Preparing for the unknown

I am currently gripped with ‘padel’ fever. For those of you unfamiliar with the sport, padel is a hybrid version of tennis and squash.

It is typically played in doubles on what appears to be a small-sized tennis court with the notable difference that it is enclosed by four walls that come into play. The ball can hit the ground, for example, and touch the side and back walls but still be played back so long as it does not touch the ground a second time.

My local sports centre actually contains more padel courts than tennis courts, which speaks to the game’s popularity. The sport was conceived in Mexico but quickly gained a foothold in Argentina and Spain. It is a social game that encourages – and in my case demands – the players to sit around a terraced table afterwards and reflect on the game with beer in hand.

That all changed when my friends and I started a tournament. Suddenly, people were sneaking off for runs by themselves at unspeakably unsocial hours. Secret training sessions with playing partners were taking place and the opposition were not invited.

This was no longer social drinking dressed up as exercise. It was war. A failed overhead smash was no longer met with a faint cry of despair and a wry smile. Instead, a Bruce Lee kick to the wall or a string of expletives followed closely by a vicious assault on the net with the racquet.

The tension was palpable and this was just the qualifying rounds. After sixteen weeks, all possible combinations within the seeded groups had been exhausted. The top-ranked individuals in the three groups advanced to the next phase.

Winter took a long time to arrive in Madrid this year but finally there were times when the cold or the rain made playing the second round of games uncomfortable. So the decision was made to move the next phase of the tournament to a place where all the courts would be under a big roof.

Not only would all the matches be indoors but they would also be played on professional courts. This meant the playing surface would be different and the court sizes slightly larger. Instead of being able to play until 10:30 pm, this establishment is open to 1 am.

So there we were last night, eating chicken wings and drinking beer at 12:30 am.
This wasn’t the first round of the next phase but, rather, four overly competitive guys wanting to get a jump on their opponents.

Playing indoors takes quite a big adjustment after playing outdoors. There are twenty-four courts under the one roof so the noise is deafening at first to the uninitiated. The light is flatter as it is not contrasted with the night and the speed of the surface is appreciably quicker. The balls are not affected by condensation and so retain their form for much longer.

You do not want to make those adjustments during the course of the game. Games can be won very quickly and like any other sport momentum is vital for getting in the right headspace. You want to be prepared for the unknown so you can already react to it when the big day arrives.

This appears to be the thinking of the New Zealand Rugby Union after it was announced that the third Bledisloe match will not be played in New Zealand this October but, rather, in Yokohama. Both teams will be hoping the Nissan Stadium is at its full capacity of 72,000 but money is clearly not the sole driver of this fixture.

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The All Blacks play Japan the following week in Tokyo at yet another World Cup venue, Ajinomoto Stadium, which just so happens to be where they will play an African qualifier. But their all-important match against South Africa is going to be played in Yokohama at roughly the same time of year as this year’s final Bledisloe match.

Some All Blacks have already been involved in promotional tours in recent years. Beauden Barrett and Aaron Smith played touch rugby against a local woman’s team last year after the European tour and the year before saw some All Blacks involved in a campaign to make Japanese people aware of work-related accidents.

Indeed, Steve Hansen is currently in Japan to acquaint himself with all the World Cup venues and build on the All Blacks’ profile. He has even revealed that the players are trying to learn the language in order for them to be able to interact a little with the locals.

Many top-tier teams teams have already played in Japan but these tend to be flying visits. It is one thing to arrive a week before and play Japan in a Test match but it is an entirely different kettle of fish to base yourselves there for over a month and play against other Test teams.

(AAP Image/Paul Miller)

Getting the locals on your side as well as adapting yourself to local conditions both on and off the ground is hardly a guarantor of success in the World Cup tournament. Normally, the host team advances long into the tournament but that did not prove the case for England.

There are many variables but there is equally no substitute for preparation. The savvy teams who minimise the risk of unwelcome surprises are putting themselves in the best possible position for success.

It may seem like a frivolous expense, but make no mistake about it, there is a ruthless competitive streak driving this all.