Coaching Culture with Ben Herring

Japan has a way of exposing your coaching habits in seconds. The standards feel sharper, the respect is unmistakable, and the smallest details suddenly matter more than your favorite playbook. We’re joined by Matt Cobain to unpack why the Elite Coaches Tour of Japan is built to accelerate rugby coaching development through immersion, not theory.

We dig into what coaches actually gain from stepping into Japan rugby culture: learning to lead in a different context, seeing how relationships get built before tactics, and observing environments where discipline and preparation are baked into daily life. Matt shares what changed for him while coaching in Japan, especially how working through an interpreter forces you to communicate with clarity, ditch the fluff, and deliver feedback that lands. We also talk about the real “gold” of coach education: the conversations around sessions, the debates on bus rides, and the insights you only get when you sit with other coaches and compare what you’re seeing.

We cover the full rugby pathway you’ll encounter on tour, from high school and the massive university system that acts like an academy, all the way to professional clubs packed with world-class talent. Just as important, we get honest about coaching as a people business: networking, mentorship, and why the job can feel lonely without a trusted group around you. Expect practical takeaways on leadership, team culture, and building a reflective habit that asks, “Why do I do it this way?”

If you want your next leap as a coach to be real and measurable, listen, share this with a coach who should be in the room, then subscribe and leave a review so more coaches can find the show.
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Want to go to Japan? Contact me ben@coachingculture.com.au
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A 60-5 final score makes headlines, but the real story is what has to be true inside a team for that kind of performance to show up when it matters most. We’re joined by Tom Kinley, General Manager of the Hurricanes, to break down the culture systems and leadership habits that turn a talented roster into a connected, resilient, high-performing group.

We dig into how Tom defines team culture as shared patterns of thinking and behavior, and why the “intangible” edge is often the difference between evenly matched sides. Tom shares the Hurricanes’ everyday standards that build belonging, including the simple practice of greeting every person in an environment of roughly 150 staff and players, plus the deliberate way leaders create accountability without turning everything into mandates.

From there, we get practical about high performance: planning the week, building trust fast in a new role, and aligning everyone around the Hurricanes vision to “unite and excite” while living an “us vs us” mindset. We also talk talent development, hiring for character fit, creating optimism and license to play, and why widening the lens matters, including learning from experts outside rugby to improve communication and bring the unspoken to the surface.

If you care about coaching culture, leadership, organizational culture, and building teams that perform under pressure, this one is packed with usable ideas. Subscribe, share it with a coach or leader you respect, and leave a review with the one culture habit you want to try next.
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Want to go to Japan? Contact me ben@coachingculture.com.au
Include your phone number so I can have a chat. Ben
Support the show
Subscribe and Share, it makes a massive difference! Appreciation in advance.

Getting selection wrong isn’t only about who you pick. It’s about how you tell people. We dig into one of the most uncomfortable parts of coaching: delivering news that changes an athlete’s week, their confidence, and sometimes their future. Whether you coach school teams, club sports, or high-performance environments, we make the case that face-to-face communication still beats texts, calls, and “finding out in the meeting” because humans are wired for connection, tone, and intent.

We break down the moments that matter most, especially when a player is moving down the lineup. Our simple rule: talk to them every time and do it before the team is announced. We unpack why public blindsiding is so damaging, how psychological safety shows up in a two-minute chat, and how small, respectful conversations create long-term trust. We also share a framing tool that keeps the conversation grounded: explain selection as your opinion and your responsibility, not as a so-called objective truth that invites debate.

We also zoom out to stakeholder communication. Promoted players deserve in-person praise because those are relationship-building moments that stick for years, and parents often need context too. If your rationale is sound, transparent conversations tend to go better than the stories people invent in the silence. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a coach, and leave a review. What’s the best way you’ve ever received tough feedback?
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Want to go to Japan? Contact me ben@coachingculture.com.au
Include your phone number so I can have a chat. Ben
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Subscribe and Share, it makes a massive difference! Appreciation in advance.

Ever wonder why some teams click faster, learn quicker, and bounce back stronger? We unpack the real levers behind high performance—where data sharpens intuition, language creates buy-in, and framing turns meetings into movement. With performance strategist and developmental coach John Dams, we trace his path from early rugby roles to shaping elite environments, pulling out lessons any coach or leader can use tomorrow.

We dig into the mindset side first: emotional intelligence as a practical coaching skill. John breaks down the four controllables—what you say, think, do, and feel—and shows how they anchor tough moments. We explore empathy as an action, not a slogan, and why journaling shifts you from first-person emotion to third-person objectivity. That shift lets you see patterns, drop unhelpful reactions, and coach the person in front of you rather than the story in your head.

Then we get hands-on. We show how to build rapport by matching language and values, and why framing is the hidden superpower. Use POWER—Purpose, Agenda, Outcome—to set clear contracts for reviews, one-to-ones, and training blocks. Pair that with sticky phrasing and simple, specific language that holds under pressure. We connect the dots between meaning and action to find flow, and share how to review against stated goals instead of mood. And yes, we tackle the “spray”: when it serves the team, when it’s just venting, and how intention changes impact.

Finally, we return to the engine room: the marriage of data and intuition. Treat gut feel as hypothesis, use data to validate or iterate fast, and build cycles where insight compounds over weeks, not seasons. Culture, identity, and belonging are universal; execution is local. Your job is to read the room, adapt the frame, and own the culture work instead of outsourcing it. Subscribe, share with a coach who needs it, and leave a review with your best sticky phrase—we’ll read favorites on a future show.
Send us Fan Mail
Want to go to Japan? Contact me ben@coachingculture.com.au
Include your phone number so I can have a chat. Ben
Support the show
Subscribe and Share, it makes a massive difference! Appreciation in advance.

What happens when a record-setting, globe-trotting winger trades the try line for a whiteboard? We sit down with Nems to explore how he’s building the Fijian Drua development pathway with a people-first approach that still demands edge. From Leicester’s cold logic of the kicking game to the Crusaders’ obsession with nailing roles, he unpacks the methods that actually travel—and the ones that don’t.

We get honest about what it takes to coach in Fiji, where players often support entire families and arrive with extraordinary talent but limited exposure to weights, nutrition, or film study. Nems shares how he teaches with video for visual learners, sets simple tactical rules that hold under pressure, and creates real-world structure by sending players to work one day a week and pushing for vocational certificates. This is development beyond drills: life skills, identity, and resilience built alongside game plans.

On the field, he shows why purposeful kicking wins territory and how to coach bravery without breaking bodies. Off the field, he proves that care is a competitive advantage—knowing a player’s family, giving grace when life hits hard, and earning the right to demand more. He explains why doubling down on strengths beats chasing every weakness, and how one-on-one clarity turns raw potential into reliable performance. We also dive into retirement’s invisible toll, the value of taking time to reflect, and the simple habits—consistency and effort—that move careers forward.

If you care about rugby culture, player development, and coaching that respects context, this conversation will sharpen your toolkit. Subscribe, share with a coach who needs it, and leave a review with your favorite insight so we can keep raising the game together.
Send us Fan Mail
Want to go to Japan? Contact me ben@coachingculture.com.au
Include your phone number so I can have a chat. Ben
Support the show
Subscribe and Share, it makes a massive difference! Appreciation in advance.