Rugby fans will be happy to know that new USA Women’s National 15s Head Coach Jack Hanratty got all his paperwork done and he is officially on the job.
That doesn’t mean he’s been sitting on his hands.
Goff Rugby Report got to sit down with Hanratty recently to talk about his plans, his coaching style, and what he’s been up to. (Hanratty direct quotes are in italics.)
No Time to Lose
JH: As soon as that announcement went out to say, pending visa, this is our guy, I think I made about 28 phone calls the next three days, and I've still kept going with it. As an organization and in talking about plans, If I waited until I'm sitting there with a couch and made bed, I think we would have missed the boat a bit. And this is the first time in a long time that the Eagles have a four-year run at this and I don't want to waste a single week or a single day. And I think that the athletes have been excited by that as well, because we we want to start off ready to go.
Two Separate Camps
The fact that many American players ply their rugby trade overseas makes holding a catch-all camp very difficult. Here’s what Hanratty will do about that.
JH: We've got two camps coming up: a domestic camp and then a UK-based camp. The purposes are slightly different. We want to assess where everybody is in that domestic camp. Have a check-in, have some fun, play some rugby and and for me to get to know some of the Eagles pathway coaches, as well as having our own Sarah Chobot, who, of course, everybody knows. So we've brought in over 30 athletes that are based in the United States, that are coming from WER, from the collegiate level, from the Falcons or the U20 identification. And it's a great way of building a depth chart, which is, in turn, what we're actually trying to do.
I'm going to make this as competitive as possible of a camp where the handcuffs are off and and essentially I'll give them all the ingredients, but they'll make the meal. It wouldn't be correct of me to tell them how USA are going to play in the next four years, although I've been competing against the Eagles for many years and I've been an avid watcher for longer than that, to be honest.
I don't know the individuals, and I have looked from afar. I don't think you know it until you're right in deep and I want to respect the community. I want to respect not only USA rugby, but rugby in the USA. And I want to try and get to know the characteristics of what they are, and I got to do that quickly.
Not Imposing His Vision
Professional rugby players don’t get paid a lot and you can’t just dictate how they prepare, Hanratty continued. Many hold additional jobs, and can’t just throw money at some day-to-day problem.
JH: We don't have a right to dictate everything to achieve what we want to achieve.
I don't think we have the right to dictate the lifestyle, the life of which people will be there. Because rugby is is brilliant, and the dedication that all of these athletes make on a regular basis, whether they've moved to England, whether they've moved to France, somewhere in Ireland, Scotland, or whether they're playing domestically, is brilliant. We don't have the right to dictate what they have to do. What we want to do is pick the best Eagles players or the best Eagles potential and focus on the haves rather than the have-nots.”
