Nigel Melville is one of those individuals who embodies the growth of rugby as a global game. 19 years ago our paths crossed, as I was a young 18-year-old coming through the Wasps ranks, as Nigel was the Director of Rugby of the club. The only interaction I had with the man directly was when he asked me to be in the Wasps senior 7s squad in 1996. Since then Nigel’s path has taken him first to Gloucester and then on to CEO of USA Rugby.
Nigel, thank you for agreeing to do the interview. How are things the other side of the pond?
Fantastic thanks, the spring season is upon us and people are starting to play again, momentum starts to build across all our National Championship Series and the international teams are as busy as ever. The Eagles are now in Montevideo for the first leg of our Rugby World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay. The men’s sevens have landed in Tokyo and our women leave for China on two weeks. The women’s fifteens are starting their run into the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer and our U20’s are heading to the Junior World Trophy in Hong Kong – a busy time!
You have been over there for quite some time now. How did the role first come about and why did you take it?
I saw the role advertised and was looking at returning to rugby after a year working in soccer with Steve Coppell at Reading. They were promoted to the Premiership and I was looking around to see what to do and this opportunity came up. I took the role because I was impressed with the new Board, their Chairman Kevin Roberts and most of all because I could see the passion for the game and the challenges that it faced..it was something new, something challenging and intriguing.
What state was the game in the US when you arrived?
I was told that there were some strong youth programs, but the definition of youth was mostly high school and I was talking about 6/7/8-year-olds – there were limited programs at that time for really young kids. The national team had good players, but there was questionable depth and mainly because there just weren’t enough young kids playing the game to provide a constant stream of players to the elite teams. We had about 50,000 members at the time which was great, but we needed more and then we needed better!
What were your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Well we started by looking at all the various rugby communities and trying to understand more about them. When I see communities, I am referring to referees, coaches, players, administrators, fans, colleges, sponsors, media, high school, club, women etc… People tend to play rugby for a reason, they want to belong to the game but they want to be involved in their community. The problem was that nothing was happening, momentum had slowed and we needed some action… the problem is that you do one thing for one community and another community asks why you aren’t doing anything for them… its like plate spinning, you start a plate spinning, then another and another and then you have to keep them spinning and move them all in the same direction – quite a challenge I can assure you!
The game has always been rife with rumors of the Americans trying to change the rules to suit themselves. How much truth is there to these rumors and coincidentally what was the funniest most outrageous one you heard during your time?
I don’t think they want to change the rules, they just challenge the rules and don’t know why they are in place – funnily enough sometimes the IRB can’t tell us why they are in place either which doesn’t exactly help! American’s are not out to change the rules, they just have inquiring minds and want to see if something can be done better – maybe some other nations could learn from that!
The game is the US seems to have grown at Collegiate Level. Was this always part of the plan? And how has it developed?
Yes, the college game is growing, but that is because the high school game is growing and that is because the pre-high school game is growing – if there is a demand there will be new programs at every level – the Clubs will eventually be the benefactors if they can create attractive programs that post-high school and college players would like to join – that’s going to be their challenge. College rugby is very important, there are some excellent programs with quality coaches, the problem I see is that they don’t play enough high quality games, but that will come in time.
How difficult has the challenge been to take it down the age groups to get the kids playing it earlier, particularly when you are competing with the bigger buck sports?
We introduced Rookie Rugby in 2008, a non-contact game for boys and girls, its had a massive impact in school and after school programs with nearly two million kids going thru the program. This has been the catalyst, putting a rugby ball in the hands of children and letting them express themselves in a non-threatening fun environment. Rugby’s old school image has changed and now we have a new generation of players coming through – a few years to go until they reach their teens, but they are on their way.
Looking at the RFU’s struggles with raising the coaching standards in England, and with a landscape as vast and wide as the States, what challenges does USA Rugby face with developing and building a coaching work force across the country where there is at least some governance over the minimum standards being delivered?
Coaches are vital to the success of any sport, quality coaches are so important. What we found was that the IRB Awards system was fine, but it didn’t really address the issues that our coaches have in the USA. Our coaches are enthusiastic but they did not have the core skill knowledge to improve the players. Coach Education in America need to focus more on the ‘What to Coach’ and less on the ‘How to Coach’. We introduced new Levels of courses for our coaches. Levels 100, 150, 200 and 300 are now up and running, we have about 4,500 coaches in America and we need them all to be certified. All our coaches also have to take on line classes regarding concussion, child safety and are background checked.
For you what are the key differences between English rugby and the US?
I think the core skills of the English are developed at a younger age and this is simply due to there being a strong culture of rugby. Everyone sees the game on TV, in the papers etc… that’s not the case here, there are less points of reference for our players, its tougher for them to gain an understanding of the game with so many other things going on in the coaching landscape. A bit like basketball skills in America and kids basketball skills in England – its second nature to an American to shoot hoops, not the case in England, they are scoring goals and passing balls.
What could we learn in England about what they are doing differently?
The American system focuses on the athlete first and the sport second. This happens more now in Olympic sports in Britain, but not in our mainstream sports. They have wonderful athletes, but the understanding of the game and the skills to play the game come second.
How important are the likes of Carlin Isles to the growth of the game in the States?
He’s an interesting project, great athlete, wonderful young man and passionate about sport. He is a student of the game, picks things up quickly and he is proof that hard work can pay off – there is no replacement for speed – and anything is possible!
It looked for a short while that he was moving to American Football, was there ever a fear that he was really going to switch sports? Football has plenty of kick returners, Carlin has played football and didn’t really like it. He enjoys the rugby, he’s a star and has a global athletic opportunity – its not always just about the money and certainly not in Carlin’s case (not sure what he’ll make of fifteen a side rugby in the Scottish mud – but don’t back against him!
How important is Glasgow move to his growth as a player, and is the ambition to push him towards 15s longer term?
He wanted to give fifteens a go, probably needs to work out if its an option for him or not. Personally I would think it will help his sevens rugby skills and he’ll be back on the sevens circuit again soon.
I have to ask, why Scotland and not France or England, where the club standard is much higher?
They asked him!
Other emerging countries such as Spain, Russia and Portugal have used 7s to grow the sport in their countries, are you doing the same?
Yes we have used sevens to develop players, Todd Clever and Chris Wyles both came through our sevens program. Falou is now with Glasgow, Cam Dolan at Northampton and others.
Has that changed the development focus from 15s to 7s? And how much of that has come from 7s being a part of the Olympics?
Yes, the focus is definitely shifting towards Rio 2016 and the pressure will really start to ramp up..
The National 15s side have quite been able to break through to the next tier of rugby, how far away do you think they are from beating one of the top 10 in the very near future?
We have a young squad and have improved each year, but so has everyone else! The next four tournaments are very important to us as we start to focus on a team that can try to qualify for Rio – no easy task with only 12 teams in the event, Brazil as host make it 11!
Using what you have learned in the US, do you think you could do the same again in another country or is each nation a completely different challenge?
I would not do exactly what we have done here because this has been specifically developed to address the needs here. Another country will have different needs, but many of the responses and lessons learned are replicable.
Nigel thanks once again for doing this, it is greatly appreciated.
My pleasure, thank you for asking, I hope this works for you and I wish you well.
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