Masters in Sporting Directors Programme Advisory Board Member Talks About the Six Nations

Phil Davies sits on the advisory board of the Sporting Directors programme brought to the global sporting market from VSI and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Phil Davies former Welsh Rugby International 1985 – 1996 – 46 caps and Professional club and international Head coach and Director of rugbY with over 20 years.

I made my 5 Nations debut as it was back in 80s, allergist 90s on April 1985 against England in Cardiff one of the other new caps on the day was my brother-in-law Jonathan Davies.

During my International career I played 7 test matches against England, all 5/6 nations games are huge occasions for Wales as you can imagine, however England v Wales is always the premier game of the tournament in Welsh eyes. The rivalry dates back to the 60s / 70s where the games were viewed as something of a David and Goliath type affairs.

Over the course of my career we played in some massive battles against England, whether Cardiff or London all the matches were fantastic experiences due to the history of the fixture.

A couple memorable matches for me were the 1987 match, this was a short-lived affair for myself as I only managed to play for 2minutes 45 secs due to the fact of being knocked out by the England lock Wade Dooley, then there was the 1994 match at Twickenham where although we lost the game on the day we managed to win the championship on points difference and take it away from England in their own backyard, we had been unbeaten prior to that match.

The 6 Nations is arguably the biggest international rugby tournament outside of the Rugby world cup. It is viewed with envy by our Southern hemisphere colleagues as a tournament that possess everything from high drama on the field to the colourful scenes  off the field that deliver a  carnival type atmosphere rarely found in any other tournament in the world.

Professional coaching has been a huge passion of mine since retiring for playing in 1996, this was the year that I also started coaching. Over the past 20 years I have worked in England and Wales as a professional coach along with more recently working for Namibia as Head coach at the recent Rugby world cup in England 2015. Continuous learning and development has always been high on my agenda, the link and support from VSI who are hosting the Sporting Directors Summit on April 19th in London at which I am hosting a Rugby Union table has been an extremely important aspect of my continued CPD program.

If you want to learn more about the sporting directors programme visit www.sportingdirectorship.com

Phil will also be hosting a table of fellow Rugby leaders at the second Sporting Directors’ Summit in London April 19th 2016.