The Art of Captaincy – part 1: The attributes

 
The Crowd Roar Guru

By Bruce J Rankin, 20 Nov 2007 The Crowd is a Roar Guru

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The following article is the first of 4 by Bruce J Rankin which analyse the Art of Captaincy in rugby union.

Last month Roy Masters wrote an excellent snippet on captaincy as part of a larger article on the next Wallabies coach, which read:

Captaincy in the football codes is one of the most undervalued variables of success. South African coach Jake White acknowledged the role of his captain and senior players immediately after their tense win over Fiji. That victory was secured only in the last 20 minutes. “There’s no preparation for pressure, there’s no way you can practise that,” he said as he compared South Africa’s win with the losses of the Wallabies and All Blacks the previous evening. “The difference was the last 20 minutes and the role of the captain and senior players holding the side together”, he said.

It’s no coincidence that the six Rugby World Cup winning teams were led by outstanding captains: David Kirk, Nick Farr-Jones, Francois Pienaar, John Eales, Martin Johnson and John Smit.

Nick Ferris contributed a first class article to The Roar on whether there should be a new Australian captain, which was followed by a number of very good comments from The Crowd. His examples of the successful World Cup and international captains need no further embellishment.

Yet one thing I feel is missing from these contributions is “what are the attributes that make a successful captain”? If you’ll excuse the self indulgence, my father Jack Rankin (a 1936/37 All Black) was chief selector and coach of the Canterbury (NZ) province for 7 years (1948-54), which lifted the Ranfurly Shield twice and held it against 9 successive challenges in 1954. He was also South Island selector for 3 years (1955-57). He was passionate about rugby tactics and the crucial role of the captain and wrote the following article for the press at the start of the 1966 season – 41 years ago!

CHOOSING CAPTAINS – Rugby Season Begins
Now that a new Rugby football season has begun, considerable thought must be given to the selection of those who will captain the many teams, from the seniors down to the five-stone sides. Coaches should give the following points careful thought:

1. The person selected for this position need not be a brilliant or popular player, but, rather, one who can lead and give confidence and inspire his team mates.
2. He must be able during the course of a match to make decisions to change the type of play and to change tactics according to circumstances. [emphasis mine here and below]
3. He should be able to rally his team when the pressure is on and consolidate the position.
4. He must not allow his team to panic.
5. He should be able to sum up a position rapidly, being able in close play to open it up again, vary the attack, and reorganise cover defence.
6. Once a team goes on the field the captain is in complete control. A coach cannot go on the field during a game – neither can the captain hold up his hand and say, “Please, Sir, what do I do next?”
7. A coach can teach general tactics and advise on the policy of a side – but the captain has absolute control once a game begins. Everything is up to him. There is no remote control radio to direct him – nor should there be. [Comment later!]
8. It is just as much a coach’s responsibility to train players to think for themselves as it is for him to school a captain to assume his responsibilities and lead his side.

Thinking back to my coaching days I can recall only a few captains who measured up to the foregoing requirements. First R C Stuart who captained Canterbury and the 1953/54 New Zealand tour of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. He was an inspiration to any side – he led well, expected loyalty and a 100 per cent effort from all his team mates – and he got what he wanted. He changed tactics and play many times during a game without reference to the coach. Getting loyalty and co-operation from his side made him a “great captain”. Other outstanding captains were P B Vincent and R H Duff. Both, like Bob Stuart, led their sides with equal ability and success.

Remember, a captain has to steer a ship through both good and rough weather. Be sure, then, of selecting a man capable of steering your side as skilfully. – J G Rankin

At the end of the gruelling 1954 season when Canterbury had successfully repulsed all 9 provincial challenges (playing Saturdays and Wednesdays!) he had this to say in the Christchurch Press review of the season: “We have won every hard game, since 1950, with tactics based on blind side play. We have been lucky to have such capable men as Doug Herman, Bob Stuart and Pat Vincent to hold our side together during this period in Canterbury football. No coaching is of much use without a captain able to change tactics on the field. We have played to a set plan for each game, and that has been successful so far.”

Even though those views are now 41 and 53 years old, are they obsolete? Maybe they are obvious and common sense today. Perhaps the one missing ingredient today – rarely mentioned in my experience – is the critical ability of the captain “to change tactics and play many times during a game without reference to the coach.”

Today I would add the following criteria for successful captaincy:

9. The Captaincy is indeed a position in itself and the captain should be picked first when the team is selected. (Nick Ferris point). Why? Years ago I asked my father how he went about selecting a team. His answer was simple and instructive: “First you decide what type of rugby you want to play; second you pick as your captain the one who is best capable of executing the strategies and tactics for that type of play (and obviously agrees with the style of play!); third you pick the team members with the skills and experience suited to that type of play.” By default captain and coach work hand in glove together.
10. The captain must be an 80 minute player. (Nick Ferris again) The last 20 minutes of a game are when tight games are won or lost – when it is vital that the captain’s skills, experience and tactical nous are present to rally the side and to make tactical changes that will win the game. Jake White’s point above, examples from Nick Ferris and many other legendary examples of great captains leading their teams to come from behind and win in the last few minutes.
11. The playing position of the captain is indeed crucial and should be from 1 to 9. (KF point) In my view the ideal positions are half back, No 8 and side row forwards as they have the best perspective as play develops, compared to those in the tight five or engine room. They have more visibility from the side/back of the scrum and lineout, while the half back has most visibility of all. However there are many outstanding captains from the tight five: Eales, Fitzpatrick, Smit, Johnson. In contrast the fly half or first 5/8th is the chief play maker and, in my view, should not be appointed as captain. He has to read the play, initiate set moves (talking to the captain, halfback and inside centre etc), have the vision to make instantaneous decisions and is often the principal goal kicker. These are more than enough responsibilities to shoulder, without the added burden of captaincy and all the off-field roles of press conferences, interviews and various speeches etc. A classic – and unfortunate – example was the Welsh captain and British Lions captain to New Zealand in 1977 – the brilliant fly half Phil Bennett. He had all those responsibilities, it proved too heavy a burden and he had a miserable “winter of discontent” in losing the series to the All Blacks. Mark Ella and Michael Lynagh would not rank highly as captains for similar reasons, albeit both were great players and Ella an instinctive tactical genius. It is rare to find a successful captain from inside centre outwards – the only examples that come to mind are Andrew Slack and Tana Umaga. As KF says they are too far away from the seat of the action, thus limited in their ability to determine tactical changes and communicate decisions. Proximity to the referee is valuable but I feel a relatively minor consideration compared to the others.
12. “Shared leadership” is considered an important factor in corporate management today and I feel is equally applicable on the rugby field. It’s instructive that Jake White talks above, not only about the captain, but also the importance of the “senior players” and the role they play. It is a key role of senior players to keep exchanging vital information and suggestions with the captain, so that he may make the necessary changes to play and tactics.
13. Now that the use of remote control radio is a reality (see point 7 above!) its use by the coach via water carriers, doctor etc to control or make changes to on field play and tactics should be kept to an absolute minimum. Otherwise the captain’s control and on field leadership could be undermined and detrimental to his confidence. Unless they have been clearly discussed and agreed beforehand, the coach’s ability to make tactical substitutions during the game can also be unsettling to a captain – and the team.

Like management, successful captaincy is not an instantaneous thing. It takes time, inevitable losses, hard lessons, lots of tactical experiences, ongoing leadership skills development by the coach, not only in the captain, but also in the senior players in the team. A key responsibility is that the coach must train the captain and all players to think for themselves on the field. (Extension of point 8 above)

In the following articles we’ll look at examples of how Australian and New Zealand Super 14 and international captains have measured up to these attributes:

Part 2: Rugby Tactics – the ability of the captain “to change tactics and play many times during a game”

Part 3: Australian Captaincy – assessment and selection

Part 4: New Zealand Captaincy – assessment, selection and five failed World Cup campaigns

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