For someone who got into coaching more by accident than design, Claire Cruikshank has an impressive CV.
Cruikshank was injured playing for Scotland in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2006 and took up coaching to help fill the time while she was sidelined.
“When I got injured at RWC 2006, I spent some time coaching and I really enjoyed it, so it was by complete accident,” Cruikshank told World Rugby.
Since then, Cruikshank has been Head Coach of Sweden women and is currently Head of Performance Rugby (Women) at Edinburgh University, Edinburgh Rugby’s Celtic Challenge team and Scotland Under-20s who competed in the inaugural Six Nations Summer Series in the summer of 2024.
She was also a participant in World Rugby’s RWC 2021 Coaching Internship Programme and, having benefited from that experience, has now joined the Gallagher High Performance Academy WXV 2024.
The programme will give Cruikshank the opportunity to share ideas with and learn from other talented female coaches from across the world, which chimes with her own philosophy.
“I hope to continue to learn and develop as a coach, and as a leader, to progress in my coaching career,” she said.
“It’s OK not to know everything and to ask for advice.”
Having won five international caps in a playing career that did not begin until she was at university, and coached at senior international level, Cruikshank has plenty of valuable knowledge to impart, not least the importance of building a strong team culture.
“Interactions are important, especially as a head coach,” she said.
“How you communicate with your staff in stressful situations – such as being away for long periods – is vital to a team. You have to get to know, trust and appreciate your team – players and staff. Having mentors and people to bounce off confidentially is vital.
“Building a strong team culture is absolutely vital. Communication, trust, transparency and cooperation are so important. Environments where the culture is not good can be detrimental to on-field performance.
“I don’t have a specific role model but I have learnt that good coaches can be very different. But the underpinning quality for me is their interaction and communication skills to their players and also their staff and beyond. They also, for me, have to care deeply about what they do as coaching can be isolating.”