led coaching upskill

** Further coach development courses will be run in April and May focused on Junior Rugby and lower grade College Rugby

For more information, please contact [email protected].