'You can often get consumed with things that are out of your control': The philosophy of Maori All Blacks coach Clayton McMillan
While 2021 hasn’t been quite so disrupted by the coronavirus as the year prior, the global pandemic continues to throw spanners in the works for professional sport with the Maori All Blacks‘ game against Manu Samoa in Wellington this weekend now forced behind closed doors due to a positive case of the virus emerging in New Zealand’s capital.
It’s particularly frustrating, given that Wellington is the only place in the country that’s hosting a professional rugby match this weekend – and it’s the first time the Maori All Blacks have played in the city since 1993, when the NZ representative side hosted the touring British and Irish Lions.
The match also marks the first encounter between Samoa and the Maori since 2008, adding to the significance of the clash.
For Maori All Blacks head coach Clayton McMillan, COVID has simply become part and parcel of the world of professional sports, with the Chiefs also being significantly affected by the pandemic this year, having to play one home game without fans and having to relocate another to Sydney.
“Obviously it was unfortunate that COVID has reared its head again and we just happened to be in Wellington when a positive case has been identified down here but I think our whole country has developed an ability to sort of deal with these things and understand that you can only control what you can control,” McMillan said after naming his opening team of their campaign on Thursday afternoon.
“For us, it’s about maximising time that we have had – which has been limited. Obviously, our preparation has been compromised but we’re putting a lot more effort into our connection off the field and also doing plenty of homework on the footage that we managed to capture through our first couple of training.”
‘Controlling what you can control’ has been a mantra echoed by many professionals over the past 18 months – sometimes in reference to the pandemic, and sometimes in reference to whether or not they’re being selected for teams or the play is flowing their way.
Given it’s a motto that they almost have to live their life by, are rugby players better prepared for the impacts of COVID?
“We live in a high-performance environment. You’re working hard to earn your spot every day and you can often get consumed with things that are out of your control like other people playing well or injuries, the weather – and the list goes on and on,” said McMillan.
“Well before COVID came along, I’ve always been an advocate for players putting most of their energy on the things they can control, a little bit of energy on the areas where they can have an influence and bugger all energy into the things that are out of their control.
“I just think COVID has really brought to the forefront that we have to be adaptable. We’re well aware that if we get things right, we can generally put things to bed pretty quickly and get on top of them and that’s what we’re encouraging our players to do this week.”
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One such thing outside of McMillan’s control is the unavailability of Maori halfback TJ Perenara, who’s returned to New Zealand after a season in Japan but is ineligible for selection until he’s played for Wellington in the upcoming NPC.
“We would have loved to have had him just like I’m sure the All Blacks would have loved to have had him but there’s obviously some contractual stuff that’s out of my control – so control the things I can control, select people that are available,” McMillan said.
As such, it’s Bryn Hall and Sam Nock who will handle the halfback duties this weekend – two men who’ve both represented the side multiple times in the past. Hall made his debut for the Maori All Blacks in 2017 and has played six games for the team while Nock played a solitary fixture in 2018.
Regardless of where McMillan and the Maori All Blacks will be focussing their attention over the coming days, playing the game behind closed doors is a disappointing turn of events for fans of both the Maori and Samoan teams alike.
McMillan is imploring fans to still get behind their teams, however, and tuning in to watch the game on TV, even if they can’t get to the clash in person.
“We won’t get the crowd that we anticipated, which is unfortunate for our families, whanau, supporters – but it won’t impact on our willingness to want to get out there and still play in the manner we want to for our people,” he said.
“I know that having lived in Wellington, there are proud Pacific Island and Maori communities down here and I’m sure that the game would have been well supported and was something for people to look forward to. We haven’t played each other in a long time and generally when you get two teams that like to be physical and also give the ball a bit of air, hopefully it would have been a great spectacle for the people that turned up but we’ll just encourage people to still tune in on TV and support from afar knowing that both teams will be able to feel that support.”
The game between the Maori All Blacks and Manu Samoa kicks off at 7:05pm NZT on Saturday evening.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to comments