Larissa Muldoon was a Six Nations Grand Slam winner and played in two Women’s Rugby World Cups during a glittering playing career, but her participation in the Gallagher High Performance Academy (GHPA) has given the former Ireland scrum-half a different perspective on what it takes to create a successful team.
As part of her GHPA WXV 2023 programme, Larissa spent time with Ireland Women under Head Coach Scott Bemand in the build-up to, and during, the tournament in Dubai. It was here that she saw at close quarters the level of detail and planning that she took for granted as a player.
“It’s very different being a coach to being a player,” Larissa told World Rugby. “Getting a full bird’s eye view of what goes on behind the scenes, and understanding how everything runs from an operations point of view was really insightful. It’s something I didn’t fully appreciate while I was a player, but can fully empathise with now.
“The programme has had a huge impact on my coaching and leadership overall. It’s definitely given me way more confidence personally, as well as more confidence within my coaching role.
“I was a bit nervous going in, but being involved with a high performance and multi-disciplinary team gives you the opportunity to pick up different ideas and learn from others. I found it really beneficial to understand the different coaching, leadership styles and techniques throughout the group.
“The GHPA programme gives us such an insight and a full assessment of where you are as both a coach and as a person. It also highlights how we can better ourselves and build an action plan out of that.”
Larissa first developed her passion for coaching while she was a student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where she gained a Masters degree in Sports Management and Leadership. She has since taken on roles, including Head Coach of Ireland Under-18s; the Railway Union club; Trinity College and Dublin City University College; Backs Coach of Ireland Under-20s; Connacht’s National Talent Coach; Women’s Development Officer for Leinster Rugby; and working as Gaelic Games Promotions Officer for Dublin.
Her enthusiasm and eagerness to learn made her an obvious candidate for the GPHA RWC 2025 programme, and use the valuable knowledge gained from her involvement to develop those she coaches.
“Having difficult conversations is really interesting. It’s something that you are consistently confronted with on a daily basis. It’s managing people,” she said.
“It’s a great part of the programme that again helped to build my confidence. You can act out scenarios and feel very safe talking with people with similar insights and experiences.
“I will definitely apply the goal setting – short, medium and long-term – and being realistic with setting those goals for my RWC 2025 journey. I found this really beneficial. Your journey may change, but you have to have goals within the coaching landscape.
“A great learning I’ve had from the GHPA is reflection. Genuinely, as a player, I didn’t want to reflect. I didn’t take the time to reflect. But it is important.
“We had hot reflections, on pitch and post-match. We would then have overall reflections on a weekly basis, where we would all sit down – S&C, operations, coaching staff – and we would all reflect on the week, looking at things we wanted to sustain, and maybe some things that we didn’t, and discuss how we can be better. That was really interesting, and it’s something that I will take into RWC 2025 with me.”
