‘We’re human’: Kirwan describes the ‘enormous amount of pressure’ on All Blacks
Playing for the All Blacks is a goal that many New Zealanders spend years dreaming of. It’s an unrivalled honour, but a privilege that comes burdened with a roller coaster of emotions.
These mere mortals carry an almost unbearable weight of responsibility into every Test match. The All Blacks are practically looked at as Gods and are expected to play like it, too.
Rugby fans are glued to highlights reels and behind-the-scenes clips on social media whenever the All Blacks win. The taste of sweet, sweet victory is godly for players and fans alike.
But the lows of defeat are tough.
Two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, Beauden Barrett, sent New Zealand into a state of euphoria when the All Black scored the final try of the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.
With less than two minutes to run on the clock, Barrett showed some tidy skills to score a try that will live on in All Blacks history forever. New Zealand became back-to-back World Cup winners for the first time.
Barrett let out a massive grin as he battered the ball into the air, but was tackled by a jubilant Julian Savea almost immediately afterwards. But it didn’t wipe the smile off his face.
Barrett and the All Blacks had made history.
But that same player has experienced some dark days as a rugby player.
New Zealand were beaten by northern hemisphere heavyweights Ireland in a series on home soil last year. It was the first time that had ever happened, and the hurt was felt across Aotearoa.
Barrett, 32, said on NZR+ docuseries All Blacks: In Their Own Words, “It’s not like someone’s died but it’s probably the next worst thing.” That quote is raw and reflective of New Zealand rugby culture.
Ahead of the All Blacks’ record defeat to the world champion Springboks at Twickenham last week, Barrett sat alongside teammates Sam Whitelock and Anton Lienert-Brown on a mental health panel.
The All Blacks trio were joined by Rugby World Cup winner Sir John Kirwan, who is a leading advocate for mental health awareness and prevention in New Zealand.
Kirwan said that these rugby players experience an “enormous amount of pressure” whenever they pull on the black jersey – and they “feel” it as well.
“It is our national identity, it’s what we hang our hat on,” Kirwan told RugbyPass in London.
“Any Kiwi, even if he doesn’t like rugby, and he comes to the UK or he’s driving through Portugal and he stops as a bar, they say ‘where are you from,’ you say ‘New Zealand’ and they say ‘All Blacks.’
“You take that pride that we have and the players feel that responsibility, we feel that responsibility passionately that we are representing our communities are our people.
“That creates an enormous amount of pressure and we feel that pressure, and you have to learn how to manage it.”
The man known as ‘JK’ by rugby fans, pundits and players is hoping to “change the world’ as he continues to speak openly about mental health and his challenge as an All Black.
Last week in London, New Zealand Rugby launched a groundbreaking partnership with Kirwan’s proactive wellbeing platform Groov.
The company will support those involved in community and grassroots programs, as well as high-performance teams including the All Blacks and Black Ferns.
“I think it’s fundamental for our sportspeople and our leaders across all sports, not just rugby, that everyone understands that we’re human,” Kirwan added.
“To perform you’ve got to get that mental health balance right – we all go through tough times. When you go through tough times you’ve got to have…that playbook.
“For me, it’s if you want to change the world, and as I mentioned before, we’ve got the power to change… It’s pretty exciting when great men like that come out and say it’s okay.”
In the same docuseries as Beauden Barrett, All Blacks veteran Dane Coles spoke about how a teacher at his child’s daycare was “ripping into me” after the disastrous series defeat.
“I couldn’t escape it,” Coles said. The pressure and expectation is relentless, but that’s the life of an All Black.
High-performance sport is tough. Kirwan felt the pain of defeat during a losing run with the Auckland Blues as head coach.
Kirwan won the 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and went on to coach the Blues in Super Rugby, and both Italy and Japan in the international game.
The former All Black resigned as the Blues coach on June 18, 2015, following a disastrous campaign.
“It’s really, really hard, mate. It’s hard when you’re not performing in any sport so the mental side of the game is fundamental.
“Getting that balance right, being able to switch off.
“I remember, and I was mentally well, but when the Blues weren’t going well I wasn’t sleeping. I had to readdress that and say, ‘Well, if I’m not sleeping there’s going to be this spiral.’
“You’ve got to be really conscious of how you keep yourself in that performance care, and that performance care balance.
“People sometimes don’t see you as a person, they see you as a God or as a person that can deal with what you throw at them because they must be able to do that.
“They’re human and we’re all human. It’s something that you have to learn to compartmentalise, but some people can compartmentalise naturally, and some of us can’t. It’s something that I had to learn.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments