And so England begin their Six Nations campaign with a defeat in France. If England lose more games this season, it won’t be a complete surprise. Big Cup Final losses take a toll. You can never be sure how long it takes for a side to reset and refocus. Just because England came close to lifting the Webb Ellis trophy, doesn’t automatically mean they are ready to go to the next level. After a big final defeat, it’s not just the physical tank that is empty. The emotional well needs replenishing too. Mood. Feeling. Morale. Eddie Jones said that England […]

And so it was, that England’s momentous World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand, was the point they peaked. The supreme focus they created to beat the All Blacks, meant that they didn’t have another gear to find come finals day. Or, they didn’t know how to find that gear! Another view is that, the semi-final took them far enough out of their comfort zone, that a re-set was required. This means that on those days that you have a peak performance, if this is at a higher level than your normal playing level, then it can time for this […]

And so Wales make it through to the World cup semi-final. Theres was a tough battle -hardened performance. Helped in no small measure by the sending off of French lock Sebastien Vahaamahina. The Frenchman’s brutal elbow on Aaron Wainwright probably cost his team the game. An unexpected act of madness in a quarter-final demanding discipline and clarity of mind and emotions. But the red mist doesn’t work like that. It has it’s own operating conditions. It’s impulsive and highly reactive. Like an act of self-sabotage. It rarely comes from out of nothing. The red mist is a build-up of emotions. […]

When the late Brian Clough managed Nottingham Forest, he was prone to conduct unusual team-talks. For example, he would go into the dressing room pre-match and say. ‘Right Lads. Close your eyes’. Then Brian would take a song from the Frank Sinatra songbook, such as Fly Me To The Moon and sing it. To the team. On conclusion of the song, he would say,’ I’m a good singer arent I lads?’ Now go out and show everyone what good players you are!’ Cloughie wanted his supreme confidence to become the players supreme confidence. His sense of freedom, to become their […]

If the Rugby World Cup was a competition determined by the singing of the National Anthems, then England would surely be crowned champions. In the pre-match ceremony v Wales, the hosts belted out God Save The Queen with the nationalistic fervour of a team about to go to war. Loaded with emotion and heartfelt desire. Tapping into the hype and expectancy, this was an England team who wanted to let everyone know they were up for it. But maybe that was the problem. An excellent first half hour showed them to have the measure of the Welsh. But then, as […]

So Martin Johnson quits as England rugby coach. With a full review of England’s World Cup under-performance due, Johnson walked before he was inevitably pushed. But how did it come to this? How is it, that the only Englishman to lift the World Cup, should leave the international scene with his head bowed? It’s likely that his players will come out with the usual platitudes. That they let him down and how bad they feel. But it should never have come to this. Johnson gave his squad licence to act like men. He trusted them to behave, presuming that they […]

It’s quarter-finals week of the rugby World Cup. And England coach Martin Johnson is having to face down press questions about the off-field behaviour of some of his players. After Tindall’s late-night bar jaunt, we have Haskell, Ashton and Hartley in the dock for inappropriate comments to a female member of the hotel staff. It suggests that mentally, England are not completely tuned-in to the task of winning a World Cup. That they have not yet built the bubble of focus, that automatically directs behaviour. When a team has created a bubble of focus, players off the field behaviour rarely […]

So Eddie O’Sullivan steps down as Ireland coach. First a disappointing World Cup campaign. Then a series of poor performances in the Six Nations. Somewhere along the way, the Irish team had stopped performing for their leader. Whilst O’Sullivan can look back on many successful sorties, his record will be blighted by a sense of what might have been. Talent, not matched by achievement on the world stage. Somehow, there was the sense with Eddie O’Sullivan, that he wasn’t able to step back and see the bigger picture. That is, better understand the dynamics that were causing his team to […]