Last week, I was part of a team that successfully navigated a 750-mile cycle to bring the match ball from the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin to Murrayfield as part of the Doddie Aid Cycle, in memory of the late Scottish and Lions player Doddie Weir, which aims to raise money and awareness for motor neuron disease (MND).
As we waited to push off, the heavens opened and there was a deluge of rain of biblical proportions, a very unwelcome addition to the cold. To compound matters, my cycling buddy, the former Lions and Scotland international Rob Wainwright, clipped my wheel and knocked me to the ground, a moment that found its way on to social media.
It wasn’t a great start. As we approached Ballynahinch rugby club, I was really struggling mentally about whether or not I could continue. Our boat was due out of Belfast at 8pm. Around the same time, a train would be leaving for Dublin. My internal monologue was screaming at me to go home, that I had done my bit.
A moment in the Ballynahinch clubhouse helped me to discard any thoughts of quitting. I was privileged to meet George and Alan, both of whom suffer from MND. It gave me the impetus to continue.
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It has been a while since I embraced anything of that magnitude physically. And mentally, I was underprepared. The thing about doing hard things is that while the body needs to be physically capable, there is also the mental aspect that can never be underestimated.
Comfort in discomfort is an acquired skill and like anything else, the more you do it, the greater your mental resilience. Too much time on easy street had depleted my reserves, but meeting George and Alan helped me to remember what it takes to embrace a physical and mental challenge like this – and even enjoy it just a little bit.
It got me thinking about the Six Nations squads and what the real points of difference are within these squads. Physically, there is a genetic similarity across the player profiles, with the odd outlier like Hugo Keenan or Antoine Dupont when it comes to aerobic capacity, or Louis Bielle-Biarrey in terms of raw pace.
I believe that what differentiates between the squads is the mentality within a group of players, and that was on show over the weekend, which was as interesting as the matches and results themselves.
Ireland were resolute, driven by a few key performances that helped them to navigate what could have been a tricky match
Italy’s head coach Gonzalo Quesada will hope that their victory over Wales is a watershed moment, in that they started as favourites and managed to cope with that additional psychological hurdle. Not as easy as it sounds when you’re looking to shed the “plucky underdog” tag that you’ve worn from day one in the tournament history.
Italy produced a performance built on a strong physical platform, and where they had an advantage such as at halfback and centre, they made it count.
Welsh rugby is in deep trouble. Warren Gatland stepping down mid-tournament heaps further pressure on a beleaguered squad. There is a moment when you stop being the right coach to take a team forward. Gatland’s legacy is secure in past achievements, but there comes a time when a new voice and outlook is required.
Wales are completely shorn of any sort of confidence, so mental toughness doesn’t even really come into play. A dressing-room full of players and coaches sitting around asking each other for more, in the hope that it might turn things around, is a tough place. Doubt overrides nearly every positive thought, and it starts to erode faith in the message and the messenger.
The dynamic between coach and players changes. Reputations or past achievements start to lose their lustre, and once belief is gone, I’ve yet to see a coach given enough time to find it again. Gatland’s exit was on the cards, the only slight surprise being the timing.
Wales are completely shorn of any sort of confidence, so mental toughness doesn’t even really come into play
In an Irish context, a poor Six Nations campaign in 2008 following on from a disastrous World Cup brought Eddie O’Sullivan’s tenure as head coach to a close. A defeat to Italy in 2013 was Declan Kidney’s final act, just four years after orchestrating a Grand Slam triumph.
France’s defeat to England last weekend will be a tough pill to swallow. Fabien Galthié has a deep well of talent at his disposal, the return from which has been meagre. They underachieved at their home World Cup and have watched Ireland win successive Six Nations. The murmurs of discontent are getting louder.
In their most recent defeat the French butchered five clearcut try-scoring opportunities at a time when they could have put the game to bed. That malaise emboldened England. The fact that Antoine Dupont was having an off-day by his ridiculous standards was compounded by the fact that no one else took up that slack. France looked lax mentally.
The areas of the game that didn’t work for England in their defeat to Ireland yielded positive results at Twickenham against opponents who yo-yoed between the sublime and the downright careless. It does ask one or two awkward questions for Steve Borthwick’s side regarding why they seem overly reliant on emotion to find their best form.
Ireland’s victory over Scotland was robbed of any potential fireworks when Darcy Graham and Finn Russell exited the game following head injuries. Thankfully, both are expected to make full recoveries.
The thing about doing hard things is that while the body needs to be physically capable, there is also the mental aspect that can never be underestimated
The visitors were resolute, driven by a few key performances that helped them to navigate what could have been a tricky match. A fast start yielded an early 17-point lead, and while Ireland let a few chances slip to add to that tally, they were not seriously threatened in terms of the outcome.
A few seasoned performers ensured that things tipped along nicely. Jamison Gibson-Park, Peter O’Mahony, James Lowe and replacement Jack Conan kept standards high. They led and their team-mates followed. The mental strength within this Ireland squad is so impressive.
It’s an area that’s evolved. Bitter disappointment, if channelled in the right way, can be a galvanising force. Hard-earned wins also drive the group forward in terms of belief; in the coaches, in each other and in the gameplan. These wins inspire them to pursue the highest of standards.
The more and more I watch rugby at Test level, the more I am convinced that there is so much more to coaching than tactics and plans. It is about getting players to work hard for each other, harder than the opposition, towards a collective goal.
The person behind the player is what will decide matches. When Gibson-Park makes a try-saving tackle to back up his mate who took a read and shot out of the line, it says everything about the attitude within the Irish squad. There are bigger tests on the horizon, but what is certain is that this group will stay in the fight.
