Coaching Courses

We simply don't have a game without our coaches. Coaching is very rewarding and is a great way to contribute to your community, give back to the game, and to meet others who share your love for rugby. 

In Wellington we have over 1,000 committed rugby coaches from Small Blacks to Premier club rugby and 1st XV rugby, these volunteers really are at the centre of our game. We aim to connect and engage rugby coaches with rugby content, coaching ideas, concepts, activities and information to assist them with delivering great rugby experiences to players and teams. 

We hope you find some information here to assist you in your role as a coach.

Please give us your feedback as we are here to help you along the way to be a better coach and give you a great rugby experience.
 

ACCREDITED COACHING COURSES

If you’re stepping into a coaching role, make sure you complete the course that matches the level you’ll be coaching.
 

RugbySmart

This course is to be completed by all college and senior club coaches each year prior to the start of the club and college competitions. This course is focused on player saftety and coaching safe and effective technique in different aspects of the game.
 

Small Blacks

This course is be completed by all junior coaches each year. The course focuses on a range of topics including planning and running a training session, how to coach skills, refereeing and creating a good team environment.
 

Ako Wāhine

The Ako Wāhine programme is a coaching course specifically designed for women who are new to coaching, in their first year of coaching, or looking to upskill at a foundational level. No previous coaching experience is required. The content is based on World Rugby and New Zealand Rugby’s Foundation Level 1.
 

Foundation Course (Level 1)

The Foundation course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 1 course. This course has been developed to provide coaches with a basic understanding of some key facets of the game of rugby.

DRC Course (Level 2)

The DRC course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 2 course. The key focus of this course is the coaching process. This relates to the application of how to apply the principles of play (attack and defence) to your planning, implementing and review of your team’s training sessions and game performance. 

Performance Course (Level 3)

The Performance course is New Zealand Rugby’s equivalent of World Rugby’s Level 3 course. The format for this course is very similar to the DRC course, but goes into more detail. In general, coaches will need to have completed DRC and complete additional criteria in order to apply to attend this course.