Author: patrickhickmancoaching

The 2025–26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season kicked off in style at The Stoop last night, as Harlequins hosted Loughborough Lightning. On a fresh, clear evening the ground was alive with anticipation. Four thousand fans came through the gates, the atmosphere crackled with excitement as the players ran out for the first match of the new campaign.

For me, it was a particularly special night. Thirteen U12 and U14 girls from Sutton & Epsom RFC, many of whom I’ve had the privilege of coaching, took to the pitch as the flag-waving guard of honour. Watching them stand tall under the floodlights, proudly representing their club was a moment that will stay with me for a long time. You could see it on their faces – the wonder, the joy and perhaps a spark of what’s possible.

It felt like a night that marked more than just the start of a season. Around 30% of the crowd were first-time visitors to a PWR game, surely a sign of how fast the women’s game is growing. Following hot on the heels of the Women’s Rugby World Cup there’s a sense that women’s rugby is stepping into a new era of visibility and momentum.

This season, every PWR fixture will be broadcast across three platforms, a milestone that reflects both the increasing demand and the commitment to make the game accessible to all. More eyes on the game means more hearts captured, and that can only be a good thing for players and supporters alike.

From a grassroots perspective, the energy feels different this year. More girls are joining, more families are turning up to watch and the belief that the women’s game deserves equal attention is stronger than ever.

It’s no time to be complacent. Progress needs nurturing, but right now it feels like everyone is leaning in. The sport is on an upward curve and the passion behind it is infectious.

As I watched those young girls waving their flags last night, I couldn’t help but think: this is what inspiration looks like.

I was talking to my coach the other day about the ups and downs of life. We found ourselves circling around the idea that everything moves in cycles. Nothing stays still for long and no phase, good or bad, ever lasts forever.

In my own life, I’ve noticed this – there are stretches when everything seems to fall into place, when plans flow smoothly and I feel in control. Then, without warning, things shift. Work piles up, relationships get strained or unexpected problems appear. It’s as if the current suddenly picks up speed and before I know it I’m trying to keep my balance through a series of rapids.

With time, I’ve learned to stop fighting those moments. They’re uncomfortable and often unpredictable, but they’re also where growth happens. The calm stretches of life restore us, while the rough ones shape us.

As we spoke, an image came to mind of the mighty Zambezi River. Some stretches of it are calm, almost meditative. The water glides by, smooth and reflective. Then, around a bend, come the rapids: powerful, loud, and unrelenting. People travel from around the world to ride those rapids, not because they’re easy, but because they’re alive.

White-water guides have a rule, go with the river. When you hit turbulence, you don’t fight it. If you fall out of the raft, you float with the current, feet first, trusting that the water will eventually calm and the team will pull you back in. It’s an exhilarating experience, but it’s also a lesson in surrender. You can’t control the river; you can only navigate it.

I think that is the art of living well. Too often we brace against the current, trying to control every twist and turn. We overthink, resist or panic when life gets messy. But when we learn to ride it, to trust that chaos gives way to calm, we start to find a rhythm. The challenges stop feeling like personal failures and start looking more like natural parts of the flow.

When the river smooths out again, that’s the time to rest – to take stock of what you’ve learned, refill your energy and prepare for whatever lies ahead. It’s tempting to wish for an endlessly calm life, but deep down, we know that’s not what brings us alive. The rapids, for all their discomfort, are where we discover our resilience and capacity to adapt.

If life feels turbulent right now, remember that you’ve been through rapids before… and you made it out the other side. Every stretch of calm and every rush of chaos is part of the same journey.

So when the current picks up, take a deep breath. Go with the water. Trust that, before long, you’ll be back in the calm. Stronger, wiser and ready for whatever the river brings next.

Every parent wants to help. We want our kids to succeed, to feel proud of themselves. When the whistle blows and the game kicks off, it’s tempting to jump in, to shout instructions, to correct, to coach from the sideline.

But the truth is this: the most important role we play isn’t tactical. It’s emotional.

Why Encouragement Beats Instructions

Every team already has a coach. The training is done, the game plan is set, the technical advice has been given. What our kids look for from us is different. They want to know we believe in them.

A simple “Great effort!” often matters more than any tactical tip. A smile after a missed pass says, “I’m proud of you anyway,” and when we keep our composure under pressure, they see that the score isn’t the only measure of value.

A Contrast Worth Noticing

Think for a moment about the difference between the sideline of a junior rugby match and the route of a long-distance run. At rugby, you’ll often hear instructions being shouted: “Get back!”, “Pass wide!”, “Tackle lower!” The intention is to help but the impact can be unsettling.

Now picture the crowd at a marathon or a local fun run. Nobody shouts tactics to the runners. You don’t hear “shorten your stride” or “relax your shoulders.” What you hear is encouragement. People clap, they cheer names on vests, they shout “You’ve got this!” and “Keep going!” The runners lift their heads, find a bit more energy, and keep moving.

That kind of support is what works best on the rugby sideline too. Encouragement, not instruction. Presence, not pressure.

The Science of Sideline Pressure

Research shows that when parents coach from the sidelines, children feel more stress. They hesitate, unsure whether to listen to their coach or to us. That moment of doubt can lead to mistakes, but the bigger cost is confidence.

The best thing we can do on the sideline is support. Let the coaches coach. Our role is to show that they are loved whether they win or lose.

What the Sidelines Should Be

When the game gets tough, children often glance towards the sideline. They’re not looking for instructions. They’re looking for reassurance – a nod, a smile, a sense that someone is with them.

What really helps is not more words but a steady presence.

Why This Matters Beyond Rugby

When we manage ourselves on the sidelines, we teach something that goes beyond sport. We show our children how to stay grounded, how to put things in perspective and how to keep faith in themselves.

Bringing It to Life

This is what Mud, Tries and Tantrums is about: reflections and ideas for raising happy rugby players. Rugby is already a great teacher. It gives children courage and connection, and so much more. We don’t need to add more pressure, we just need to let the game do its job.

As this new season progresses let’s make the sidelines a space of support, not stress.

It’s semi-finals weekend at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. The last four teams are within touching distance of the final, but this is also the point where the pressure is as intense as it has ever been.

Yes, these are the top four sides, the ones many expected to get this far. But that doesn’t mean the games are predictable. They won’t be easy, and they won’t be straightforward. These players are still human beings. They make mistakes. They pull off the seemingly impossible. And the fine margins will decide who plays in the game everyone wants to be in.

When you reach the semi-finals, you know there are two matches left to play. But for every player, there is only one game that matters, the final. Getting there becomes everything. The challenge is that pressure can push you forward or it can crush you.

So what will separate the teams now?

One has home advantage, and with it comes the weight of expectation. They also carry one of the most impressive winning records in the game, across competitions and across years. That history of winning builds confidence, but it also invites scrutiny. Every mistake will feel amplified in front of a home crowd.

Another has World Cup pedigree that doesn’t exist anywhere else in sport. This is the team that knows what it feels like to lift the trophy and has built an identity around delivering on the biggest stage. That kind of experience is priceless, but it can also be a burden; history can inspire, but it can also press heavily on the present.

A third is relentless. They won’t stop, they won’t ease up, and they won’t go away quietly. For them, the game is about pressure from the first minute to the last. They grind opponents down until there is nothing left to give. Playing them means knowing that you won’t get a single moment to switch off.

And then there’s the team that brings flair. Quick movement, clever offloads, and a willingness to play what they see in front of them make them unpredictable and exciting. The creativity is built on a solid platform of set-piece and forward strength and when it clicks it can turn a game in an instant. Of course, that freedom can come at a cost, leaving them exposed if the risk doesn’t come off but it’s what makes them such a dangerous side to face.

Four teams. Four different ways of approaching the game. And yet, the margins between them are smaller than ever.

At this stage, it isn’t only about skill or tactics. It’s about who can master the nerves. The semi-final stage has ended the dreams of great players and great teams because the weight of the occasion became too much. The crowd noise, the expectation, the awareness that one mistake could swing everything – it can feel suffocating. The teams that progress are the ones who can stay calm when the storm hits, who trust themselves and each other enough to ride it out.

That’s why semi-finals are often even more dramatic than finals. You don’t just see rugby ability on show, you see resilience, courage, and belief being tested to their limits.

And it’s why we’ll all be watching closely. Each of these teams has the talent to win. Each of them has the capacity to stumble. The outcome will come down to how they handle these final hurdles, who manages to channel pressure into performance, and who holds their nerve when everything is on the line.

By next weekend, we’ll know who gets to play in the game that really matters. Until then, it’s about digging deeper than ever before.

So, who are you rooting for?

Group Stages Finale

We often think of the knockout stages as where the real drama begins. Win and you stay in. Lose and you’re out. But as we head into the final weekend of the Women’s Rugby World Cup group stage, we’re reminded that for some teams, the knockout mindset has already arrived.

Take Australia and USA, for example. Having played out a thrilling draw last weekend, each team  now knows their future in this competition hangs on what happens next. For them, this weekend isn’t just about points on the table it’s about survival. The final weekend isn’t just about survival thought – even for teams already through, finishing top of the group isn’t just about pride. It sets up who they’ll face in the quarter-finals, and that can make a massive  difference for their onward progress in this World Cup.

It’s tense. It’s uncertain. And it’s enthralling

What It Teaches Us… and Our Kids

For young players, it’s easy to think only finals or trophies matter. But the truth is, every game is a chance to prove something. Sometimes you’re proving resilience, sometimes you’re proving focus, sometimes you’re proving you can keep giving your best when the stakes are high or when the game is lost and you’re only playing for pride!

That’s what these group stages show us. Even when it’s technically “not knockout yet,” for some, it really is. And that mindset, that willingness to treat every game like it matters, is something our children can carry with them.

What It Teaches Parents

For us on the sidelines, it’s a reminder, too. Not every game will be for silverware. Not every Sunday will be a cup final. But to our kids, sometimes it feels that way. The nervous energy, the build-up, the uncertainty – they’re all part of the experience.

Our role? To keep the bigger picture in sight. To remind them that whether it’s a group-stage decider, a quarter-final, or just another weekend fixture, the lessons they learn are the same: effort counts, resilience grows and the journey matters.

Bringing It Home

As the group stages wrap up and we look ahead to the quarter-finals, let’s take inspiration from the teams fighting for their place. Their determination shows us what’s possible when every moment is embraced.

And as our own season kicks off this weekend, that’s something we can bring onto our own pitches. Because while not every game is a final, every game is a chance to grow.

📖 Reflections like these run throughout Mud, Tries and Tantrums: Raising Happy Rugby Players. Written for parents who want to support their kids in rugby – not just in chasing wins, but in enjoying the whole journey.