The Titans RFC Chat: Recent Episodes
De Wet Coetsee
With our podcasts, we will focus on 2 things:•First – General youth development and •Secondly - We want to talk rugby. General rugby things about Singaporean rugby, Asian rugby, Pacific rugby, and international rugby.
These two fine gentlemen entertain us further during the 2nd part of our conversation about whom will win the Rugby World Cup in France next year and also share some learnings they have had over the course of their coaching careers.
They share some interesting viewpoints over the course of this interview on the TMO, how to grow the game and whether scrums should still be part of rugby union.
It was a great discussion with great insights from two great rugby men.
This is not to be missed.
This is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Robbo and Andy.
Andy Martin is head of Rugby at Tanglin Trust and also the Head Coach of Gaulois Rugby club here in Singapore.
Then there is Robbo, yes, just Robbo.
He is the forwards coach of Wanderers Rugby Club and is full-time employed by an investment Bank here in Singapore.
These two gentlemen discuss a few rugby topics and give us their views on the TMO, Scrums, and other interesting things during this discussion.
Do not miss it!!
We’ve learned from 8 different people over the last 7 weeks how they think about different things. They’ve challenged us on different levels. Some of them inspired us and helped us to think differently about the way we do things.
If I’ve learned anything from my time with Titans and here in Singapore it is that people can surprise you. So I need to drop my judgemental attitude and be open to learning from everyone and fill my life with experiences to gain experience.
We should care more about the people around us, doesn’t matter who they are.
Colleagues, family, friends, or strangers. We are here for just a short time so make the best of it and impact someone else’s life for the better, today!
Kim Power has a Super Woman attitude. When you listen to this interview everything sounds so matter-of-fact. She runs an accounting firm, has 4 kids, and has time to volunteer in youth rugby here in Singapore. She gets things done.
Any person you speak with that knows Kim or knows of her will tell you that Kim always puts the players first. She really wants what's best for the kids. Whether it's a follow-up on injured players after a tournament or making sure during a tournament that all teams get an equal chance to participate. She gets it done! Seamlessly, efficiently and in a caring manner!
This interview is one for the books and I know you'll enjoy it!
Gareth Rae is a sports lover of note! He coaches age-group rugby in Hong Kong and enjoys any type of sport you throw at him. He is married and has 3 boys!
He is also the Global Head of Sales for Tsunami Clothing. The new clothing partner of Titans RFC for 2023!
Gareth gives us a proper introduction to Tsunami Clothing and we discuss some interesting rugby matters that will tickle your fancy!
An episode not to be missed.
Wallace and Taine have been with Titans RFC for more than 7 years! They share some of their experiences and learnings over their rugby journey of the last 8-9 years!
We discuss why they think Titans RFC is different than other youth clubs in Singapore and what they intend to do now that they are about to embark on life as grown-ups!
Please join us and share this interview as far and wide as possible!
Dr. KC, Orthosports Sports Injury Clinic, founder and lead doctor here in Singapore. Dr KC has operated on both Beige and Rhino and so it is only right that we get him on our podcast and discuss the finer details of what he did with their joints and why are they pain-free after the operations!
Dr. KC has been a loyal supporter of Titans RFC over the years and is a financial sponsor of the Titans. Dr KC is a very approachable doctor and anyone who knows him can vouch for his excellent bedside manners. That is indeed something he focuses on as a competitive advantage in his field although it comes naturally to him.
This podcast is interesting because it covers medical and relational topics!
Enjoy it!
Paul Hellyer is the Managing Director of Rentokil Initial Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand. Paul is married and has 2 boys.
Paul has been with Rentokil for more than 20 years and has lived around Asia for 10 years. He is passionate about his company, his family, and rugby.
Rentokil is heavily involved in Singaporean youth rugby because they believe it can make a positive difference in the lives of young people. Getting them active and part of a team sport.
Rentokil is Titans RFC's big financial partner and they enable us at Titans RFC to function and do the work we do on a weekly basis.
Paul is an authentic leader and shares some of his heaps of experience as a leader with us on the podcast.
So, do not miss it!!
Martin Williams, vice-president of the SRU and full-time counselor joins us today on the podcast in a discussion that will help parents and teenagers guide through the difficult field of finding one's identity in an age where there are so many distractions.
Martin turned full-time counselor only 6 years ago after he went through a challenging time in his own life and realized that what gives him energy is to help other people.
Since then he did all the required courses to be a qualified counselor and gained valuable experience over this time in helping people through counseling.
You can send this on to friends and family because it will help you and others to cope in a very challenging environment and time in our history.
Andy Martin is Head of Rugby at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore. He is also the head coach of Gaulois Rugby Club in Singapore.
Andy is not your average rugby coach! He thinks differently about everything about rugby. He lives, breaths and loves rugby! He likes to challenge the way you think about rugby and by doing that he improves coaches to go back and be better coaches.
He likes to challenge the players he coaches to better prepare them to make decisions on the field. He does this while striving to engage players more during training. He does this by having a "games" approach to rugby training.
How is it possible for kids on a playground when they're 10 years old to share a field with 100 other kids that all play different types of games and through it all keep track of their own game. As soon as you place those kids in a classroom where they have to concentrate without any distraction they struggle to focus?
Andy is fountain of thoughts and ideas and I'm sure you're going to enjoy this 1st episode of our 2nd series.
Up the Titans!
Titans RFC podcast - we summarise series 1 and discuss shortly all 12 episodes over the last 16 weeks.
We thank our sponsors, Rentokil, OrthoSports and Directline.
We are looking forward to series 2 of the Titans Rugby Chat and can assure you that we have great interviews lined up your you.
See you in August 2022!!
Merianne Selvaraj is a registered nurse in Singapore with over 15 years of experience in a variety of settings. She is a lifelong rugby fan, who gets to combine her work with a sport she loves.
Merianne shares with us the basics of her job as a sports medic and she gives us a look into what a medic thinks about while running onto the field on her way to treat an injured player.
It is very interesting to get a look into her world. Merianne is such an easy person to speak to about this topic and she guides us through a few interesting discussion points.
I enjoyed this interview because Merianne is knowledgeable and she is willing to share her years of experience and love of the game with anyone!! How awesome is that!!
Faan Fourie is a qualified physiotherapist from Cape Town South Africa, who has been in the high school sports environment since 2008.
We caught Faan on a public holiday in South Africa hard at work between seeing patients and trying to have a lovely South Africa braai. He shares his views with us on injury preventative training and how to approach long-term injuries from a parent's perspective.
Faan is knowledgeable and very comfortable talking about his field of expertise. There is a lot in this discussion and I hope you will enjoy this episode.
Chris De Beer, a high-performance coach, based in Pretoria South Africa has worked with teams for more than 15 years. As a registered Gallup coach, he understands that to get the desired outcome you need to put in the hard work and actively seek the strengths of your team members to be able to perform at a high level.
The discussion with Chris was very insightful and it centered around team dynamics. We discuss, what he calls: the 5 dysfunctions of a team and how that impacts team dynamics and can either take a team forward or delay team success. It all lies within the leader of the team's scope of work.
I have enjoyed this discussion because in the world today we work more and more in teams. Some teams get it right and function as high-performing teams and others, well will never unless they learn how to identify and fix their dysfunctions quickly and accurately.
A massively interesting discussion and one not to be missed!!
Cape Town-based registered dietitian, Liezel Engelbrecht, holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition and currently works as a nutrition and communications consultant. She is also a counseling dietitian in her own private practice.
In this episode, part 2 of our 2-part discussion with Liezel, our focus is on what is healthy for boys, ages 12-18, to eat and how changing small things in their diet will make a big impact. Limited those Take-Aways to 1 night a week and snacking healthier are things that are easy to do and you'll see the difference quickly.
After this discussion, I really felt that if I had this information when I was 16 it would have had a big impact on how I performed in athletics and rugby at school. Knowledge is power and this is what I took from both these discussions with Liezel. I have more knowledge on how to fuel my body so I can perform at a higher level. Whether that is in the gym or ou on the training field.
You can reach Liezel at:
engelbrecht.rd@gmail.com or visit her website at www.liezelthedietitian.com
I trust you will get the same value from this discussion as the previous one we had.
Cape Town-based registered dietitian, Liezel Engelbrecht, holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition and currently works as a nutrition and communications consultant. She is also a counseling dietitian in her own private practice.
In this episode, part 1 of our 2-part discussion with Liezel, our focus is on what is healthy for girls, ages 12-18, to eat and use to fuel their active lifestyles. We discuss healthy eating habits and try to cover areas like eating disorders, portion sizes, and healthy alternative snack options.
I found it very interesting and easy to do if you know what to add and what to avoid when preparing a meal. Liezel made it easy to understand and gave really good advice for any parent to assist their daughters.
You can reach Liezel at:
engelbrecht.rd@gmail.com or visit her website at www.liezelthedietitian.com
Carol is a confidence coach, speaker, abuse awareness advocate, and mom of two Singaporean kids. She is proudly raising two Titans.
We discuss Carol's view on girls playing rugby and what that can do for their confidence. We draw on her first-hand knowledge as a mom with a girl in the Titans RFC program. She gives us some insight into her experience on what sport and specifical rugby has done for her kids' development in general.
This was a discussion that stayed with me for a while due to the honesty of a rugby mom and her willingness to share that with us.
If you're a parent you will enjoy this one!
Chris Hodges - a professional strength and conditioning coach with UFit Singapore.
Chris shares some ideas on overtraining and how to spot it in athletes and we discuss the very interesting point around what age a child should start specializing in one sport.
It was so easy to chat with Chris due to his openness and willingness to share his thoughts on these matters. A great Podcast and one that shouldn't be missed!!!
Go the Titans!!
Head of Commercial and Communications of the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), Douglas understands the rugby landscape in Singapore. Through having played the game and being a referee Douglas wants the game on the Island to grow and prosper and sees the SRU's role as one of support to the people on the ground, the clubs!
He provides us with some interesting insight into the life of a rugby administrator!
A very good listen!
Eoin is the Singapore-based Wanderers Rugby Club head coach. He is also a professional Strength and Conditioning Coach who has worked with the NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels in SupeRugby.
This discussion consists of 2 parts. In part 1 we talk about Singaporean Rugby and in part 2 we ask the question: when should a child start going to the gym and what are the advantages of having the correct gym program?
Lots of good advice and guidance to both parents and developing rugby players!
Eoin is the Singapore-based Wanderers Rugby Club head coach. He is also a professional Strength and Conditioning Coach who has worked with the NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels in SupeRugby.
This discussion consists of 2 parts. In part 1 we talk about Singaporean Rugby and in part 2 we ask the question: when should a child start going to the gym and what are the advantages of having the correct gym program?
Lots of good advice and guidance to both parents and developing rugby players!
Join our interview with the current President of the Wanderers Rugby Club in Singapore, Paul Foden. A pragmatist, teacher a rugby man. Paul likes to get on with things and knows what his priorities are. He doesn't waste time sideshows and understands some of the challenges the youth currently struggles with.
Join our interesting conversation and hear some of DJ's thoughts on the future and the youth.
Do not miss it!
This is part 2 of our conversation with Rhino Roberts, Director of the Titans RFC.
Matt believes strongly in certain values and tries and instill them in all the teams he coaches. We will discuss those values and also hear his thoughts on where he believes the Titans RFC can grow as a brand in the next 5 years.
Another great listen!
Enjoy!
Matt "Rhino" Roberts is a founder Director at the Titans RFC.
He played for the Singapore National side for more than 9 years and coached at all levels. He is a native of Zimbabwe and has been living in Singapore since 2006.
We chat with Rhino about how he ended up in Singapore and where he got the name "Rhino".
Enjoy it!
This is the 2nd part of our discussion with Director at Titans RFC, Calven Bland.
"The Beige Assassin" takes us through why he believes rugby is good for youth development and what it teaches kids to be able to flourish in sport and in life.
This is not to be missed!
Calven "The Beige Assassin" Bland is the 2nd Director at the Titans RFC we're interviewing.
Calven, who looks after the junior rugby at the Titans RFC, shares how he got involved at the Titans RFC and what he has learned from rugby and coaching kids over the years.
Do not miss it!
This is part 1 of a 2 part interview.
This is the start of a brand new podcast.
The Titans RFC Singapore is a youth rugby union club that is passionate about youth development through the game we love, rugby.
Episode 1 futures the Wonder Woman of Singaporean Rugby, Avril Sullivan.
We had a chat with Avril about her thoughts on the state of the game in Singapore and how she feels about the development of the youth.
Make sure not to miss this one!!