Advertisement
McPhillips: Bristol "want to play with no fear" under Pat Lam. James Crombie/INPHO

'I always wanted to play for my country. As a coach, I have aspirations to coach at the highest level too'

Former Connacht back Conor McPhillips on following Pat Lam to Bristol, and his future in rugby coaching.

A YOUNG MAN by professional coaching standards, Conor McPhillips speaks with maturity grounded in the comfort of where he now sits; enthusiasm for where he could eventually get to.

His comparative youth – 37-years-old – also allows the odd jibe at training.

“There’s a few players that are older than me here which I remind them of,” Bristol’s assistant coach says with a chuckle.

If that doesn’t work, there’s always his exploits as a national record holder in the 100m and 110m hurdles.

“I’m not scared to remind people I used to be a hurdling champion, that’s for sure. I was trying to dig out a few videos because I don’t think many people believe I did it. I’d probably need a pole vault now to get over them.”

Some nine years ago, McPhillips was smart enough to begin his transition from playing to coaching.

Knowing when to pull the pin is never easy but, at 28, he put his next career in motion.

After 120 appearances from 2003 to 2008, Connacht did not renew the utility back’s contract.

Offers from Italy and the English Championship arrived which would have allowed him to continue playing at a decent level abroad but McPhillips instead returned to Dublin and St Mary’s where for, two years, he mixed playing and coaching the U20s.

And so began his next rugby chapter.

He knew the longer he spent outside the professional ranks, the harder it would be to break back in.

So when the chance to return to Connacht arose, even in a role which he had no experience of, he packed his bags.

It helped, of course, that McPhillips had played alongside then-coach Eric Elwood and team manager Tim Allnutt. Both knew his keen eye for the game.

Appointed Connacht’s first video analyst, at least there were no expectations.

“I was kind of bluffing it for a while with the analysis side but I always backed my rugby and player knowledge,” McPhillips recalls.

“I was a bit of a nause when I was a player – I always used to know all the Southern Hemisphere players so they used me a bit for the recruitment side of things as well, trawling through footage to find value for money.”

Barbarians Conor McPhillips Head Coach Pat Lam Connacht players  Ultan Dillane  Denis Buckley Niyi Adeolokun and Tim Allnutt with the Quilter Cup McPhillips, far left, with Lam and the Barbarians this summer. Inpho / Billy Stickland Inpho / Billy Stickland / Billy Stickland

McPhillips grew into the analyst role, one Joe Schmidt among others once held elsewhere.

When Pat Lam arrived in Galway, his coaching career took off.

The analyst is like the head coach’s right hand man. You almost know what he wants before he tells you. When a lot of head coaches move around the world ,they often bring their analysts with them. That brought me close to Pat and I told him from day one when he came in I wanted to be a coach.

“I earned his trust and showed him I could do it. He constantly reminds me that if I wasn’t under contract with Connacht, he would have brought his Auckland analyst with him.”

Not thrust in the deep end as many ex-players turned coaches are, McPhillips progressed steadily under Lam.

By the time Connacht achieved their memorable Pro12 triumph in 2016, McPhillips doubled as assistant attack coach, earning further promotion to backs coach the following year.

Memories of Connacht’s title-winning campaign – arriving at Murrayfield with thousands cheering the team bus into the stadium – remain vivid as ever.

“At the start of the year no-one could have predicted it but it was Pat’s third year and you could really see what he wanted from the start coming to fruition. We were all on the same page.

“The last couple of weeks before we won the final… everyone knew in the back of their minds… we didn’t say it but we almost knew we’d win. Especially against Leinster, we had no fear and we played almost like it was a training session.”

Conor McPhillips and John Muldoon Celebrating Connacht's Pro12 success with John Muldoon. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Leaving Connacht, where he arrived at 22 and went on to spend 15 years, to follow Lam, his mentor, to Bristol made sense.

Bristol provided three years of security, while uncertainty clouded his future at Connacht.

“It’s still a place very close to my heart.”

McPhillips, his wife Niamh, and twin seven-year-old boys Nathan and Dylan – in school picking up English accents “which is not ideal” – are embracing Bristol.

On the field, McPhillips is helping implement a fearless approach that management believes can not only see Bristol avoid relegation, but vie for the Premiership top six this season.

“We’re in the business of winning but if you’ve got loads of players from Bristol and you’re playing an attractive brand, it can only make local people want to wear the jersey.

“There are teams who play very conservatively. They might go quite well but they won’t win European Cups; they won’t win championships and beat your Clermonts and Leinster if you have one style of game. You have to have that ability to cut loose and play ball or you’ll never have a brilliant season.

We want to play with no fear but we don’t want to be crazy with that.

“Sometimes we can get a bit pigeonholed as Bristol ‘run from everywhere’ and play a high-risk game but we also train that if it is not on, you find Row Z or kick long and take the pressure off. I like to think we’ll get there eventually.”

During his playing career McPhillips fell short of gaining a Test cap for Ireland. He came close, representing the national U21s, sevens, Ireland A, and going on a senior tour of Japan in 2005 without taking the field.

For now, he is content continuing to learn to coach week in, week out in the Premiership.

Long term, though, the same dream applies.

“For me as a player I always wanted to play for my country. As a coach I have aspirations to coach at the highest level too. Hopefully I have 10 to 20 years before I’ll be thinking about that but it’s about reaching for the stars and becoming a better coach.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Author
View 3 comments
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Graham Murphy
    Favourite Graham Murphy
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 3:51 PM

    Norman Whiteside wasn’t 17 in 1985, unless he played in the 82 world cup when he was 14!

    185
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute vv7k7Z3c
    Favourite vv7k7Z3c
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:00 PM

    Cheers Graham,

    I obviously got Norman Whiteside and Freddy Adu mixed up!

    177
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute N O hUallaigh
    Favourite N O hUallaigh
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:22 PM

    That 1970 match description is class.. “neutralised”

    96
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jon Walters
    Favourite Jon Walters
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:29 PM

    Your a gas man, Will

    57
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Manus Boyce
    Favourite Manus Boyce
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 3:46 PM

    Wouldn’t consider that tackle to be a straight red nowadays, probably borderline. Back then….not even close, yellow at worst

    125
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Eamonn Maloney
    Favourite Eamonn Maloney
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:12 PM

    Miss timed is all it was.I remember watching that game and being shocked when he was sent off.Disagree that it was on any way cynical, there isn’t a cynical bone in Kevin Moran’s body.

    102
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John O'Neill
    Favourite John O'Neill
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 2:10 PM

    Yeah, definitely mis-timed. I blame Reid for having legs!

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Graham Kavanagh
    Favourite Graham Kavanagh
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 3:54 PM

    How times have changed…. You did not see Everton players swarm the ref demanding a red, Man U players were in shock….. Rightly so too, you saw these tackles every week and you got on with it…. Its a sending off and a media circus today, but back then it was, ummm football….. Tackles are expected, and was rarely ever cynical…….

    83
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Murray
    Favourite Dave Murray
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:10 PM

    Spot on Graham, sure even Peter Reid protested to the ref on behalf on Moran…..very rare you will see that nowadays.

    78
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John Fitzpatrick
    Favourite John Fitzpatrick
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 5:46 PM

    Peter Reid actually begged the referee not to send Moran off. Frank Stapleton reverted to emergency centre half and had a stormer. Peter Willis was the referee and it was his last ever match to officiate. He was looking to make a name for himself. Years later the F.A. Stopped referees officiating in their last ever match in the cup finals.

    61
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Hanlon
    Favourite Dave O'Hanlon
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 6:33 PM

    ‘With United down to 10, Everton took them to extra-time’, shouldn’t that be United took Everton to extra-time as the Toffees were just crowned league champions you know.

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Spoddgy
    Favourite Spoddgy
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 6:04 AM

    Also had more league titles than United! And had just won the cup winners cup beforehand!

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Higginbotham
    Favourite David Higginbotham
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 6:52 PM

    Moran’s wasn’t allowed receive a winners medal that day either .

    39
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Graham Ross
    Favourite Graham Ross
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:39 PM

    Forget the tackle. He’d get 6 months now for pulling & dragging out of the ref in protesting his innocence! Although he didn’t quite get to Di Canio levels…

    35
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Colm Kelly
    Favourite Colm Kelly
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 4:32 PM

    Unusually it was an intercept of Paul McGraths pass that led to Kevin having to make the lunge.

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Andrew Logue
    Favourite Andrew Logue
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 5:34 PM

    Suberb tackle won the ball cleanly. Football is being destroyed these days by cheating, diving and every second tackle being either a yellow or red. Games these days are often decided by which team has a player sent off its a complete joke

    32
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Graham Kavanagh
    Favourite Graham Kavanagh
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 7:30 PM

    Lol, everyone had common sense comments today till that…. Thought we might have a good thread…..

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Carino
    Favourite David Carino
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 3:48 PM

    Badly timed don’t think tackles back then were cynical or malicious as they are today .

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute dontletitslip
    Favourite dontletitslip
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 5:34 PM

    A proper challenge that! :D

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Goldberg
    Favourite Goldberg
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 5:46 PM

    Big Ron would have referred to the tackle as a ‘reducer’

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Carlos Bandanas
    Favourite Carlos Bandanas
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 10:48 PM

    This may be an urban myth and I am well open to correction but is it true that the first person to be sent off in the FA Cup final (Kevin Moran) and the first player to be sent off in the Premier League (Niall Quinn) both went to the same school (Drimnagh castle)??

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute mark
    Favourite mark
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 9:53 PM

    If memory serves me, I was seven at the time, kevin Moran didnt get a winners medal on the day after his red card. He only received it after a campaign on his behalf.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Rooney (TIPM)
    Favourite Mick Rooney (TIPM)
    Report
    May 18th 2015, 11:53 PM

    Bit misleading. Why would you be considered the most cynical player in FA Cup Final history just because you were the first to be sent off in one? Moran was a tough ‘no prisoners’ player, but he was never cynical in his playing days.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute breandan
    Favourite breandan
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 3:35 AM

    If it was today Reid would be gone for simulation…

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter Clarke
    Favourite Peter Clarke
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 8:54 AM

    Most cynical ever? The writer obviously doesn’t remember Willie Young in 1980! Only a yellow too. I think that was the tackle that prompted the introduction of the straight red for a professional foul.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Donal Ring
    Favourite Donal Ring
    Report
    May 19th 2015, 6:09 PM

    Good article Will, still very few being sent off in big games- Lehmens in 06 CL final, Reyes in 05 FA cup final-can’t think of any others. A few in World cup finals- two Argentinians in 1990, Desailly, Heitinga

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel