Beating the Bulls at Loftus

The apparent everest of rugby seemed to rear its head again on Saturday as WP let go of a lead to lose to the Bulls at Loftus. Without doubt what the Bulls have built is admirable and exciting for their loyal supporters, as it seems that their aura at Loftus is worth at least 10 points (could be even more?). I have worked over the last two weeks with the WP u21 side in preparation for their game at the self-same ground against the Bulls. It has been fascinating being involved in the set-up and listening to the thoughts of the WP boys. Therefore it was fantastic to see them coming out on top 42-38 on Saturday in an entertaining and tough game! I thought therefore that I’d give some brief insight into what we focused on, and where I feel teams err in their preparation for the battle up north.

First and foremost, what any team needs to do, is identify the areas that they need to focus on rather than focus entirely on the opponents. It is very tempting to build the game up to your players, by mentioning the enormity of the task and how tough it is going to be. The problem with this, although it may motivate some, is that it can create a monster out of the opponents in the sense that mentally they are perceived as being better than they actually are. Analysis of the opposition is fantastic, but it needs to be done in such a way that it creates more tangible and helpful focus areas for your own team, rather than creating a fear of the opponents. There is no doubt that the Bulls are a top side and that they are tough to beat, but by constantly telling yourself that, you are unlikely to have the belief that they can be beaten. The process here was to identify what it is that makes WP good, and to analyse why it will work- from that base you can then identify what it is YOU can best do, to gain that win.

Secondly, it does not help to try to ignore the ‘Bulls factor’. Some people feel that we should not speak of it at all, and if ignored, there is more likelihood of success coming about. The reality is, that a fear and attitude of doubt does exist amongst players about going and playing at Loftus so there is no way this can be ignored. Think of it this way, if I said to you, all I want you to do is not think about a dancing monkey in a pink tutu outside your window right now, and just to think about work. At no time must you think about that monkey! What are you likely to think about? It’s obvious. Human minds often respond better to the word DO rather than the word, DON’T, and therefore to try to not think about something can often be fruitless, it is better to find out what you must focus on. Therefore the key is to identify what it is that scares us about the Bulls, or what gets in the way of us winning, and then to challenge those beliefs, and see whether they are really of substance and base, or whether they are in fact myths created in the mind? This takes skill, but it something that needs to be done in time. It was fascinating to hear the u21s talk about the BIG Bulls team that they had to encounter and how this could be a problem. The fact was though, that WP were actually 45kg heavier as a side! It is also important to accept the strengths of another side, place them aside mentally, and focus on your own ‘winning way’.
Of course there is no full proof way to beating the Bulls at Loftus, as they are a top outfit, but my question is, are other teams giving themselves a chance, mentally, to actually win the game?

Well done again to the WP boys, it was great to see!