RugbySmart Injury Prevention Course

Rugby Smart is an injury management programme developed jointly by the New Zealand Rugby Union and ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) to improve the safety of the game and prevent injuries.
Each rugby season, it is compulsory for all coaches of players aged 13 and over to attend a RugbySmart Injury Prevention presentation facilitated by Taranaki Rugby Union.
Since the RugbySmart programme started in 2001, ACC has seen significant drops in rugby-related injury claims. Rugby playing numbers have grown 7% in 2005 and claims dropped by a further 3.5%.

SmallBlacks Coaching Courses

The New Zealand Rugby Union have developed compulsory junior coaching courses designed to up-skill junior coaches on the approved safe technique for coaching children in a specific age grade. The junior rugby coaching programme is part of the SmallBlacks development model developed by the New Zealand Rugby Union.
It is compulsory for all coaches of players aged 12 and under to have a SmallBlacks Coaching accreditation applicable to the grade level they are coaching. 
The SmallBlacks accreditation is valid for three rugby seasons and can be obtained by attending one of the following SmallBlacks Coaching courses:

• Small Blacks Beginning Rugby (Under 6–Under 7) 
• Small Blacks Learning Rugby (Under 8–Under 10) 
• Small Blacks Playing Rugby (Under 11–Under 13)

Front Row Factory

The NZRU Front Row Factory (FRF) will be facilitated by Shane McDonald and Ian Snook and covers the basic fundamentals of the Front Row technique and scrummaging, with a strong focus on scrum safety. Although suitable for all ages it is best done when participants take part with others of there own age,size etc… Every club must have a FRF coach.

Principles of Rugby Coaching Course (iRB Level 2 - Developing Rugby Skills)

This course has been developed as a comprehensive course focusing on Key Factor Analysis of the skills of Rugby Union and the application of Key Factor Analysis in relation to the Principles of Attack and Defence – the Principles of Play.
In addition the course provides information on sport-generic areas such as the Role of the Coach, Sport Psychology, Communication, Physical Preparation, Individual Growth and development, Skills Analysis and How to Teach Skills.
The aim of the course is to provide coaches with the basic skills and knowledge required:

• To plan, implement and evaluate a safe and effective coaching session; 
• To analyse and teach a skill; 
• To identify the individual skills of rugby; 
• To provide coaches with up-to-date information on the coaching of the units and mini-units of rugby eg. scrum, lineout, attack, defence, counterattack, continuity etc.

Requires full attendance over approximately 20 hours. The accreditation process requires that coaches are currently coaching a team and is a separate part of the course.  Course will be run on a modular basis over a number of Sundays.
Coaches who attain accreditation at this level will also receive accreditation as an iRB level 2 coach.