{"id":9097,"date":"2021-10-11T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=report&p=9097"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:14:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:14:22","slug":"how-england-rugby-is-tracking-the-progress-of-athletes-on-its-talent-pathway","status":"publish","type":"report","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/how-england-rugby-is-tracking-the-progress-of-athletes-on-its-talent-pathway\/","title":{"rendered":"How England Rugby Is Tracking the Progress of Athletes on its Talent Pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 11 Oct 2021 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Reports<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

How England Rugby Is Tracking the Progress of Athletes on its Talent Pathway<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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What sets apart a good talent development environment?<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cThe best understand their priorities,\u201d says Don Barrell, the Head of Performance Pathways and Programmes at the Rugby Football Union [RFU]. \u201cThe coaches at an academy will all be aligned on what success looks like. The best environments can give you a principled answer and they\u2019ll be able to go into any level of detail of how you\u2019re going to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barrell, who previously spoke to the Leaders Performance Institute about the fundamental requirements of a talent pathway<\/a> and the value of diversity when making decisions around talent ID and development<\/a>, has joined us via Zoom to discuss the first iteration of the England Rugby Development Framework, which was published in September.<\/p>\n

As Head of Performance Programmes and Pathways, Barrell and his colleagues saw the value in creating a guide for players, coaches, support networks and those wishing to understand the requirements to progress from grassroots rugby through the English pathway to the top of the game.<\/p>\n

The Framework covers the rugby-specific as well as the physical and psycho-social requisites. \u201cWe went to everyone in the English game, from men\u2019s Head Coach Eddie Jones and the senior coaches, to coaches and practitioners on our under-20s, under-18s, and our development programmes at schools and clubs,\u201d adds Barrell, who says that they also sought advice beyond the world of rugby. \u201cWe asked \u2018what does \u201cgood\u201d look like for you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

England Rugby arrived at five principles that will shape their approach. Those principles are: \u2018long-term\u2019, \u2018alignment\u2019, \u2018communication\u2019, \u2018holistic quality prep\u2019 and \u2018support network\u2019. Here, Barrell explores each in turn to help the Leaders Performance Institute understand how progress is tracked on the England Rugby talent pathway and processes made more efficient.<\/p>\n

1. Long-term<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018We have the end in mind. Decisions are based on the long-term and appropriate development goals rather than early success.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does \u2018long-term\u2019 mean?\u201d says Barrell. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how you\u2019ll go into a room and someone says \u2018are we not talking about the next six months?\u2019 and someone else will say \u2018I\u2019m talking about the next three years.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A consensus on the meaning of \u2018long-term\u2019 perhaps falls more under the second principle (\u2018alignment\u2019), but England Rugby\u2019s desire for long-term appropriate development goals, which track both off-field and on-field priorities, led to an internal debate on coaching preference versus positional requirement, with coaches at the top of the game now able to define what \u2018world-class\u2019 looks like in each position. Armed with this collective knowledge, long-term and appropriate development goals can be set with a focus beyond winning today.<\/p>\n

Barrell adds: \u201cIn team sports, there is often a preference for a style of play, which would then impact what you need to see in players. Our job on the talent pathway, however, is to get to a stage where positional requirement is separated from any coaching preference for how you train or practise.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Alignment<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018We have a shared understanding and access to a common framework and knowledge, with space to explore; a clear, accessible pathway of opportunities.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Barrell says: \u201cThe question we\u2019ll often start with is: what does success look like in the year? You ask an S&C coach and they\u2019ll say it\u2019s about physical robustness for this tall second row. A rugby coach will be sitting there saying \u2018it\u2019s actually about doing this\u2019. You need to bring those two together, you can\u2019t have two priorities that are in conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have everyone\u2019s individual priorities, we\u2019ll hold attention until we actually align around the main priority. Absolute failure is walking out of the room and the senior coach saying \u2018what are we doing this for, Don?\u2019 then me saying one thing and you saying another thing because we\u2019re not aligned. If we don\u2019t get that aligned and agreed we wouldn\u2019t move. Once we\u2019ve got that main priority then we start to map the year out to achieve their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Clear, open communication on what is required, that ensures the athlete is an engaged and an active participant, is crucial.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

England Rugby have a series of experiential measures that track the success of their player pathway. As Barrell says, they will ask questions such as, \u201cAre players aware of their priorities? Are they clear on how to manage and move them? What\u2019s their perception in terms of our support?<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the markers that will help you to understand how people are developing. As a coach, you\u2019re assessing your performance based on if a player understands, can articulate, and can begin to input change and modify their own plan. You want to find out how the player perceives their experience. They may not perceive it as a good thing but it may be seen as necessary by others.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same goes for coaches who will say: \u2018here\u2019s what I intended and here\u2019s what I perceived.\u2019 \u201cYou have to explain to the coach what we\u2019re trying to do, why we\u2019re trying to do it, and the intended impact. What was intended, what was delivered, what was perceived,\u201d adds Barrell.<\/p>\n

On top of that, it is important to establish a common language around the Development Framework\u2019s psycho-social considerations. \u201cWe don\u2019t want words that have different meanings to different people, such as versions of \u2018grit\u2019 or \u2018resilience\u2019 \u2013 we want them to align with the language that we\u2019re using.\u201d Barrell, however, will offer Regional Academies more latitude when it comes to more rugby-specific goals. \u201cWe have these principles and long-term plans but how you get there in your academy is not a concern providing that you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Holistic quality prep<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Highly individualised, evidence based support where we develop a player\u2019s psycho-social competencies alongside their rugby competencies in order to reach potential.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

The inclusion of psycho-social considerations in the Development Framework is acknowledgement that there is no one type of person who will succeed in rugby. \u2018Every player who enters and progresses through the talent pathway is unique,\u2019 says the Development Framework. \u2018They have, for instance, different personalities, past experiences, social support and backgrounds, which combine to influence who they are and how they progress.\u2019 In turn, they will be at different stages in the psycho-social qualities they exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe athlete cannot be successful without their support around them,\u201d says Barrell. \u201cWe talk about the things you require psycho-social support for: selection, deselection, changing club, changing body shape, size.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 15 considerations or behaviours mapped out in the Development Framework. They include \u2018highly self-aware, \u2018seeks challenges\u2019 and \u2018manages expectations\u2019. \u201cThe reason we list and explain those 15 characteristics is that we know you can develop those on our pathway and it is important for players, coaches and parents to understand this. We have written the framework to show how these may present both early on and later in someone\u2019s journey\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Support network<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Access to support that is responsive to a player\u2019s specific needs and requirements is key.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

There is an understanding built into the Development Framework that a player\u2019s \u2018hierarchy of needs\u2019 changes as they mature and develop. \u201cThere is a point where your parents\u2019 opinion is more important than the coach\u2019s and another point where that consideration changes,\u201d says Barrell. \u201cThe parents can either be working with you on some aspects of their child\u2019s development or be inadvertently working against what you\u2019re trying to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Development Framework lists a range of situations that can influence the progression of young players, such as changing clubs or schools, issues with teammates or coaches, and exam periods. These challenges can, as it states, provide opportunities for athletes to work on the aforementioned psycho-social characteristics provided they have the necessary social support. This support can take various forms depending on the individual and their circumstances. Crucially, that support must be responsive, which \u2018requires members of a player\u2019s support network to engage in frequent, open, and honest conversations with the player.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cA good programme will know who are the primary supporters at any given point,\u201d adds Barrell. \u201cAs it changes, how do we get those people in support of this athlete? Parent education is important but there will be times when others overtake them. How do we proceed with that knowledge? How do you align everyone? When things then work or don\u2019t work, where is the player going to go? To whom? And how well-supported is that person feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Download Performance 23<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our latest Performance journal has landed, with Gareth Southgate, Head Coach of the England men’s football team<\/strong> leading the way with his reflections on defining and developing resilience. Elsewhere we spoke to the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/strong> of Major League Baseball, as well as the world-renowned New Zealand Rugby<\/strong>, and British Wheelchair Basketball<\/strong>, who runs some of the finest programmes in the sport. Edd Vahid of Premier League club Southampton FC<\/strong> also penned a column focusing on talent pathways.<\/em><\/p>\n