sport news SHAUN EDWARDS: An old-fashioned rollicking can inspire a team but they have to ... trends now
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One of the biggest jobs for a coach is picking players up after a defeat. Sometimes they need an arm around the shoulder. Other times they need an old-fashioned rollicking.
If it comes down to the latter, there are a few rules to remember: keep it short and to the point, only let one person speak and don’t ask for the opinion of anyone else.
Afterwards, it is good to send the players straight home. When I was coaching Wasps I called the players in after they lost to Leicester. We had not played with enough aggression so I delivered the rollicking and then told them to get their bags and leave the training ground within 10 minutes.
England fell to a shock defeat by Argentina on Sunday that left pundits and fans furious
They weren’t back in for two days after that so they had plenty of time to think about it. The following weekend we played Leicester again and we beat them at Welford Road for the first time in 15 years. The approach worked, but you can’t do it too often or it loses impact.
I had a great coach at Wigan called Graham Lowe. He would always wait 24 hours before addressing his players. If you do it too soon after a defeat you might be clouded by emotion or dwelling on a refereeing decision. It is similar if you have just come off a long flight as you can be tired and frustrated.
It is different at international level because you are basically living
