Leeds Rhinos: Interim-boss Jamie Jones-Buchanan reveals coaching heroes and desire to put smiles back on players' faces

Jones-Buchanan, who was appointed on Monday, said he has taken something from every coach he played under or worked with and is determined to learn from other sports.

The 40-year-old outlined some of his philosophies during his first press conference as caretaker boss, yesterday.

Asked which of his coaches had the biggest influence in shaping how he will handle the role, Jones-Buchanan stated: “While Kevin Sinfield wasn’t a coach, he was a leader - the best leader I have ever been around.

“He is probably number one as far as where I draw a lot of the advice and habit from.”

Jones-Buchanan signed for Leeds as a player when Dean Bell was coach and was given his debut by Graham Murray.

He also played under Dean Lance, Daryl Powell, Tony Smith, Brian McClennan, Brian McDermott, the caretaker combination of Sinfield and James Lowes, David Furner and Richard Agar, who stepped down three days ago.

He revealed: “I speak to Brian McClennan quite a bit.

“He is brilliant, he loves the club and he’s still interested.

“He sends me texts all the time about what he’s thinking.

“What a lovely, genuine, honest guy; someone like him always gives me the confidence to be transparent and honest, because that’s what he was.

“Obviously, I got on really well with Brian McDermott. I have not spoken to him for a while.

“Tony Smith was a genius in the way he individualised people, sometimes treated people a bit differently, but to their strengths.

“He was very bespoke and helped me to gain the understanding that with all these ingredients, we need to give them all a part to play and something to believe in.

“They are all a part of who I am.”

“I have been doing a Level Four coaching apprenticeship with some high-level coaches from different sports this year, through UK Sport,” he confirmed.

“What I have tried to do is be really open-minded to the way coaching can learn from other sports. Sometimes we can be really guilty of being in a closed loop, especially when you have been in an environment for 25 years.

“[You believe] this is the way we do it and the only way to do it. Actually, what I have learned over the last couple of years is a different culture, different environment and different players brings slightly different nuances about how to get a job done.

“I can’t say ‘this is how we did it in our day, therefore this is the way to do it’, because that’s just wrong, though there are some underlying principles.”

Jones-Buchanan’s first game in charge is a home Betfred Challenge Cup derby against Castleford Tigers in two days’ time. He insisted his first priority is to put smiles back on faces and get the team enjoying their rugby.

He pointed out: “We are the lowest-scoring team in Super League at the minute.

“ When you look at our roster and what’s in the Leeds DNA, that’s not where we want to be, ever.

“We want to play exciting rugby and play with a bit of fluidity. I think that sometimes can be a reflection of the spirit within the team, how happy players are.

“I am a relationship person, I love people and I think my biggest strength is empathy.

“I recognise when players haven’t got a smile on their face and I believe I can quite often remedy that.

“I know what things to put in place. This is a new experience for me, but I am really excited about having an opportunity to cheer a few people up.”

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