Last week prior to the Wales v England international Ruckingball caught up with the England Rugby League Coach Steve McNamara who spent several days in camp with his union counterparts as they prepared for the big game. We took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his visit.

How did the visit come about?

Primarily it came about through Mike Ford who obviously has a background in rugby league, along with the RFL Head of Player Development BJ Mather who was a dual international and formerly worked with London Irish. It was actually my second visit, I also spent time with Jonno and the boys during the autumn international series before the South Africa game.

What has been the focus of the visit?

It’s been very much about sharing, both codes have a goal to win a World Cup and its very much about exploring ways of helping to give one another that little extra edge that is so imprtant if we are to achieve our goals.

How do you compare the environment created in Rugby League to that in Rugby Union and any other sports?

I’ve been lucky to spend time with Stuart Pearce and the england Under 21s soccer team, the emerging Queensland Origin squad in Australia as well as with the England Union boys. The truth is we all have the same issues and problems, and if you speak to people who have worked in this environment in the past they had the same challenges as well.

We are all trying to create an environment in which without pampering the players every possible piece of support is in place. Of course the FA and indeed the RFU provide a bigger budget than the one one I have. But that just means we need to be more creative in what we do.

As I say its about support structures and staff, they are the ones that will create the environment we want. Every member of staff has a role and adds value, that’s the case with Jonno’s staff and I have the same outlook.

How would you describe your attitude to personal development as a coach?

Developing as a coach is crucial, and I would like to be what I would describe as a “well rounded Coach”. I don’t want to just be knowledgeable in the ABCs I want to have a knowledge from A to Z. I want to be able to bring everything together for the achievement of our goals. It’s therefore important that i pay attention to even the smallest detail in everything I do.

Do you think your philosophy and priorities as an international coach differ that much from those of a club coach working with an under 10s team?

When it comes to elite coaching its results driven simple as that. I do however take a great interest to development underneath that, and the RFLs Performance pathway is something I do when possible try to support. At the younger ends – the minis – for me it’s all about developing the person, even more than the team. I can’t stress enough how important it is for coaches at this age that they don’t try to advance the players to quickly. There are no short cuts you need to build the foundation properly.

Any specific advice to community coaches?

Broaden your horizons, seek knowledge and ideas from other sports. Don’t look at elite coaches and coaching and try to copy what you see. Finally Core Skills and Physical literacy are the important things you need to work on.