For generations, it has been a coaches’ greatest challenge to have every player effectively motivated so their team will collectively perform to maximum ability. Everyone who has ever coached rugby will understand that feeling when they walk into the changing room before a game and sense the vibe.
It becomes immediately apparent some players are ready and some players are not.
The key, of course, is to identify those players that aren’t ready and help them prepare. The ultimate challenge, they say, is how can any one man read the minds of 15 players?
I believe it is of crucial importance to teach those players the individual skills to prepare themselves effectively for a performance. There has to be process and the sooner a player develops his own process the better.
How much easier would it be for every coach if all his players had their own process, they knew what motivated them, and how to prepare to perform at their maximum every time they played?
As coaches, all we would have to do is worry about the strategic plan: how we are going to beat the opposition and what we need to do, not whether we are mentally prepared to perform.
Last weekend there were some classic examples of this.
The Chiefs and the Highlanders were completely ready to perform at their maximum collectively. With this came meritorious victories.
Both teams had game plans and both were able to implement them: the Chiefs wanted to dominate up front and play the game at speed. For the Highlanders, it was fairly simple – they knew they had to contest every area with intensity, particularly the breakdown area, which they dominated.
Counter-rucking and quick quality ball meant there was really only one team on the field, and who would have thought it would be the team playing against the mighty Crusaders.
When I look at the matches in Australia, it is hard to identify a team that was ready to the same degree.
Even the Reds made uncharacteristic mistakes and did not appear to be in the groove – something I’m sure Ewen McKenzie will address.
One player who was completely in the zone was Mike Harris, with his extraordinary record of success: 24 successful goals from 24 attempts in Super Rugby.
At the International Rugby Academy, our definition of mental toughness is: “The ability to perform at your maximum every time you play.” We teach mental skills and mind management and we practice these skills on a daily basis for three weeks.
Players need to understand themselves and appreciate they are all different, they are motivated differently, and they have different arousal levels.
Coaches need to help their players develop a process that works leading into a game, and fine tune that process until it becomes automatic.
As a player becomes more experienced, this gradually develops, which is why so many players at the twilight of their careers can still perform at a more consistent level than they did when they were young.
We believe if a player can develop those mental skills at 18, 19, 20 years of age, they will be much more successful on and off the field.
I’m absolutely certain that more coaches need to address mental toughness as their first priority at the commencement of each season rather than let it develop naturally.
Arousal level is an easy one to understand; roughly 50% of players on a team are high arousal, while the other 50% are low.
Maximum performance can be achieved at approximately halfway between high and low arousal.
If you are a high arousal player, you need to bring down your arousal level to perform at your peak. If you are a low arousal player, you must lift it.
The coach cannot expect to be able to read every player, but he can create an environment where each player takes responsibility for his own preparation.
It makes me think back to when I was a young rugby player, and I remember my coaches walking into the room, smashing their fists into the palms of their hands, yelling, ‘Fire up, fire up! Switch on!’
I look at that image now and understand that type of motivation was helping approximately 50% of their team and was highly detrimental to the others.
There are probably coaches now doing exactly the same thing, and really, it is just a matter of awareness and understanding of motivation and arousal.
The coaches who understand this are more successful.
An example for me in the other code is Wayne Bennett. He clearly knows how to prepare a team for a performance. It doesn’t matter what the team, what the standard, he understands that formula.
I mentioned in a previous column that some coaches know how to win a campaign. Preparing a team mentally to perform is one of the fundamental factors required and I firmly believe that a team of well-motivated and prepared players will almost always beat a team with better individual players.
Roar columnist and former All Black great, Murray Mexted, is the Managing Director of The International Rugby Academy (IRANZ), the leading global Rugby Academy. IRANZ offer an independent high performance pathway for coaches, players and teams worldwide. More details here.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
Well at least your not alone on here for making things up .... I've never bagged this country on this site - I've stated the opposite in fact .. And how you can claim I'm a bludger without remotely knowly my circumstances pretty much sums up your pathetic ramblings where you often can't separate sports commentary from personal attack ....
johnny-boy
Guest
Here's a tip KK. Put as much money as you can afford on the Warriors making the finals and as much as you can afford to lose on them winning the Grand Final. Brian McClennan is the only coach I have seen who completely out coached Wayne Bennett.
johnny-boy
Guest
Ah Darwin Stubbie - the kiwi bludger enjoying Australia while constantly bagging it. Hardly Robinson Crusoe there. At least I'm grateful for having moved - thankfully. I dont dislike NZ at all - it's a beautiful country but I must say a fair propotion of it's rugby followers are the most arrogant self absorbed so and so's on the planet, which you don't realise unitl you move to the light side. It's embarassing. If you were no.1 in the world and had any class you wouldnt feel the need to try and denigrate Australiann rugby all the time unless there was that nagging insecurity ......That kiwis think that anybody who doesnt worship and honor them is a NZ hater says an awful lot about them. Hope you're ejnoying the weather DS. I'm relieved at least KK can see it. You will notice the deathly silence of kiwis climbing aboard to say they'd be happy to have an Australian coach arousing the All Blacks against the Wallabies. Even MM can't find the words and you dont see that too often.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
So your argument is basically that nobody has the cattle except for New Zealand? Yet New Zealand were so banged up and injured they almost lost. Look, very rarely does one rugby team dominate another because of "cattle." There's so many levellers in rugby that most games are close. Rugby has more to do with the performance that 22 guys put in for 80 minutes than the cattle.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Re-mental toughness (or lack-of for most aussie players), there is a great interview today of Harinordoquy talking about Sunday's ' crunch', i.e. France v England. he says how he has learnt to love playing the English: "I want to smash them....Even if we play a dead rubber and there is nothing at stake, we know we are going to throw everything at them for 80minutes". Great rivalry.
sheek
Guest
OT, No, the other rugby countries weren't any better or stronger than the Wallabies. I consistently claimed last year they would make the final, not because they were necessarily the second best team, but after the ABs, all other countries were so-so. Also, the Wallabies were in the expected weaker half of the draw until their loss to Ireland. The depth in rugby is not as good as people think, outside of NZ. 2nd or 3rd was an excellent result for the Wallabies.A 3rd finish was consistent with their overall talent.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
Yet the Warriors have made only 2 GFs - both under Aust coaches ....What of the socceroos ? - Australians seemed respond to Dutch and Germans pretty well ... JB has an agenda that is skewed because of his dislike for the country where he was born ... There are plenty of reasons to attack Deans other than linking it to his nationality
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Look J.B actually has a point. I will use Ivan Cleary as a prime example. People didn't think there was an issue with him being coach of the Warriors and you never once heard a whisper of complaint from any of the players in terms of how he related to his team and how he could motivate his men. After he left the club there was an interview with Russel Packer about the way the team was travelling and how things were under a new coach. One thing Packer made clear was that he felt they were in a very good space because there new coach was actually a Kiwi. That was a big factor for him. Professional sports men or not deep down you are still who you are. I could never be as passionate about anything Australian as i am about New Zealand. Im not saying you cannot play for a coach from another nation, but i think it would be much harder for them to tap into that raw emotion without feeling it themselves. As far as an Australian coach being able to "arouse" the All Blacks against Australia JB, the All Blacks coach never needs to do that, they will be up for it every-time because that rivalry boils in our blood.
MattyP
Guest
Rings very true to me, great article. At my old University club, as a new rugby player I couldn't understand the guys that wanted to do the old face slapping, yelling psyche up session. Sure it worked for the first 30 seconds, but what then? When I am in the gym, back then as now, going for say a big deadlift, I'd turn up the load rock music, slap my chest with chalky hands and psyche up until adrenaline was coming out my eyeballs, and I was ready to either rip that damn bar up off the floor or deck someone. If I did that before a rugby game, I would have been sent off in the first play. Doesn't work for me. I have to think about the task at hand, and specifically what my role is. This approach made me more effective. As a high school coach, this is definitely something that I want to spend more time paying attention to.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
It followed the same pattern as any other season: lose a match you're not supposed to, maintain the wood over South Africa, get smashed by New Zealand at Eden Park and win the final match on tour. Did all the other sides not have the cattle?
sheek
Guest
I thought Deans did fantastically well to get the Wallabies into 3rd place at the WC. They lost to Ireland, which probably cost them a final place, but then beat the Boks when they shouldn't have. So that's a trade. They had a dysfunctional no.10, their no.9 displayed petulance, a scrum that did no better than gain parity against the best, a backrow that was outmuscled without Pocock & pedestrian, unimaginative centres. The team's strength was at lock & the outside back 3. On balance they did fantastically well. There weren't too many world-beaters in the outfit.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
So the aussie born in NZ is trying to tell everyone what aussies born in Australia think of a kiwi coach ... Almost as unbelievable as a Pom reckoning he knows all about NZ and Aust rugby
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I suppose it's "the cattle" for every coach who fails. It's a wonder anybody ever wins anything.
johnny-boy
Guest
Except maybe I'm right and you're both wrong :)
Snobby Deans
Guest
You keep going on about a reason, but falling back to it having to be about the fact that Deans is not an Australian (or maybe it's that he's a Kiwi). If you're in the Wallabies and you aren't able to deliver because your coach is from another country, then you'd be a f'ing idiot! Can you really picture someone - let's say Elsom - sitting in the changing room before a test thinking, "I really want to play well, but I can't because the coach is from another country?" What a crock! When it all goes well, no-one says anything about Deans being from another country (3N last year), but as soon as it doesn't, then it's because he's not an Ocker. Sheek has said it pretty well in his comment below. If you really still can't see that, then I suggest that you start preparing your excuses for when an Australian takes over from Deans and - shock, horror - doesn't win everything! Maybe another question to ask yourself is, why didn't the Wallabies win everything in sight when they had an Australian coach? There's no "he's not one of us" excuse there, so what were the reasons then - and why can't those same reasons apply now, without the Xenophobic bullshit?
sheek
Guest
J-B, At least you're consistent in your anti-Deans diatribe. Honestly, you have a problem, & it starts upstairs in the vacant lot between the ears. It's not Deans my boy, it's the cattle, the players. Understand that, accept it, & be at peace.
Boris
Guest
Mike I don't know if the Aussie players are treading water but it seems to me they are trying hard, but just don't 'want it' enough at the moment. Also they have at times been very conservative, like the Force v Brumbies game which really dampened my enthusiasm for the new season on its opening night. Hopefully they will rip in this weekend.
johnny-boy
Guest
Why wouldnt they respond to Deans if they would respond to McKenzie. Because of completely different personalities and approaches to the game. Who can blame them. Which is why McKenzie refuses to work with Deans. Why didn't the Auckland Blues respond to David Nucifora who won a Super title .? And when you are playing for your country SD, wouldnt it sound better coming from one of your own countrymen ? We keep making excuse for Deans hoping he is some kind of messiah that will show us the way to play like the All Blacks when all he has done is taken us backwards. If he is a double agent he's a bloody good one.
Snobby Deans
Guest
Sorry for not answering your question, JB. To be honest, I think that the All Blacks would respond to any coach for whom they have respect. I don't see the nationality of that coach being an issue. Perhaps the McCaw/Deans thing you've mentioned goes back to Deans' stint as Assistant AB coach at the '03 RWC - or it could be that, having invested 4 years with Henry, McCaw could see that there was unfinished business and that changing the coach was not the way to go. I'm guessing only McCaw would know. So maybe it's a question of, do the Wallabies respect Deans? Giteau didn't/doesn't, and look where he ended up at RWC2011. Maybe the Wallabies would respond to McKenzie, but I'd have to ask what do they respect about him. If it's his success with the Reds, then why wouldn't that translate to Deans who's had even more success. The answer for my mind would be the fact Deans has a lot of traits that they haven't brought into (waffly talk, incosistent selections, etc) - but I doubt that it has to do with where he's from (& if it does, it says more about the players and less about Deans himself - and make no mistake, I'm no Deans fan, so I'm in no way defending him as a coach)
johnny-boy
Guest
Well how about an answer to my question SD - would an Australian coach be able to 'arouse' an All Black team against the Wallabies ? The experience in NZ with Nucifora and Mooney screams a big fat no. Nobody else seems game to answer this question because it makes Deans' position a joke. I know what MM is thinking, he just hasn't got the balls to say it have ya Mez. Just like no-one is game to answer the question why McCaw didnt want to have a bar of Deans after the 2007 World Cup and preferred to stick with Henry, despite the fact Henry had just humilated McCaw in one of the biggest coaching cockups in history. These questions need answers but neither JON or John Eales have the courage to address them.