2012 is well and truly underway and it is now just 2 weeks from the start of the Inside Running Academy for 2012.
We kick off on the 5th of March with our induction day which will feature a run up Mt Maunganui and a BBQ/meet and greet with all of the academy staff.
Exciting News:
The Inside Running Academy is a joint venture between Inside Running, All Blacks Strength and Conditioning Coach; Nic Gill and the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union. The academy is based in Mt Maunganui which is no question the best venue in NZ for a rugby academy (see this weblink for info on Mt Maunganui - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Maunganui).
The Academy runs for a period of 22 weeks from the 5th of March 2012 which coincides with the NZ club rugby season. Players can stay with us for anything from 4-22 weeks. The Academy gives players a taste of what it takes to become a professional player, with players training up to 12 times per week and playing a club game on Saturday in the local club competition.
We are always seeking new players to join our academy.
For any further information on costs, dates, application process etc please contact Mike Rogers:mike@insiderunning.com, +6421784839.
With New Zealand's premium sevens event on its way we take a look at the top contenders for the coveted Wellington IRB sevens title.
New Zealand:
Form: Defending champions at Wellington and coming off their tournament win in South Africa, NZ are primed for a big performance in front of their home crowd.
2011 placing: Winners
Current IRB standing: 1st =
Player to Watch: Toby Arnold
Fiji:
Form: Winners of the Gold Coast tournament in Australia. Looked like the Fiji of old with a stunning sevens display. This is as close as Fiji get to a home tournament so expect a fired up display.
2011 placing: Quarterfinalist/Bowl winners
Current IRB standing: 1st =
Player to Watch: Nemani Nagusa
South Africa:
Form: Beaten by NZ in their home tournament late last year. Consistent so far in all three series tournaments. Only a matter of time before they notch up their first win on the circuit.
2011 placing: Quarterfinalist
Current IRB standing: 3rd
Player to Watch: Cecil Afrika
England
Form: Winners of the Dubai sevens and semi-finalist in South Africa, England bring that consistency which has made them a regular display come finals footy.
2011 placing: Finalist
Current IRB standing: 4th
Player to Watch: Mat Turner
Samoa:
Form: Yet to make a final, and only one semi-final appearance so far on the sevens circuit, Samoa have had a somewhat lacklustre start to the season and come into Wellington with little momentum. That being said, Samoa enjoy a good success rate at the
NZ tournament.
2011 placing: Semi-finalist
Current IRB standing: 8th
Player to Watch: Tom Iosefo
Australia:
Form: Yet to feature in finals so far this season. Australia enjoy the luxury of welcoming back a couple key players from injury, and including two new debutants to kick-start things.
2011 placing: Semi-finalist
Current IRB standing: 6th
Player to Watch: Cameron Clark
France:
Form: Finalist in Dubai. Mixed bag so far. Hard to team to back as you are never quite sure who will turn up.
2011 placing: Pool play/Plate finalist
Current IRB standing: 5th
Player to Watch: Vincent Deniau
Wales:
Form: Haven’t threatened the top four so far on the circuit so not much form to speak of. The current World Sevens champions are capable of tipping the big guns so don’t write them off.
2011 placing: quarterfinalist
Current IRB standing: 7th
Player to Watch: Owen Williams
Scotland:
Form: Always oneto punch above their weight the Scottish are yet to fire a shot this season.Desperately looking to improve their current standing here in NZ.
2011 Placing: Pool play/Plate semi-final
Current IRB standing: 10th
Player to Watch: Byron McGuigan
If you have ever looked to pick up a contract overseas or progress to a higher level within your current country, then you have probably been asked the question; Do you have any footage?
It is no secret that the best thing a player can provide when marketing themselves is footage. Why is this?
We discuss this question with video analyst David Riley, who has recently launched GameCutter,www.gamecutter.co.nz, a service available to players which uses existing footage to create a professional video package:
Q: Dave, why is it important for players to provide coaches with footage?
Footage provides a real visual experience for a potential coach to review. Through this footage a coach can identify the strengths of a player and truly assess the values he/she brings to a team. Through video cutting, the very best examples can be selected to support written statements made within a CV.
Q: Can't this be portrayed through photos and references?
No. Photos can only provide a one-dimensional snap-shot of a play. A photo never displays anywhere near the level of information a coach needs to make an accurate or suitable ability assessment. A photo may be useful for making a players CV pretty.
A respectable reference can be an invaluable tool for marketing a player to a coach or club. The issue with a reference is credibility. Unless the reference has reached a professional level or another high accreditation, it is difficult for a coach or club to verify their statements. A reference could be a friend of the player...
Q: What content should players be focusing on when putting together footage?
Rugby has been a professional sport for a long time now. All players are expected to be able to exhibit a variety of skills. Along with specific skills related to an individual position, the most important focus should be expressing all skills within different facets of play.
Q: How many minutes is a good length?
Depending on the calibre of a player, they will have different levels of footage available to them. The more footage available the longer the clip can be. Ideally a video of 2-4 minutes is a good length for captivating an audience and providing a suite of footage.
Q: What do players need to provide you with for you to create a video for them?
This depends on what a player is after and how much they wish for GameCutter to be involved. Local club rugby is becoming more competitive and within a lot of regions senior level rugby is videoed and distributed to other clubs. Providing as many games to GameCutter as possible will provide the best final clip as there is more footage available to choose from. GameCutter can go through all games or a player can provide times from within games they wish to include.
GameCutter is looking at modifying its website so players can directly upload their video files to make file sharing more efficient.
Q: How long generally would this take?
After videos have been supplied it should take no longer than n week for a clip to be produced.
Q: How much does it cost to use GameCutter's services?
The cost depends on the scope of player's needs. If a player has selected all the footage and times required to make the clip it will be a lot cheaper than if they wish GameCutter to do this. A player will need to email David@gamecutter.co.nz to obtain a quote.
Inside Running is here to help players get ahead in their rugby career. We endorse the service GameCutter provides players and encourage players to take the next step in their career. For further information on any of the above please email mat@insiderunning.com.
2011 Inside Running Academy player, Byron McGuigan's career has really taken off, after announcing that he has signed a 2 year deal with the Scotland 7s team, and the Glasgow Warriors Celtic League side.
"This is a dream come true," Byron said. "I have always aspired to play professional rugby, but to be able to join up with the Scottish Sevens team and hopefully tour on the IRB circuit is incredible."
There is no doubt that Byron exhibited the talent to make it as a top level professional during his 8 weeks with the academy in 2011 and Byron has no doubt that the academy was the catalyst for his big strides in 2011.
"I recommend players who have the heart, desire and belief to take rugby to the next level to attend this academy because it provides exposure, opportunities and proper training on individual skills. The Inside Running Academy gave me an insight into what it takes to become a professional, now it is up to me to take the wonderful opportunity that I have been presented with".
We would like to wish Byron well, we are sure that it wont be long until we see him playing for Scotland in the 6 Nations.
Byron is the second Inside Running Academy graduate to move up into the professional ranks, after 2010 academy member, Pingi Talaapitaga made his debut for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the 2011 ITM Cup.
We have recently been inundated with requests from players from South Africa, other African nations and the Pacific Islands to take up opportunities to play rugby overseas. We really want to stress that in no way are Inside Running, nor the clubs that we act for, in any way discriminating against players from these nations. In fact in many ways we are extremely dissatisfied with the current immigration laws given the vast amount of talent that could be available to our client clubs from these countries.
Background Information
In November 2008 the UK undertook a major overhaul of their immigration laws and replace the Commonwealth working holiday visa with a new type of visa called the Youth Mobility Visa. This is effectively the same visa, however it is now limited to passport holders from NZ, AUS, Canada and Japan only, rather than all members of the Commonwealth.
This also resulted in reciprocal agreements being made between several countries which unfortunately do not include any african or Pacific Island nations. This means that African and Pacific Island nationals cannot get a working holiday visa (or YMS visa) to any of the major rugby playing nations.
This is a major issue in that this is the visa type that 99% of the players that we place with clubs travel on.
What does this mean for you?
This effectively means that the only players that we can assist from Africa or the Pacific Islands are those that:
1. Hold EU passports or have a grandparent born in the UK (can get an ancestry visa)
2. Qualify for a pro sports visa in the UK (currently international (15's not 7s) level players from tier 1 and tier 2 nations).
3. Qualify for a pro sports visa in France or Italy - typically players with Currie Cup, ITM Cup or equivalent level of experience. We must stress that these players are still difficult to place as there are only a limited number of foreign positions available with pro clubs at any given time.
We are currently working on a visa type in NZ for players from Africa and the Pacific Islands but it is looking like it will be 2013 before clubs will implement this.
Does Social Media = Playing Career Suicide?
If the poor economy wasnt hurting the job markert enough is social media now sticking the knife into player candidates backs?
Withe the rise of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Sports and Leisure profesionals have become increasingly free with personal information.
But be careful as one vulgar post or not so flattering picture could stop you from getting the rugby playing position you desire. So how do players remain cool but employable, how do graduates extend their social circle without committing workplace suicide?
Today Inside Running has some Quick tips for being Social Media Sophisticated
1 JOB SEEKERS - MAKE SURE YOU CENSOR YOUR FACEBOOK With up to 45% of employers checking up on potential players through Facebook candidates need to be careful over the content it contains.
Set your PROFILE to private, THINK before you post and LIMIT the amount of hazardous photos on your profile to ZERO.
Facebook allows employers to be peeping toms. Here are some of the top reasons candidates have been rejected after employers have seen their Facebook page;
BUT is this actually discrimination? Should you be rejected from a playing position just because youre a member of the group JOIN THIS Group if you have ever pushed on a door that said pull?
This is not the blog or time to discuss privacy but learn from this. You lock your doors at night to stop burglars breaking in. Maybe you should do the same with your Facebook. If not you may wake to find you have been robbed of a position.
2. CV SAYS TEAM PLAYER BUT YOUR LINKEDIN SAYS INDIVIDUAL- writing a CV takes a bit of work but thanks to social media it just got a little harder.
Make sure that your online self is the same as the fleshier version. Check that you don't have any gaping differences in your online profile and your paper one. Like Santa employers will be checking their list, checking it twice, trying to find out which candidates are naughty and nice. The only way to make sure you have a very Merry Interview is through a consistent profile.
SUMMARY
When youre at the top you may make a couple of not so clever tweets, post a couple of unprofessional pictures and even in a moment of madness join the FB group labelled I hate Work. Careless not criminal, but still enough to make your PLAYER status change!
You heard it at Inside Running first!
Happy Christmas!
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Tauranga Sports and Inside Running superstar second rower, Culum Retallick signs with the Highlanders for 2012. After 2 seasons with the Chiefs the Big Show is moving South chasing more gametime. '2011 was a pretty disappointing season for me with the Chiefs with limited opportunities. I am thoroughly looking forward to the new challenge with the Highlanders'.
The 42-year-old former New Zealand Maori captain and Counties Manukau stalwart will take over as head coach and selector of 'Os Lobos' next month, for an initial three-year term.
Having also spent seven years playing and coaching in Japan, Brain is excited by his first taste of coaching on the international stage. "It's an opportunity to coach at a high level and I'm very passionate about rugby coaching," Brain said. "There are never any promises of rugby jobs in New Zealand so when opportunities like this come up, you've just got to take them."
It's also the chance for Brain to get back into the game full-time. He's spent the last five years living in Tauranga with his wife and three daughters building business interests, while coaching local club team Tauranga Sports to successive Bay of Plenty titles and taking the province's under-20 team. For the past two seasons, he's also worked as a referee assessor for the New Zealand Rugby Union.
NZRU High Performance Referee Manager Lyndon Bray said Brain had been an inspiration for the refereeing team, with a strong emphasis on how the referee impacts the shape of the game. "He is quite superb at helping the guys realise how they impact a team at different stages of the game," Bray said. "His ability to observe the game from a coaching perspective and then translate those views to the referee has been invaluable. We are obviously delighted for Errol and his family but he will be a big loss for our team." Brain, who captained Counties Manukau 125 times from No 8 and played Super rugby for the Chiefs, now has a sizeable challenge to get Portugal back onto the World Cup stage.
The European nation qualified once in 2007, drawn in the All Blacks pool, but missed out on making the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. "They're currently ranked 22nd in the world but want to make it to No 16, with the long-term goal of making 2015 World Cup," Brain said. "They've had a taste of it and they really want to work hard and get back to that level."
For more information, contact Mike Rogers at Inside Running on 021 784 839
The Hamilton Boys swept all before them as the 1st XV won the Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Fukuoka, Japan in May. The unofficial schools World Cup, which features eight teams from around the globe and another eight Japanese based teams.
Winning the world title in Japan is no fluke. Hamilton Boys' First XV is riding high on an era of success rarely, if ever, seen before at schools' level in New Zealand. They are holders of the Barbarian Cup for the National Secondary School title, the Moascar Challenge Cup, and for the last four years the highly competitive Super 8 rugby trophy, competed for by the top schools in the central North Island.
We had an excellent month in July placing 20 kiwis with clubs in the UK and Europe which is our second best month ever!! It is definitely pleasing to have that much activity going on given the economic conditions in Europe and the world for that matter.
So far in August we have definitely noticed a decline in club enquiry and the enquiry that we are getting is very specific with clubs not willing to compromise on package, positions etc. This means that players have to be both patient and realistic in terms of their demands. We are still aiming to have another strong month in August with 15-20 kiwis signing with UK/European clubs and so far that is looking achievable.
We have certainly seen a downturn in 2010 in terms of what clubs are able to offer to attract players which is consistent with the economic reality.
If you have any questions about the state of the market please contact your local Inside Running Recruitment agent.
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