mobanmarketA YOUNG MAN by professional coaching standards, Conor McPhillips speaks with maturity grounded in the comfort of where he now sits; enthusiasm for where he could eventually get to.
His comparative youth – 37-years-old – also allows the odd jibe at training.
“There’s a few players that are older than me here which I remind them of,” Bristol’s assistant coach says with a chuckle.
If that doesn’t work, there’s always his exploits as a national record holder in the 100m and 110m hurdles.
“I’m not scared to remind people I used to be a hurdling champion, that’s for sure. I was trying to dig out a few videos because I don’t think many people believe I did it. I’d probably need a pole vault now to get over them.”
Some nine years ago, McPhillips was smart enough to begin his transition from playing to coaching.
Knowing when to pull the pin is never easy but, at 28, he put his next career in motion.
After 120 appearances from 2003 to 2008, Connacht did not renew the utility back’s contract.
Offers from Italy and the English Championship arrived which would have allowed him to continue playing at a decent level abroad but McPhillips instead returned to Dublin and St Mary’s where for, two years, he mixed playing and coaching the U20s.
And so began his next rugby chapter.
He knew the longer he spent outside the professional ranks, the harder it would be to break back in.
So when the chance to return to Connacht arose, even in a role which he had no experience of, he packed his bags.
It helped, of course, that McPhillips had played alongside then-coach Eric Elwood and team manager Tim Allnutt. Both knew his keen eye for the game.
Appointed Connacht’s first video analyst, at least there were no expectations.
“I was kind of bluffing it for a while with the analysis side but I always backed my rugby and player knowledge,” McPhillips recalls.
“I was a bit of a nause when I was a player – I always used to know all the Southern Hemisphere players so they used me a bit for the recruitment side of things as well, trawling through footage to find value for money.”
McPhillips, far left, with Lam and the Barbarians this summer. Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland
McPhillips grew into the analyst role, one Joe Schmidt among others once held elsewhere.
When Pat Lam arrived in Galway, his coaching career took off.
“I earned his trust and showed him I could do it. He constantly reminds me that if I wasn’t under contract with Connacht, he would have brought his Auckland analyst with him.”
Not thrust in the deep end as many ex-players turned coaches are, McPhillips progressed steadily under Lam.
By the time Connacht achieved their memorable Pro12 triumph in 2016, McPhillips doubled as assistant attack coach, earning further promotion to backs coach the following year.