Will Greenwood is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins and played 55 tests for England and was the centre for the 2003 World Cup-winning team and is our first repeat guest on the Rugby Bricks podcast.
Will is a Sky Sports commentator and sports journalist for The Guardian having written over 1.5 M words for the publication on the game of rugby. He’s in the midst of publishing and writing his own book with his co-author Ben Fennell.
Will is a virtuoso in all things business, narrative direction, writing and exploring the world around us. Just like our first episode, this one has so many threads and resources that you could spend months on just following up on what Will shares. Here are some of the highlights from the episode:
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Will shares how David and Goliath was actually an incredibly unfair fight for Goliath and how this relates to rugby
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How Jonny Wilkinson spent there World Cup Final practising goal kicking and dropkicks while the team was in a huddle before going into overtime against Australia
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Will talks about he learns with his own personal reading and listening time and how COVID has helped him to improve
- How to stay in the game and find success as a player in the current professional era
We don’t often associate wisdom, understanding and persistent learning with rugby players but Will Greenwood is the living embodiment of this. I love catching up with Will not only because I learn about rugby but because I come away with a better understanding of the world around me.
Do some homework on this podcast and listen to the episode least a couple of times because there are so many gems in this one.
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FULL SHOW NOTES:
(0:13) (62:20) Jonny Wilkinson, Former England International, Hall Of Fame.
(0:15) Dave Alred, Kicking Coach, YouTube Playlist.
(0:48) (5:58) Daily Telegraph, Daily British News Paper.
(2:48) (46:18) Clive Woodward Will’s Ex Coach, NZ Herald Article.
(5:40) In Sport As In Life, Will Greenwood's Book, Coming soon..
(6:08) Malcolm Gladwell, One Of Will’s Favourite Author.
- Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell Book.
- Talking To Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell Book.
- David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell Book.
(6:09) Matthew Syed, One Of Will’s Favourite Author.
- Rebel Ideas, Matthew Syed Book.
- Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed Book.
- Bounce, Matthew Syed Book.
(9:16) Antoine Dupont, Player Profile.
(9:17) Stade Toulousain, French Rugby Club.
(9:25) Teddy Iribaren, Player Profile.
(9:25) Racing 92, French Rugby Club.
(11:45) Phoenix Rising. Netflix Documentary Trailer.
(11:53) The Last Dance, Michael Jordan Documentary.
(12:30) Usain Bolt, Olympic Gold Medalist.
(16:26) Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss Book.
(16:46) The Trillion Dollar Coach, Will’s Recommended Book.
(20:05) Gary Cohn, American Business Leader, CEO Goldman Sachs.
(23:09) Cheslin Kolbe, South African Winger.
(23:20) Francois Cros, French International.
(23:32) Chris Robshaw, Ex England Captain.
(24:25) Eddie Jones, England Coach.
(24:53) Joe Schmit, Ex Ireland Coach.
(24:56) Life Beyond Sport Podcast, Siya Kolisi.
(25:38) The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Podcast.
(27:30) Hans Rosling, Factfulness. Recommended Book.
(32:03) Ollie Devoto, Player Profile.
(38:58) Stuart Lancaster, Ex England Coach.
(51:20) Matthew Wolff, US Golf Professional.
(56:06) Mike Tindall, Ex England Player.
(56:47) Josh Ioane, Highlanders Fly Half.
(56:48) Noah Lolesio, Brumbies Fly Half.
(56:50) Richie Mo'unga, Current All Blacks Fly Half.
(59:38) Dimitri Yachvili, Former French International.
(60:51) Jordie Barrett, Current All Black.
(61:10) Paul Grayson, Former England International.
(66:25) Joe Roff, Former Australian International Player.
(69:25) Tony Brown, Highlanders Head Coach.
(71:00) Jeff Wilson, Ex All Black, Hall Of Fame.
(76:10) Scott Robertson, Crusaders Coach.
(77:03) Ian Foster, Current All Black Coach.
(79:12) Barbarians F.C. (Mixed International Team).
(84:26) Julian Savea, Hurricanes Winger.
(84:28) Melani Nanai, Ex Blues Full Back.