COACHING TRANSFORMATION
The dust has settled and we have had time to reflect on what the Springboks achieved in Japan at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
I am an avid Springbok fan but also a passionate performance coach, so my reflections have drawn on the inspiration I felt during and after that Final, as “all the dots” have joined up looking back.
I think the key difference between the two sides contesting the final, was that it subsequently became clear the Boks were playing for something much, much bigger than a trophy. They had a purpose which transcended rugby, it was about uniting a troubled land and inspiring the next generation. Not only that, key stakeholders within the squad have emerged from poverty to prove that anything is possible if you believe, and you put in the work.
When Rassie Erasmus was interviewed after accepting “Best Coach” at the International Rugby Awards, he humbly cited three excellent points when asked how his team had won.
- Belief. Belief in better, belief in each other, belief in what is possible. James Haskell summed it up perfectly in one of his vlogs: “Two years ago, South Africa couldn’t win a raffle, now they have won the World Cup!” Rassie, Siya, and indeed the entire squad had to believe that despite some very poor results in 2017, “Big in Japan” could be done.
- Luck. This is outside a team’s control, so it is not a sound strategy to rely on luck, however, when it goes your way, your belief builds from possible to probable. New Zealand faced England in the first Semi Final. It was an enormous game which did two things, it knocked out the defending champions, and it created unprecedented hype around the favoured England team. Outside Bok control, but another stroke of luck for a team quietly on the rise…
- Destiny. Destiny is what is meant to be, what is written in the stars, your inescapable fate. There’s no avoiding destiny — it’s going to happen no matter what you do. [Vocabulary.com]. One can’t help feeling that the sequel to Invictus (Invictus II?) has now received it’s script, with the star being Siya Kolisi. The story could not be more inspiring: A black South African, born as Mandela was uniting a nation, learning to play rugby in a deprived area with little support, but who against all odds went on to Captain the Springboks! It is the stuff of legend. Quite frankly, England did not stand a chance against this sense of destiny.
So what can ordinary leaders and teams take from this extraordinary tale? In a word, “Inspiration”. But we all know that before the inspiration comes a lot of perspiration. Belief grows when you are perspiring for a purpose which has real meaning (to all involved). Subordinate to that of course, there needs to be exceptional talent and an outstanding training system, but history is littered with examples of wasted talent due to a lack of meaning, or a weak sense of collective purpose.
Bottom line, you need “buy in”, you need belief, you need a sense of destiny.
Kolisi was recently asked what Rassie had said or done to inspire such a phenomenal turnaround by the Springboks. He said the coach had turned the player’s focus away from themselves, and towards the millions of South Africans who were desperate for hope. Rassie had helped them realise that they had a chance to transform a nation. He turned perceived pressure into real purpose. This united the entire squad behind a true sense of destiny. The appointment of Kolisi as Captain was a well-deserved master stroke. The whole country started to believe…
If you believe in destiny, you create your own luck.
