Coaching Culture with Ben Herring

The opening punch lands fast: learn how to control yourself or someone will control you. From there, we pull a thread that runs from Roman drill fields to packed terraces—how rugby evolved as organized collision, how the ball operates as a symbol of authority, and why our modern pursuit of power and pace may be steering the sport into dangerous territory. Jedi brings a provocative thesis: culture is what you do whether you win or lose, not the mask you wear for the cameras. If that feels uncomfortable, good—it should.

We dig into boozing as decompression, the military rhythm of effort and release, and how today’s optimized athletes have turned the kinetic dial up without giving force anywhere to go. That leads to his most controversial stance: reintroduce rucking as a functional safety valve and scale back substitutions so aerobic limits reshape bodies, tactics, and angles of attack. When breakdowns were faster and messier, teams attacked wider and dissipated impact; by slowing the game and straightening lines, we’ve amplified head-on collisions. It’s not nostalgia—it’s physics meeting design.

The journey shifts to Asia, where women’s rugby is fierce, technical, and fearless. Smaller frames deliver huge hits through timing and conviction, shattering lazy myths about softness. For coaches crossing borders, Jedi’s advice is simple and hard: learn the language, even badly. Vulnerability builds trust; trust unlocks effort. Along the way we confront a painful truth: the bond we celebrate often proves seasonal. If culture is real, support must outlast the whistle, and safety begins with the player who chooses to prepare, speak up, and step back when needed.

Come for the history and stay for the challenge: play because you love to play, not to be watched. If this conversation pushed your thinking, tap follow, share it with a coach or teammate, and leave a review with your take—should rugby bring rucking back?
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One careless comment can shrink a player for months. One intentional conversation can change a career. That’s the tension at the heart of leadership and it’s exactly where Kieran Read goes with us. From describing himself as a shy kid who didn’t speak up, Kieran walks through how he grew into captaining the All Blacks, and what that journey teaches anyone trying to build a stronger team culture at work or in sport. 

We get specific about what “culture” actually is: the behaviors you tolerate, the standards you model, and the small interactions that new people copy to fit in. Kieran breaks down why leadership is action first, how elite captains empower others instead of dominating the room, and why connection and vulnerability are not “soft” extras but the foundation that makes accountability and high performance possible. If you lead with pressure and skipping the human side, trust erodes fast and it’s brutal to rebuild. 

Kieran also shares a practical approach to leadership development: priming confidence through real opportunities. The message for coaches, managers, and founders is clear. Your belief has to show up in what you delegate, what you back, and how you tell the truth in tough moments like selection and performance chats. We wrap with a reminder to “remember influence” because every conversation is bigger for the other person than you think. 

Subscribe for more leadership coaching and team culture lessons, share this with a coach or manager who needs it, and leave a review if it helps. What’s one sentence from a leader that still sticks with you today?
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A team loses a final. The microphone shows up. Most leaders reach for explanations, soft excuses, or someone to blame. We don’t. We play a short, stunning post-game interview from Gav Hickey, who coaches the Naval Academy in the United States, and we slow it down to hear what it reveals about real leadership, coaching culture, and what your players learn from your voice.

Gav’s message is all pride and perspective: he talks about the character of his players, the joy of spending time together, and the idea that the “ultimate prize” isn’t only a scoreboard. That single minute shows what values-based leadership looks like in the moment that tempts you most to abandon your values. If you coach rugby, lead a staff, or manage any high-performance team, you’ll recognize how quickly your words become the culture people live inside.

We also connect the interview to psychological safety, including Amy Edmondson’s research that the best teams report more mistakes because they feel safe enough to speak up. When leaders don’t blame refs, conditions, or luck, they remove the easy escape hatch and keep the focus on learning, ownership, and growth. We even talk about the “car ride home” and how parents and supporters can either reinforce excuse-making or help young athletes build accountability.

If you want your team to be braver, calmer, and more honest after a loss, start here. Subscribe, share this with a coach or parent who needs it, and leave a review with the line you want your team to hear after the next tough result.
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What makes a team’s culture visible when the pressure is highest? We sit down with Ospreys head coach Mark Jones to unpack the daily habits, leadership handoffs, and language choices that turn values into actions. From Neath’s valley steel to Swansea’s coastal ease, Mark traces how a region’s identity shapes a squad’s edge—and why the first job of a head coach is to confirm the group still believes in the same things you do.

Mark takes us inside the warm-up zone where music, micro-chats, and body language reveal readiness long before kickoff. He outlines how to spot “cultural architects,” the teammates who own energy, detail, or joy, and explains why stepping back can be the best leadership move. Drawing from his time with the Crusaders, he shows how player-led meetings deepen buy-in and how a single linguistic shift—from “don’t” to do—can sharpen focus and speed. You’ll hear practical examples, from tailoring defensive roles to preserving a team’s chop-and-jackal identity, that any coach can apply tomorrow.

The conversation turns honest about setbacks. Mark shares tough lessons from Rotherham on due diligence, managing up, and refusing to throw good people under the bus. He connects coaching and parenting, admitting where he’s slipped and how family grounding improved his leadership. And he speaks openly about Welsh rugby’s uncertain future—how the absence of a clear plan strains everyone, yet has pulled the Ospreys’ players, staff, and supporters closer together. His parting challenge to coaches: trade vanity metrics for team outcomes. Know your role, do your role, and let the right voices lead at the right time.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a coach who needs fresh ideas, and leave a review with your favorite takeaway so we can keep these conversations flowing.
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If you would like to get on this tour:
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Culture isn’t a poster on the wall. It’s what your team does when nobody is watching, when someone gets dropped, and when the trip gets uncomfortable. I’m joined by Wallabies legend and former Rugby Australia president Tony Shaw to get practical about what team culture really is, how leadership actually works inside a squad, and why “how we do things around here” beats any fancy mission statement.

We dig into the old touring era and why long tours built a kind of camaraderie that modern schedules struggle to recreate. Tony shares stories that are hilarious on the surface, but they carry real coaching lessons about standards, accountability, and how quickly a group can fracture if trust disappears. We also talk selection. Tony makes the case for captain involvement and clear communication, because silence creates problems and honest feedback, delivered well, keeps teams together.

We finish with a grounded look at Australian rugby today: grassroots participation, the rise of women’s rugby and sevens, and why Tony believes the game is in better shape than the doomers admit. If you care about rugby leadership, coaching culture, and building teams players actually want to be part of, this one will stick with you. Subscribe, share this with a coach or captain you rate, and leave a review with the one culture habit you think matters most.
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