Articles

Inspiration from the World Cup

The process of winning the World Cup is similar to the process of winning in business says John Haylock, BankLink's Practice Performance Manager.

Eight to seven. It’s a score-line that will forever remain etched in the minds of All Blacks supporters.

Our team won the 2011 Rugby World Cup by the slimmest of margins. But to the delight and eternal relief of every New Zealand rugby supporter, the All Blacks did win.

It was a day we had dreamt about since 1987 when then All Black captain David Kirk held the William Webb Ellis Cup aloft.

In my earlier article I wrote about the power of dreams and hoped that a young Richie McCaw was also inspired by that famous image of a beaming David Kirk. Similarly, I hope many other young rugby players have been inspired by McCaw and his team of 2011 (and I hope we don’t have to wait another 24 years to see them succeed.)

But while dreams are vitally important and give a sense of purpose to any endeavour, winning a World Cup requires more than dreams. Bringing a successful team together requires great planning, the right group of people and the ability to perform under enormous pressure.

The process of winning the World Cup is similar to the process of winning in business and there is much we can learn from the All Blacks of 2011.

Attention to Detail

Tony Woodcock scored his early try through a gaping hole in the French lineout. That flaw in the French defence had been identified by the coaching staff and a move prepared to exploit it.

The move was practised before the game and then executed to perfection. This is just one example of the detailed planning that lead to the team’s success.

Back Up

All the best made plans can turn to custard when stuff happens. And stuff certainly did happen, especially to those wearing the number 10 jersey.

The selectors had appeared indecisive in recent seasons over who deserved to be Dan Carter’s backup. Was it Slade? Was it Cruden? Was it Donald? In the end the fact that all three players had international experience was vital.

This All Black team wasn’t just reliant on Plan A working. Backups were in place.

Experience Counts

In 1999 England had a poor tournament. Their team and their coaches weren’t experienced enough to succeed. Clive Woodward was, however, reappointed as coach and he stuck with many of the same players, who then went on to win in Australia in 2003.

The All Blacks of 2011 were very similar. They failed in 2007 yet Graham Henry was reappointed as coach. Many of the same players then returned in 2011 and succeeded.

The All Blacks of 2011 were the most experienced All Blacks team ever and that experience was vital in a tight final.

It will be very interesting to see how well a more experienced Wallabies perform under Robbie Deans in 2015. Collectively, that 2015 Australian team will probably have more experience than the All Blacks.

Focus on what's important

Once again England performed poorly in 2011. One of the contributing factors appeared to be various off-field distractions.

While it is important to relax, the nature of that relaxation needs to be in keeping with achieving the goal of being at the tournament.

Don't take your competition for granted

In 1999 and 2007 it seems the All Blacks took France for granted – and lost. Nevertheless, the talk before the 2011 final was mostly that the All Blacks would be far too good.

While all the evidence from earlier games indicated that would be the case, I don’t think the All Blacks got sucked in by those suggestions they would win by 20 or 30 points.

It was a tight game because the French played with passion and played very well – not because the All Blacks took them lightly. There was too much pain in the past for that to happen. Let’s hope it never happens again.

Create a culture of success

In international sport the All Blacks have an unparalleled history – winning more than 75 percent of their games over the past century (and 85 percent under Graham Henry). No other team has such a sustained record of excellence.

This record of success is not down to any one person. It is part of the culture that is passed on from player to player and team to team.

While there are great players in the All Blacks, that is not the key reason for their success. They succeed because they are a great team.

This article first appeared in The Journal. It is reproduced with the permission of the NZICA.