How pain paved the way to World Cup glory
The first World Cup I knew about was the one I was lucky enough to play in back in 2006. It’s strange to look back and think the 2002 World Cup wasn’t even on my radar. If you fast forward to now, that just isn’t the case with players. We are just under a year out from the World Cup and already we are seeing it become a central topic of conversation amongst both rugby and non-rugby fans.
When I got invited to be involved in my first World Cup, I just remember feeling happy to be involved. I was uncapped, and 19 years old at the time of selection. Although there had been murmurs of my involvement, it was still a huge surprise to be picked. Contrasted to 2010, I wasn’t just happy to be there, I wanted to win. The focus for me shifted from just taking part four years before, to doing everything in my power to win, however this wasn’t the case as we ended up losing narrowly to New Zealand at the Twickenham Stoop.
In the moments after the loss, you’re so emotional you can’t think straight. I remember in the evening we stayed tight together as a team and made sure that we were focused on how far we had come and how hard we had worked.
When emotions had settled, and things became clearer, the whole team got into a room together with a blank bit of paper and we just said, “right let’s work out why we lost”. It wasn’t a case of blaming individuals; it was an honest and clinical evaluation of the team’s performance.
I believe that the reason we went onto be so successful in 2014 was because of what happened in that room, we left no stone unturned. We planned and prepared meticulously for every possible occasion, asking ourselves what distractions we could minimise, what we could have done differently in preparation.
As an athlete, you aren’t given the luxury of mulling over your past performances, and that was exactly the case back then. I’ve never watched that final back, I don’t think I ever will, it’s too painful.
I don’t know if it was the right thing to move on so quickly from such a big loss, maybe we could have taken more time to ensure a line was truly drawn under the whole experience. However, and this applies to any elite athlete, players will always be looking ahead to the next thing. Whether that’s a new campaign, pre-season or club rugby there is always something coming round the corner that will need attention.
Looking towards next year’s World Cup, from a player’s perspective it will be incredible to feel what it’s like to be involved in a pinnacle event like the World Cup.
I remember in 2013 when we were over in Auckland I needed to go and get some boots because mine had broken the night before, and everywhere we went people knew who you were, they knew you were part of the England rugby team. The man behind the counter straight away said: “Oh are you the England girls playing our girls?”
Hopefully all restrictions will have eased by then and players will be able to get out and about in their down time to absorb the atmosphere of a nation fuelled by rugby.
In terms of competition, England and New Zealand are obvious choices when looking to select the World Cup winner, but I have got a feeling about Team USA. The number of players who are playing in, and making a real difference to, the Allianz Premier 15’s cannot be understated. The infrastructure that the team are shaping up over in the states will make them a tough team to compete against. I also don’t think we can rule out France as a contender here either, if they preform, they can beat anyone.
This tournament is wide open, for the first time I am not just backing England or New Zealand, I think we will see some serious competition for the final. Also, there is still so much more rugby to be played between now and then, so all bets are off.
Looking even further into the future it is welcomed news that the RFU have put in a bid to host the 2025 World Cup. We are at a point at the moment where rugby is a hot topic, the game is growing, and we need something in our home country to gather that momentum.
RFU announces bid to host the @rugbyworldcup in 2025 ?
England last hosted the women’s competition in 2010.
Find out more on our website ??
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 22, 2021
The bid makes sense when you look at the way the RFU have been building towards it. The Autumn Internationals have been specifically pitched around the country geographically and ticket sales within the Allianz Premier 15’s have been growing steadily, with streaming figures also showing some positive growth too.
We are a leading country in the game, so we have the responsibility to drive growth. If we host a World Cup, it must be the best one yet. We must captivate the audience’s attention to drive numbers globally back into the game.
Also, having a career as a professional rugby player can only span a certain amount of time. World Cups present huge opportunities to retain knowledge and experience of players who otherwise might retire and leave the game. I would love to see more women given the opportunity to perform in high profile roles like head coaches.
I want to be clear here, I am not suggesting women should be put in these roles as a box ticking exercise, the best person for the job should always get the role. However, what I am suggesting is that we give more room to women working in this space to be in those roles.
We have a huge opportunity here to rewrite the rules and show young girls and boys that women can be referees, physios and head coaches. We need to work hard to promote these pathways to ensure the viability of the women’s game moving forwards. Unless we have visibility across the game, we will continue to have men running it and filling all the roles. It’s time for change, and the World Cup seems like the most logical starting point.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
30 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
30 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
5 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
30 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
5 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
5 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
11 Go to comments