Coach to coach
Steve Hill talks to Matt Albinson, below, the director of rugby at Stamford RFC who last season won Counties 1 Midlands East (S)
What is your playing background/history?
I was educated at Stamford School and played 1st XV rugby from the age of 16. I represented Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire & Derbyshire (NLD) U16s, Northumberland U20s and NLD U20s.
After university I played for Market Harborough, Peterborough and my home club Stamford.
Why did you get into coaching rugby and what was your journey to arrive at your current position?.
It started while doing the community sports leaders award in school. I had a coaching role at university and then my 15-year career as a teacher and my club coaching career that has included a head coach role with the NLD U16s, being part of the Leicester Tigers developing player pathway and latterly as director of rugby and men’s head coach at Stamford RFC.
What is your profession outside of coaching rugby?
I was a PE and mathematics teacher and senior leader until 2022 when I decided to leave to develop my sports and education provisions as director of MAC-CA Sports Academies and Empower Education, working closely with schools, amateur sports clubs and county councils to develop sustainable and inclusive childcare provision for local communities.
How would you describe your style of coaching? Who has been an influence in this style developing?
I coach from a player centred perspective and commit to ensuring that distributed leadership creates a sense of purpose and value for all players. No one coach that has left a considerable mark upon my style, more so a commitment to have open ears and wide eyes when it comes to soaking up all ‘the best bits’ from across all sporting environment.
What are your strengths as a coach? In which areas are you still looking to improve?
My strengths would be I’m personable, have attention to detail, ability to create opportunities for other coaches, players and staff to flourish, and I’m attentive and caring. My personal development is more geared towards my position as DoR to ensure that every one of our members from U5’s to Vets get to enjoy the game and all the benefits it has to offer.
Stamford won their league last season at Level 7, Counties 1 Midlands East (S), by 24 points. From a coaching perspective how was that achieved?
We were year two into a five-year plan and we very much achieved our target of winning the league and gaining promotion. On the field we were very clear with our aims of wanting to be multi-faceted in attack; being able to take the gain line on directly with our physical and athletic pack and also be able to put width on the ball through our backline. Alongside our attack we concentrated on developing a mix of attacking mind-set and composure in our defence as required given the game situation or field position. A commitment to detailed analysis every week, including match footage and team statistics created a dialogue for players from session to session that saw players thrive.
Going up to Level 6 what do you think will be the main challenges you face and how have your pre-season training plans reflected those?
We need to tighten up on discipline and avoid at times over playing. We have placed much more emphasis on when and where to attack from, alongside ensuring that our exit strategy and our ability to compete in the air is consistently a threat. We expect to be challenged more consistently within the 80 minutes up front with greater tackle completion and we do not expect any ‘off ‘ weekends.
Name a player you have really enjoyed coaching and why?
Austin Baker – sheer heart and determination at all times. As a player last year he was exceptional and represents everything that our jersey means to pull on each week. His modesty is endearing and a great example to all younger players.
What can be done/how can the RFU improve the club rugby experience for players?
This is very dependent upon which age group you are talking about but for seniors, continued commitment to structure the community game to not coincide with the ability to still follow ‘your team’, take your son/ daughter to a game but also still be heavily involved in the community game.
If we could start from scratch, what do you see as the ideal length/structure of the season?
I would like to see an integrated cup window with three rounds played over a three-week block. Similar to the approach with the Premiership Cup so we can work with a cup squad and/or provide a mid-season break if unsuccessful.
What two laws or aspects of the game would you change to make it a better experience?
Reverse the law on being held up over the line. Scrum 5m NOT a goal line drop-out.
Refereeing of advantage – too many times in community rugby the referee chooses to stop play before there has been a genuine chance to allow an advantage to develop.
What advice would you give to anyone considering or just starting to get involved in coaching rugby?
Visit live games across all levels, listen to those that have worn the coaching jacket before you and find the ‘wins’. I started to list down one thing I liked about every game I watched or club I visited. One rule will always apply for me though, coach the person NOT just the player.
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