In 2013 as his Rugby career came towards an end, one thing is for certain: if you’d have told Nic Henderson he’d progress into a hugely successful career working in Rugby, he’d have laughed at you.
Henderson, now working fulltime with the Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) as their Manager of Elite Pathways and Coaching Development, had spent a lot of time and energy deciding what to do with the next phase of his life and it certainly didn’t involve overseeing trials for state underage teams or helping raise the standards of coaches within Victoria’s fledgling yet encouraging Club Rugby system.
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“I actually had my heart set on a career as a fireman and started a process which would see me realise that ambition,” Henderson tells me. “It started when I was over in Perth with the Western Force, and I went on a visit to a fire station to see whether I would enjoy working in that field and environment. I had a chat with a few of the guys at the station and I thought it would be a great career path, a very similar elite team and performance-based environment to Rugby and one which promoted and replicated that same sense of camaraderie.
“When I moved to Melbourne to join the Rebels in 2011, I knew that retirement wouldn’t be far away so I spent two years going through the selection process with the Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB). I was still completing that process when I retired, and the Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) had offered me a position on the staff working in community engagement, so I started working here thinking that I would keep plugging away and see whether I could move into that in around twelve months’ time. A bit of a hiccup then occurred, however, with a change of State government, and a hold was placed on all fireman recruitment.
“By then I’d gotten stuck into work and life at the VRU,” he continues. “Matt Tink, who had been a real mentor to me both in the workplace and also as the Rebels’ scrum coach, moved to a coaching role in Japan and I was able to take over from him and transition into looking after the Elite Pathways and Coach Education programs at the VRU and Rebels.”
Two and a half years later, Henderson hasn’t looked back and indeed he has played a key role in Victorian Rugby’s steady rise.
“Playing professional Rugby provides me with experience that gives me a great insight into managing and bettering the pathway here in Melbourne, and also in terms of talent identification and getting the most out of players so that they graduate through our pathway and become Melbourne Rebels players,” he explains. “The pursuit of a career in the fire brigade has probably come and gone now; I still look at it and think it would have been very interesting but the reality is that I’ve invested so much time and emotion into my current role.
“I’m enjoying it more and more and I’m really started to see the benefits and the next crop of talent coming through. Once you’re invested and have put so much time and effort into something it is really hard to walk away from, and I’d like to hang around and see the fruits of my labour over the coming years.”
One of the biggest highlights for Henderson, and indeed so many people who’ve invested so heavily within the community side of Rugby in Victoria, was seeing youngsters Rob Leota and Sione Tuipulotu become the first home grown players to sign for the Rebels in late 2015.
Henderson’s job isn’t just about nurturing talent that’s knocking on the door of a professional career however, as he explains.
“It’s difficult to summarise what I do in a week, but in terms of a job context we have seven or eight state teams down here that I oversee from Under 12’s upwards,” he says. “That includes appointing coaches, managers and strength & conditioning staff for each of those teams, setting their budgets, booking travel and accommodation and then from a Rugby perspective, making sure that the players coming through the pathways are playing to the best of their ability and staying in the game.
“Another part of my role is looking after Victoria’s Coach Education; at the VRU, we run all the Coaching Courses in Victoria and then we also look to do some actual development work on the side of that with some of the state’s best Coaches.
“Finally, I also look after the Melbourne Rebels’ Emerging Players Program and I’m on the coaching staff for the Rebels U20s, so when you break it all down it’s easy to fill up your week!”
20 year old Melbourne-born and bred Fereti Sa’aga is rated one of the more talented uncontracted young props in the country, having represented Australian Schoolboys (2013), Samoa U20s (2014) and Australia U20s (2015) as well as playing for the Melbourne Rising in the Buildcorp National Championship (NRC) in each of the last two seasons.
Sa’aga praised the impact Henderson has had on him, his younger brothers (18 year old RJ played for the Australian Barbarians U20s and Alex was in the Rebels U15 Junior Gold Cup side in 2015) and his contemporaries.
“I’ve worked a lot with Nic, especially with my transition from the U20s to the Melbourne Rising and as a member of the Emerging Players Program (EPP),” Sa’aga said. “His scrum knowledge is invaluable, and for me as a prop to have a mentor who has played so much Super Rugby and for the Wallabies is unheard of!
“He puts so much into what he does; the EPP was his initiative, and it’s certainly been very beneficial already. Sione and Rob have signed for the Rebels, and then Ta Hosea and Jordan Uelese played for the Rebels in a trial game last week in Auckland. Everybody who’s been involved in the EPP is progressing and stepping up to another level, and he’s had a huge impact on Victorian Rugby.”
In the course of racking up 117 Super Rugby appearances for the Brumbies (2004-2009), Western Force (2010) and Rebels (2011-2013), as well as 3 Tests for the Wallabies, Henderson took full advantage of the RUPA’s support network along the way.
“I don’t think I can stress enough how important RUPA was for me in terms of support, throughout my entire career,” he says. “That started back in 2003 with (former Player Development Manager) Sue Crawford at the Brumbies, and finished off with Cam Yorke at the Rebels; the PDMs are people that every player gets to know quite well, because really are there just to help the players.
“I don’t want to ‘blow smoke’, but I think that support network is what did set Rugby so far apart from other sports until recent years, when they caught up and saw the benefit of contributing significant resources in the player welfare space. The work that RUPA does, particularly in helping you transition into life after being a professional, can’t be underestimated.
“I was always conscious of being pro-active with planning for life after Rugby and knowing when that end was coming, but I was lucky that I got to prepare and knew that I could slowly and gradually begin to make that transition and prepare mentally. Some people aren’t that fortunate, if they have serious injuries which end their career prematurely for example. Making sure I was ready for retirement certainly helped, and RUPA really encouraged us to think that way.”
It will surprise nobody who knows ‘Hendo’ that even though he spends his work life consumed in Rugby, he’s also keen to flick on the television and watch Super Rugby action on a Friday night. It’s difficult for him to pick one ‘favourite team’ to support, after playing for three.
“I still enjoy watching Super Rugby from afar, admittedly usually on the couch with a cold beer and knowing how much pain and mental toughness it takes to get onto that field!” he laughs. “I pay a lot of attention to the young kids coming into Super Rugby that I’ve seen firsthand at the National Schoolboys or Under 20’s championships; when they get their first Super Rugby opportunities it’s quite thrilling, and it gives me a lot of enjoyment to see kids work hard and succeed.
“I spent a lot of time at the Brumbies and they gave me my opportunity with so many people such as Laurie Fisher and Damien Hill investing heavily in me, so the Brumbies will always hold a massive soft spot for me. The Western Force then gave me a fantastic opportunity to be part of their great culture at a time when I really needed a change.
“Finally, finishing off my career at the Rebels was a massive highlight for me, and to be part of a Club right from scratch and see it grow and foster to where it is today was pretty special, so of course I want to see them winning games.”
Nic Henderson Fact File
Born: Millmerran, May 1st 1981
Super Rugby Caps: 119
Super Rugby Points: 0
Wallaby Number: 791
Wallaby Caps: 3
Wallaby Debut: vs. Pacific Islanders, Adelaide, 3 July 2004
