182 Friendship, Footy, and What's Next? | Wallabies James Slipper & Nic White episode artwork

EPISODE · May 27, 2026 · 53 MIN

182 Friendship, Footy, and What's Next? | Wallabies James Slipper & Nic White

from Performance Intelligence · host Andrew May

How do you build a team where people will run through a wall for each other? Not metaphorically. Literally. James Slipper, the most capped Wallaby of all time. Nic White, the third most capped scrum half in Australian rugby history. Two men who've spent more time with each other than with their families, who've argued hard on the training paddock and sat next to each other every Tuesday team dinner for over a decade.Their answer isn't team building. It isn't trust falls. It isn't a values poster on the wall.Slips opens up on his 2018 rock bottom and the rebuild that gave him the longest career of any Wallaby in history. Nic on the chip on his shoulder that ran most of his career, the sepsis that nearly took him out after he hung up the boots, and the word he never used until now: fragile.Two careers. One friendship. A blueprint for the leaders who are tired of culture being a buzzword.03:00 — How it started: Nic's first run-in with Slips on the field05:10 — The relationship that goes deeper than friendship and why that matters for performance07:30 — "If we brought corporates to watch a Wallabies camp, they'd go... do you guys even like each other?"10:00 — The Tuesday night team dinner test and why everyone scanned the room for Slips13:25 — Nic's career in one line: never really felt wanted. 77 test caps later, here's what kept him going17:55 — The "f*** you" fuel: where it came from, and how long it ran on it22:10 — When the chip on the shoulder finally became something else and the moment Nic stopped playing for himself28:35 — Slips on stumbling into a career and what reinvention actually looks like39:20 — Post-career surgery, sepsis, and the moment the invincible mindset ran out of road43:05 — "Fragile." Not a word you expect from Nic White. What changed.49:10 — The next generation: why today's players want to know the why, not just the what49:45 — Disagree and commit: how high-performing teams hold both honesty and alignment at onceFollow Nic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/white_nic/?hl=enFollow Slips on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesslipper/?hl=en Use Code "PQPODCAST10" to get 10% off your Lumo Coffee order:https://lumocoffee.com/ Interested in sharing your story? Email Producer Shannon at [email protected] today with your story and contact details. Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: https://performanceintelligence.com/Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/Watch the Performance Intelligence Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 27, 2026

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182 Friendship, Footy, and What's Next? | Wallabies James Slipper & Nic White

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