Cotterill’s Aussie strategy expands Shelford horizons
SHELFORD boss Will Cotterill credits a new expansive style of rugby with the transformation which brought the Peacocks their first fourgame winning streak in as many years.
Cotterill took over the reins at the London 1 North club after Christmas and set about arresting a loss of confidence which saw them threatened with relegation for the second year running.
The former Harlequins and Saracens player joined as development officer last summer and had the chance to assess performances from the sidelines before being appointed interim head coach after Christmas.
“They definitely had the ability,” he told TRP. “The most important thing was getting their belief in themselves back, getting them back into some winning ways and developing their confidence.
“So, my emphasis was, ‘if we’re going to win games, we’re going to have to work hard, to fight, to be physical. Every game is going to be a scrap’. That’s the mindset we need.”
Drawing on 20 years’ experience of playing and coaching in Australia, Cotterill, right, introduced new training techniques to raise fitness levels and increase the squad’s ability to work harder for longer. In came an emphasis on contact conditioning to provide the physicality needed in defence.
Cotterill put the onus back on the players to make them accountable for their own training to increase their ability to react and perform in different match scenarios. Miles Anderson, a long-serving front row forward, was given a new role as forwards coach charged with fixing the use of setpieces.
Cotterill added: “We had a good, fast back row who could handle the ball. We had some great players in the back line, we had speed on the wing. I just felt we weren’t utilising that with the attacking strategies we had before Christmas. So, I brought that more expansive southern hemisphere attacking game and they responded really well.
“Teams came up against us after Christmas thinking, ‘they’re not very strong, not very physical, not very fit’. Then all of a sudden, we had a bit of a surprise for them.
“End result was some really good wins against teams that had beaten us quite comfortably before.”
Shelford were due to end the season with four home ties including two against basement sides Woodford and Ruislip. Cotterill is convinced his side could have extended their winning run to eight had the season not been curtailed.
He has since been appointed director of rugby and demonstrated his belief in Shelford by turning down a similar role at Cambridge.
Cotterill has brought in a new coaching structure to support players across the club. Ultimately, he believes that there is a chance to do something special at Shelford, working with a young squad to get the club back to National League rugby.