Can it get more tense?

Semi finals by nature are tense affairs as the realisation that this could be the last game is right at the forefront of all involved’s minds. The WP u21s this week were adamant that this was not going to be their final week, and that they were keen to take part in the final in 2 weeks time. Trailing for most of the game, the boys were behind by 5 points as the hooter went for full time. With a ruck formed on the 22 metre line, the ball came out to the backline, only for the talented Johan Sadie to break the line, dummy one man and score. With the scores even up stepped their prolific flyhalf to go for the win with the conversion – he missed it! Extra time it was, and with a gusty Free State down to 13 men at one stage, WP managed to go ahead. However with 2 minutes to go Free State equalised taking the score to 49 a piece, which is where it ended, meaning WP went through by virtue of scoring more tries in the game. Hectic!

This is one of those games, where the mind begins to work in overdrive as first of all the nerves are prevalent, and then secondly, fatigue begins to kick in as you approach the 100 minute mark of rugby played. I suppose WP can be both criticised and lauded for their mental approach in this game. Early on it appeared that they were hesitant, un-focused and even perhaps slightly complacent. This is hard to gauge, but they certainly were not in the top gear. What could have happened here is that mistakes could have been made, in trying to be over-relaxed at risk of compounding the nerves people experience in big games, in the build-up to the game. It could also have been a case of fear of failure or a case of having one eye on the final already and forgetting about the task at hand. Then lastly there may have been a slight element of complacency as this team had beaten the Bulls and Sharks in consecutive weeks and were expected to comfortably beat the Cheetahs. I have obviously written this from a WP perspective due to my involvement with them, but it would be narrow-minded not to heap praise on a gallant, passionate Cheetahs side who could easily have walked away with the spoils. They played like true underdogs without the pressure of expectation, and showed hunger to cause an upset. Unfortunately for them, they perhaps did not have the true belief and confidence to close out the game when they could have and were perhaps unlucky.

In games like these however, one has to examine what various individuals are thinking and how they are acting. Thought processes in sportsmen are what we try to alter as mental coaches, as these are what influence the feelings of the players and thus their actions as well. Having chatted briefly to a few of the players after the game, I certainly gained some valuable insight going into the final on the players psyche, and as to how we should prepare. Firstly, in big games the ability to come back from an error is crucial. One certainty in a big game is that something will go wrong, so your ability to react in the best possible way is key if you are to be successful. The WP flyhalf (Gary Van Aswegen) after missing the conversion at the death was able to come back and hit two more tough kicks in extra time, which showed exceptional mental toughness. I also found it fascinating to see the WP outside centre, who managed to score the equalising try, with a huge grin on his face with 2 minutes left to go in extra time whilst on defence. When I asked him about it, he just said to me, “Ag I just try to enjoy it hey Tom”. This attitude clearly works for him as he won man of the match, but is one that not everyone can adopt, or even subscribe to themselves. What is apparent in these big games is that each individual has a very different way of approaching things and thus needs to do his own mental preparation work to ensure he is in the best possible mind space for the game. A lot is done as a team, but with an individual bit of brilliance or failure sometimes being the difference in the result, the individual needs a lot more focus.

A great game, and one that a team can only learn from, whether they won or lost. Well done to both sides and good luck to WP in the final.