How will they deal with the big time?

rugby365.com columnist Tom Dawson-Squibb takes a look at the approaches of the top teams at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand as the business-end of the tournament gets closer… and closer.

So we’re three rounds, or so, into the 2011 World Cup and things are hotting up nicely.

South Africa seem to be showing good signs, but we all know that the vultures will be out the minute they trip and fall (or even stumble slightly) against one of the bigger nations.

The Aussies will be feeling it a bit now that things have not gone according to plan, and the All Blacks, well, they have been feeling it since 2007!

So what to do, and how do they handle it? The answer is not that simple, folks.

Big games are ahead, and one of the biggest mistakes teams make going into big games is to make massive changes.

How often do we see teams try to change their gameplan before a big game, or even better make wholesale personnel changes in the name of ‘horses for courses’ selections?

Consistency is one of the buzzwords around sporting teams these days, and rightly so.

Excellent teams are those teams that are able to ensure that their troughs and peaks are always still above average and not a great distance apart. The difficulty though comes in when a coach preaches consistency yet chops and changes the gameplan, his players and his message all the time. There is much truth in the saying, “The only constant in life is change”, but this is incremental small change and in the space of a Rugby World Cup, any changes made need just be minor tweaks in strategy and personnel rather than wholesale changes.

Another thing I’m going to chuck out there at this stage is that the team that sticks to their strengths religiously will be the team that wins.

I watched a rugby final a few days ago – on a far lesser stage – where the team that played to their strengths won and the team who tried to be different, based on the oppositions (sometimes perceived) abilities, lost. Although this was by no means comparable in magnitude to a RWC knockout game, it still illustrated the point that when teams go away from their strengths, they fall out of their zone, begin to show signs of pressure and lose the aura that got them to that stage in the first place.

South Africa won in France in 2007 by doing what they do best, the Bulls have won many a tournament by doing what everyone knows they are going to do, but doing it very well, and the English won in 2003 by doing nothing out of the ordinary and letting a certain Mr Wilkinson’s boot do the talking for them. So fans should not be asking to see anything new, but rather to see sticking-to-strength verskrikness!

On another point, it is intriguing to see how coaches handle the press at this stage.

French coach Marc Lievremont took the opportunity at a press conference to criticise his players, whilst our very own Divvy has made sure to praise praise and praise again on the whole. Pressure situations always show a person’s true character, and how often do we hear coaches at all levels when under pressure, publicly criticising players. I cannot see how this is helpful!

A top coach in South Africa said to me that the best players want to know the truth and don’t need to be lied to for the sake of their confidence when evaluating their performance. I agree with him, but only if it is done behind closed doors.

So much sport success is based on trust and solid relationships between players and between players and their coach, and should criticism turn public this trust is sure to be harmed. Sir Alex Ferguson has always been of the opinion that behind closed doors you can slate your players, but when in public you back them 100%.

I have no doubt that a few excuses will start to flow as some teams fall by the wayside, but when the coach starts to go at his players there will be very little upside.

Enjoy the week’s rugby!

Cheers – until next time,
Tom DS

* Tom Dawson-Squibb and Rowan Belchers run a company called Head Start Sport which focuses on the mental side of sport. They have worked with the Stormers, WP and UCT – as well as Rondebosch Boys’ High School and Paarl Boys’ High School.

Visit www.headstartsport.co.za to find out more, or follow them on Twitter; @thesportingmind