Alistair is originally from Port Talbot, Wales but has been living in New Zealand for 20 years. He talks about his journey in the world of Rugby, from playing to video analysis work to coaching. He explains how his video analysis work got picked up by the New Zealand senior team very quickly and this lead him to an amazing adventure that spanned 3 world cups, 2 of which New Zealand won.

Alistair’s desire to become a full coach became a reality when he took over as the defensive coach for the Aukland Blues in 2016. He talks about the learning from this experience, and what he’s plans for the future are.

Alistair is currently an assistant coach of Samoa and also works for the NZRU as a high-performance coaching. 

An awesome story and one that is loaded with useful 1% Better insights. Have a listen. Full summary below. 

Timeline & Summary of the discussion below:

5 min - Alistair’s background and Quelsh!

7:30 – Rugby being a major focus growing up & getting advice from Dad & Playing Professionally for a few years

9:00 – Moving to New Zealand to Learn his Craft at the age of 21!

10:00 – Being the Best You can Be & Seeing how far you can go with Wellington

11:00 – Moving back to Wales but Injury striking and the Playing Windows Closed

12:00 – Play & Pause on Video - Focusing on Performance as a Player unconsciously

13:30 – Life in the Office Working World but having a passion for coaching & teaching!

14:00 – Coaching Opportunity in Ballina learning lots but still have the desire to play

16:00 – Moving back to New Zealand and starting on the Video Analyst Journey

18:00 – Monday Night Analysis for Club Rugby & Having a Moneyball Impact!

20:00 – Analysis work really opening up Alistair’s eyes to the game!

21:00 – Getting picked up by the full New Zealand Team quickly!

22:00 – Providing Analysis & Advice, not just data! The passion for rugby helped.

23:00 – Emailing an All Blacks Coach that changed Everything!

24:00 – Ask for Advice in an Email, not look for something else!

25:00 – Having a focus on a Growth Mindset which worked in his favour

26:00 – Working at Telecom in NZ and making a mistake – but always learning!

27:00 – A Value of Encouragement in the NZ Culture – Find ways to fix the problem.

29:00 – From the Coffee to full time working with the All Blacks within 6 months – Getting a standby call up for the first world cup!

31:00 – Working with Wayne Smith and a huge game changer for Alistair.

32:00 – The 2007 World Cup and the next year was a big learning for Alistair.

33:00 – Taking the role of performance analyst

34:00 – Building Trust with Players & Coaches with the skillset of the Game – working with Wayne, then with Graham Henry and Steve Hansen

35:00 – Moving forward into year 2 knowing he was going to be more than just an analysis coach

36:30 – Shifting from providing a Key Service to becoming a trusted partner with the players

38:30 – Becoming a real integral part of the Coaching Group – Learning and judging when to provide more than just analysis – All going in the same direction

40:00 – Role Changing massively from 2011 to 2015 – The Demand on Information

41:30 – Always knowing a move back to Coaching was the plan but when is the right time?

43:00 – Coaching Schools & Club in parallel to the Analysis Role

44:00 – Knowing the 2015 World Cup would be the End of that part of the story but the starting of another!

45:00 – Moving back into Super Rugby with Auckland after the World Cup and starting as a Defence Coach

46:00 – Building Plans, Programs, Strategies and How to Get Better Outside of the New Zealand Group!

48:30 – Stepping into the Coaching Game & Learning Fast!

49:30 – Noticing the difference between Club level compared to International Level

50:30 – Lessons Learned from 3 Years with Auckland Blues – How you deliver the message, finding your own coaching style and approaches

52:00 – Attaching coming naturally but Defence work needs deliberate practice

53:00 – Finding out Who am I as a Person, Dad, Husband, & Coach!

54:30 – Fact finding in the US with Chicago Cubs & Seattle Sea Hawks. - Michael Gervais as a great help!

56:00 – Living a Growth Mindset and Fully understanding yourself!

56:30 – Going in a different direction as a coach and deciding to leave the Auckland blue

57:00 – Understanding the philosophy and Resigning from the role!

1:01:00 – Identifying Key Behaviours & Values & Nailing your Personal Philosophy in 25 words – the Framework from Mike Gervais

1:02:00 – Building Relationships through Coaching – This is the Key!

1:04:00 – The mix of intuition and analysis – Experience and Feelings!

1:05:00 – Having the ability to see what’s important now!

1:07:00 – Organized Chaos, Goal Setting & Mind Mapping

1:08:00 – Knowing what to do with the information gathered?

1:10:00 – Social Styles of Learning – How your team Learn?

1:11:00 – DISC Styles of Learning – Knowing your type helps with your performance

1:12:00 – Vulnerability & Authenticity as Key Values

1:13:00 – Finding the Balance between Vulnerable and Strong!

1:1400 - Book recommendations

Start with Why – Simon Sinek
7 Habits of Highly Successful People – Stephen Covey
The obstacle is the way – Ryan Holiday
The Barcelona Way – Damien Hughes
Turn This Ship Around – David Marguet
Principles – Ray Dalio
Key Takeaways

Combining a passion
Voluntary work to see where it can go!
Getting to stay involved in the game doing the analysis work
Have a unique skill set
Always ask for advice not looking for something!
The New Zealand Mindset wanting to learn
The way you want to live your life
How to Respond!
Take away the fear and open up the growth!
Building Trust as the key!
Values and what relate most
Social Styles of Learning
Be Vulnerable
Moneyball Impact!
Lead Domino’s
Being the Best in World
Social Styles of Learning – Know how your team learns?
Working with Data & knowing what to do with it?
Connect in with Alistair on Twitter