Coaches in the Spotlight

Grant Beresford-Miller, Rugby Coach 2005 – present

What do you look for in stars of the future and how early on can you pick them?

It all depends on what position they play, when you start to think about physical attributes, but I think the things that has stood out for me during my time as a coach at Trinity, is that we look at their coachability - are they willing to listen to feedback and act on it to get better? Are they always looking to improve themselves? I remember when Gabriel Ibitoye came to Trinity, he had never played rugby before and he ended up playing England U18. He had the perfect mix of incredible physical attributes and a fantastic attitude towards the sport. He was incredibly coachable.

How do you structure the rugby coaching for the various age groups and abilities and rules for junior, middle and senior?

I think it has changed quite a lot over the years since I have been here, but I think the change that has made the biggest impact on our rugby is the introduction of game play in all of our sessions. It is not always full contact game play, but the main thing is that it allows the students to make decisions for themselves.

What are the key messages or values that you instil across these groups?

That playing rugby, or any sport for that matter, is about enjoying it, playing with a smile on your face, and trying to improve in some small way at every single training session. By doing that, you’re always getting better and you’ll be a better player as you move forward.

The greatest player ever born, in any position, anywhere in the world?

You can’t look past Jonah Lomu. There have been some incredible players over the years, but I think that he is the one that had the most profound impact on rugby. An incredible player!