Treat players as individuals and not like clones

Isaw a few tweets directed towards Paolo Odogwu, the Wasps wing who was sent off against Sale last Friday for kicking Rohan Janse van Rensburg in the face when collecting a high ball (above), and has received a six-week ban. Most of them seemed to be criticising his reaction to that red card, saying that it “wasn’t rugby” or something. That hit a nerve with me. Sportsmen and women are not clones and not everyone behaves in the same manner. Clearly, the way footballers sometimes talk to referees is one extreme. But you have to remember that in professional sport everyone is desperately trying to find a way to win. You are going to see passion and desire and it is rarely helpful for the older generation to look at something and say: “That would not happen when I was playing.” Because that is obvious. It probably would not happen because the people are inherently different. Coaches have to keep finding different ways to motivate younger players because, over time, behaviour does evolve. In my experience, a lot of the young players that fall short of establishing themselves in a first team expect things a little too quickly. Responsibility should fall on clubs to make sure that their pathway can support different characters. As coaches, directors of rugby and chief executives get younger, they will be more in touch with personnel coming through. At the LA Rams in the NFL, head coach Sean Mcvay is 33 – younger than some of his players – and took them to the Super Bowl. I think a lot of Mcvay’s impact will be to do with his ability to relate to players.