LEINSTER BACKS COACH Girvan Dempsey took advantage of the province’s off-season period in June to visit New Zealand for an educational experience.
The 40-year-old’s latest stint of continuing personal development [CPD] brought him to Super Rugby outfits the Chiefs and the Blues, where he learned from head coaches Dave Rennie and Tana Umaga.
Dempsey was promoted to Leinster's senior coaching staff last season. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
Dempsey took in one of the All Blacks’ Test victories over Wales, as well as spending time with Graham Henry in advance of the Kiwi legend’s two-week stint in Ireland.
Not only was the New Zealand trip extremely enjoyable for Dempsey but, heading into just his second season as a senior team coach at Leinster, the experience was invaluable to his coaching confidence and knowledge.
“You look at what they do and it’s not massively different to what we do up here,” says Dempsey when asked what he picked up. “There are a few tweaks and things here and there.
The Chiefs, in particular, have a very strong culture, they’re very clear about how the club works. It was surprising that some of them do double rugby sessions [on one day], which not a lot of teams do up here.
“A few little things here and there about the pace at which they train. They do their S&C programme linked in and there are a few initiatives there that we looked at. We have that this year with Charlie Higgins coming in [as Leinster's new head of athletic performance], with that Southern Hemisphere background. He’s been an excellent addition.
“Overall, what they do in New Zealand isn’t vastly different to what we do up here.
“I think the biggest focus is on simplicity. Simplicity in what they do and making sure that everyone is really, really clear on what they’re doing. That interaction between different groups within the team is really important.”
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Dave Rennie plans to secure a coaching job in Europe next year. Photosport / Jason O'Brien/INPHO
Photosport / Jason O'Brien/INPHO / Jason O'Brien/INPHO
Dempsey has an important job on his hands at Leinster this season. The province’s defence under the soon-to-depart Kurt McQuilkin was a strength in 2015/16, but their attack fired only intermittently.
The attacking shape and theory was often intelligent, but Leinster’s execution left them lagging behind the likes of Connacht, Glasgow, Ulster and Cardiff in the Pro12 try-scoring stakes.
How does Dempsey think the Leinster attack can improve this season?
“I think putting a huge emphasis on our skills,” says the former Ireland fullback. “We did it last year but obviously they weren’t up to required standard that I personally and we collectively felt they needed to be. That let us down at times.
I think that and the identification of opportunities and being clinical in executing those opportunities into points, those are the two key areas where we can improve.
“I thought we did some really good stuff last season, but we didn’t execute that into points. We’ve already started the process and we felt we showed some of that last weekend against Ulster [in a 31-14 pre-season win at Navan RFC].”
There’s simplicity in Dempsey’s words. Oftentimes last season, Leinster looked more concerned with the actual shape of their attack than execution – screening forwards to the second wave, only to end up going sideline to sideline in a lateral fashion. 3-on-2 or 4-on-3 chances were wasted on other occasions.
Dempsey looks to his experience in June as the best example of the most basic skills of the game, the catch-pass for example, being the most important thing.
Dempsey wants Leinster to focus on the basics. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
“You look at the All Blacks and it’s simplicity,” explains Dempsey, “they’ve said that. They don’t do anything revolutionary or massively different.
“It’s the simplicity of the game but they do it really, really effectively. Everyone is really clear on their roles and what they do. Sometimes you move away from that and I think you’ve always got to revert back to that.”
Dempsey’s meetings with former All Blacks coach Henry, both in Auckland and Dublin, have hammered the point home and he was grateful to have access to Henry’s “experience and rugby knowledge.”
There will be another Kiwi influence at Leinster this season, although directly on the pitch. Jamison Gibson-Park arrived at the province yesterday, having recently helped the Hurricanes to a Super Rugby title as the back-up scrum-half.
The 24-year-old has played for the Māori All Blacks and also featured in Super Rugby with the Blues before his move to the Canes. Dempsey is excited to see how Gibson-Park, who hails from the sparsely-populated Great Barrier Island, adapts to Leinster.
“He adds a bit of experience and also a knowledge of different games,” says Dempsey. “He’s coming from a Hurricanes side who has a huge defensive record. You look at the final and their defence was incredible.
“You look at the way they play the game and some of their attack systems were very good. He’s worked with TJ Perenara, an All Blacks scrum-half, and he’s garnered a huge amount of experience from that. I think he’s going to be a great addition to our group.”
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'You look at the All Blacks and it's simplicity' - Leinster's Dempsey
LEINSTER BACKS COACH Girvan Dempsey took advantage of the province’s off-season period in June to visit New Zealand for an educational experience.
The 40-year-old’s latest stint of continuing personal development [CPD] brought him to Super Rugby outfits the Chiefs and the Blues, where he learned from head coaches Dave Rennie and Tana Umaga.
Dempsey took in one of the All Blacks’ Test victories over Wales, as well as spending time with Graham Henry in advance of the Kiwi legend’s two-week stint in Ireland.
Not only was the New Zealand trip extremely enjoyable for Dempsey but, heading into just his second season as a senior team coach at Leinster, the experience was invaluable to his coaching confidence and knowledge.
“You look at what they do and it’s not massively different to what we do up here,” says Dempsey when asked what he picked up. “There are a few tweaks and things here and there.
“A few little things here and there about the pace at which they train. They do their S&C programme linked in and there are a few initiatives there that we looked at. We have that this year with Charlie Higgins coming in [as Leinster's new head of athletic performance], with that Southern Hemisphere background. He’s been an excellent addition.
“Overall, what they do in New Zealand isn’t vastly different to what we do up here.
“I think the biggest focus is on simplicity. Simplicity in what they do and making sure that everyone is really, really clear on what they’re doing. That interaction between different groups within the team is really important.”
Dempsey has an important job on his hands at Leinster this season. The province’s defence under the soon-to-depart Kurt McQuilkin was a strength in 2015/16, but their attack fired only intermittently.
The attacking shape and theory was often intelligent, but Leinster’s execution left them lagging behind the likes of Connacht, Glasgow, Ulster and Cardiff in the Pro12 try-scoring stakes.
How does Dempsey think the Leinster attack can improve this season?
“I think putting a huge emphasis on our skills,” says the former Ireland fullback. “We did it last year but obviously they weren’t up to required standard that I personally and we collectively felt they needed to be. That let us down at times.
“I thought we did some really good stuff last season, but we didn’t execute that into points. We’ve already started the process and we felt we showed some of that last weekend against Ulster [in a 31-14 pre-season win at Navan RFC].”
There’s simplicity in Dempsey’s words. Oftentimes last season, Leinster looked more concerned with the actual shape of their attack than execution – screening forwards to the second wave, only to end up going sideline to sideline in a lateral fashion. 3-on-2 or 4-on-3 chances were wasted on other occasions.
Dempsey looks to his experience in June as the best example of the most basic skills of the game, the catch-pass for example, being the most important thing.
“You look at the All Blacks and it’s simplicity,” explains Dempsey, “they’ve said that. They don’t do anything revolutionary or massively different.
“It’s the simplicity of the game but they do it really, really effectively. Everyone is really clear on their roles and what they do. Sometimes you move away from that and I think you’ve always got to revert back to that.”
Dempsey’s meetings with former All Blacks coach Henry, both in Auckland and Dublin, have hammered the point home and he was grateful to have access to Henry’s “experience and rugby knowledge.”
There will be another Kiwi influence at Leinster this season, although directly on the pitch. Jamison Gibson-Park arrived at the province yesterday, having recently helped the Hurricanes to a Super Rugby title as the back-up scrum-half.
The 24-year-old has played for the Māori All Blacks and also featured in Super Rugby with the Blues before his move to the Canes. Dempsey is excited to see how Gibson-Park, who hails from the sparsely-populated Great Barrier Island, adapts to Leinster.
“He adds a bit of experience and also a knowledge of different games,” says Dempsey. “He’s coming from a Hurricanes side who has a huge defensive record. You look at the final and their defence was incredible.
“You look at the way they play the game and some of their attack systems were very good. He’s worked with TJ Perenara, an All Blacks scrum-half, and he’s garnered a huge amount of experience from that. I think he’s going to be a great addition to our group.”
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Attack attack coach CPD Dave Rennie Girvan Dempsey Graham Henry Leinster Tana Umaga