Apologies first up. Pres actually sent me this last week after the quarter finals, when perhaps all the emotion was fresher - but a combination of factors such as work, semi-finals and my birthday (I assume all of your presents have been lost in the post) selfishly stopped me from posting.
Nonetheless, it's another 'Food for Thought' piece on the increasingly evident north-south divide. Take a bite and let him know what you think.
It seems an age ago now, but the weekend of 17th
and 18th October 2015 will live long in my memory as a weekend of
pure sporting bliss but rarely has such bliss been overshadowed by painful
heartache. You only had to look at Messrs Warburton, Dusatoir, Heaslip and
Laidlaw at the final whistle to realise something monumental but crushing had
happened in each game; with more emotion flying around than in a teenage girl’s
bedroom, you couldn’t help but be right there with them sharing the grief,
astonishment and absolute anguish.
Regardless of nationality, there was heartbreak and magic in equal
measure – take a moment to think about that weekend, remember the Vermuelen
back pass, the Savea bus-lane, the Sanchez magic and, well, Australia winning,
just, by the skin of their teeth…Mr Joubert your taxi has arrived!
Now, after reflection, let me add to the Northern v Southern
Hemisphere debate on why those south of the equator are seemingly superior at
rugby union to those to the north. Let’s not forget that this is not a new
topic of conversation - this has been rumbling along for decades, since rugby
union became a global sport, and further gathered pace after professionalism.
We have only ever seen one team consistently perform and beat the southerners,
and that was Clive Woodward’s England team from 2001-2003. They were the last chariot of hope a single
nation team has had such success against Southern Hemisphere teams over a
prolonged period. Since then it has been nothing more than flashes in the pan.
My issue is why these teams – the home nations – cannot produce
wins/performances consistently. Wales, for example, just cannot beat Australia
for love nor money. They have tried and
tried but the elusive win for most of the current Wales crop against the Aussies
came in the 2013 British and Irish tour. How, and why, are the southern hemisphere
consistently beating their northern whipping boys, all the way to the ultimate
humiliation of not having one team represent northern hemisphere rugby in the
semi-finals of the World Cup - taking place, remember, in a northern hemisphere
country?!
I am going to try and explain why – of course you’ll
disagree with me, or you may have more to add to the list, if so, get your blog
out. My three points may raise more questions than answers but isn’t that part
of the debate?
1) Strength in depth: - “Absurd!” says the
Englishman, “the RFU has over 1.9m registered players, that’s nearly half the
population of New Zealand!” Fair point, and not wrong sir, but – take away the
fact that I’m an RFU registered player which pretty much sums up my argument before
I’ve started - that’s only 120,000 professional or semi-professional players,
which equates to circa 360 Premiership rugby players, of which maybe 60% are
English qualified, so say 200 English qualified players playing top level
premiership rugby in England. Not a small number, but let’s take the ITM Cup in
New Zealand, a good comparison – for this argument please assume I am comparing
the Champions Cup to Super Rugby – there are 14 teams in the ITM Premiership
and Championship, so say 30 players per squad, that’s 420 players, and – that’s
right mate – 95%+ New Zealand qualified. Already that is double the number of
players for Steve Hansen to choose from than Lancaster or successor [PLEASE
INSERT NAME].
Feel free to pick holes in the numbers but
overall it is a sound basis of what I am referring to as a lack of depth to the
home nations squads, let alone the lack of depth in certain positions. And I am
using the biggest nation as an example. Look at poor Wales and Ireland - Wales
decimated by injury before a World Cup ball was even kicked, Ireland losing
irreplaceable players before playing the dangerous Argies. For many reasons I
respect Scotland for identifying this issue and finding answers - enter stage
right Messrs Maitland, Strauss, Nel, and Hardie. All quality players who
complement a talented home-grown squad and should arguably be in a 2015
Semi-Final. The key is producing these players consistently and harnessing
their abilities. Welsh rugby fans talk about generations, the current team is
arguably the strongest Welsh team of the professional era, and it’s scary to
think that their 1st XV average age is 26, and close to average of
50 caps. But where would you rate Wales’
2nd XV? - Not highly, apart from some gems in the mud like Tipuric,
Scott Williams or Matthew Morgan.
But we must also understand were the best
players even available? What is the England 1st XV? Who is on the field making the decisions, who
is the tactician, who is the no nonsense leader, who is going to win you a
world cup with a single stare at the opposition. I’m afraid to say there are none today but one
day there will be. Somehow, Ireland and Wales have found these sparse individuals
who have been given ultimate responsibility to rise to the top and drag
everyone with them kicking and screaming.
The responsibility and winning drive nurtured in these guys, by giving
them responsibility from early in their career, serves as an example for the
rest of the talent pool to follow. Which moves neatly into my second point.
2) Mentality: “He does not look pleased to
be subbed, oh and he’s thrown his water bottle on the ground and stormed down
the tunnel…” No that’s not a commentary reference to Wayne Rooney but to Owen
Farrell in 2013, livid that he got the substitution when momentum was building
against New Zealand - but I back his mentality, he’s a warrior and a
competitor, and he is clearly giving his all in the red rose jersey – no matter
what you think of him or his ability.
But there is one small aspect to this I
will pay attention to, and that is the difference between:
-
I want to win
-
I will win
Owen Farrell wants to win, Dan Carter
will win. It’s ingrained from the youngest of ages that they are expected, and
will, win a game of rugby. They may be different players to each other but next
to Farrell, Carter has a different glint and a steel that makes him a
winner. It’s not arrogance, it’s just a
mentality they have learnt and grown with to put them into the best possible
situation to win. This you will find
across all rugby grounds in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
On my travels in South Africa I
encountered a school rugby match, Paarl Gym against Grey College in
Bloemfontein, two bastions of schoolboy rugby in South Africa. There is Superbowl-esque hysteria pregame and
I have never seen 30 young lads look so cool and calm before a kick off, burdened
with the expectation that surrounded them. They looked to their teammates and
just accepted they were going to win. When the final whistle blew, Grey
victorious, crowd wild with excitement, what did the Grey players do? They
didn’t follow after the fat prop to the cans of beers in the changing room, as
I would - no, they calmly shook each other’s hands, embraced where appropriate,
and said to themselves job done, move on. Paarl boys, well, some of them were
still on the ground, shocked, tears on one or two, but all had a genuine
feeling of disbelief they had lost – it was if they’d lost a Final. But it wasn’t a final…..it was a preseason
game.
I only refer you to the World Cup
weekend in question for evidence on the big stage, where the southern
hemisphere knew they were going to win and it took winning mentalities to see
them through. It was if Fourie Du Preez
said to himself, “no way I am losing this, oi, Duane, pass us the ball…oh
that’ll do…” TRY TIME. The mentality of
knowing they will win a game of rugby can only stem from an imbedded
culture…….fanfare music to my third point……..
3) Culture: “When I went there as a player, what hit me first was the level of
conversation about rugby and then the quality of the play and training, the
total dedication. When I came back, I was out training all the time and my wife
asked me what I was doing. I said: ‘I have found another standard.’” The
wise words of Sir Ian McGeechan, a legend of the game, about his experience in
New Zealand. It offers a glimpse into the culture and explains the strength in
depth of their squads and their winning mentality - it comes from the culture
of their countries and their rugby communities. Families live and breathe their
children’s pursuit of rugby glory. Young boys and girls are born with a rugby
ball in their hand and the Dan Carter Textbook in their schoolbags. This is
certainly true of New Zealand and South Africa, where rugby is seen as the
number one sport; it is the sport that the two countries can beat other
countries on a global basis, whilst Australia produce a winning sporting
community and culture whatever the choice - rugby union may not be the number
one sport, but you are not allowed to be a bad or failing sportsman in
Australia. You dedicate yourself and be
the best. And Argentina, whom I have barely mentioned, have now played against
these teams for three years regularly, travelled and spent weeks at a time
living in these environments, and they have learnt, adopted, adapted and
executed on the pitch.
The rugby these teams play isn’t rocket
science, it isn’t anything new, it is simple effective rugby done well. Win secure
ball, execute move, and score points. Add a touch of rugby nous by learning the
opposition, where are they moving, where are their weaknesses, put them under
pressure, kick points, stay in their half. I couldn’t believe Wales and Scotland kicked
the ball back into opposition possession so much during their respective
quarters. Carter is not afraid to work
the touchlines because he has utter faith in his pack to pressure the set
piece, to force the devastating turnover.
Do the northern hemisphere sides have that faith in their teammates?
Some of you may think that I am a Southern Hemisphere groupie in disguise, and I don’t blame you! I don’t doubt that the northern hemisphere has individuals who have the belief they will win – look at Stuart Hogg, Mike Brown, Sam Warburton, Jonny Sexton - and I don’t doubt we have talented and world class talent. What I doubt is combining all three at once, in the way Woodward, Wilkinson and Johnson did, all the way back in 2003.
I bet we will see another northern hemisphere winner of the World Cup before long, but lessons need to be learned. Learn, adopt, adapt and execute.
PS: I WILL win that bet
@JamesHG1986
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your views