Dane Coles, the All Blacks hooker, has inadvertently ‘pinned the tail on the donkey’. He told media on Sunday night in Paris that “when you look back on other end-of-year tours, the last game is always the toughest one.” And Final Test Frustrations are common across many sports with such long calendar seasons.
Take Rugby League: 26 weeks of tough competition, followed by the most intense finals series in all of league. The NRL Telstra Premiership is prolonged and hard. Players are banged-up enough after the full season, then to build themselves up again for the last four games–some cannot quite peak at the right time.
The Four Nations Tournament has been running in the United Kingdom. While many players did not compete in the NRL finals, by the time of the Grand Final Sunday, many looked lethargic and frustrated by their teams inability to stay motivated. Frustrations at the final hurdle can hurt a long after the whistle.
NZ Rugby Final Test Frustrations in Rugby
Often, the final game of the year is supposed to be the crescendo. Perform, and reach a playoff or even a final, and the rewards should be well worth it. In professional sport, the outcome is not always ‘picture perfect’ and even sides like the All Blacks need to maintain their output right to the last minute of the whole season.
Australia, South Africa and Argentina will each feel similarly exhausted. A full season, truncated by the June International test series. After that, the Super Rugby season is concluded in August, only to run straight into The Rugby Championship.
That annual competition was won convincingly by the All Blacks. They then had a short window to recover, before starting the Autumn International window of matches: Chicago, Rome, Dublin and onto Paris this week. That will mean from pre-season in December to now, some have been training and then playing for 10 months now.
Often, the last test is the toughest to get up for. One more massive effort, with tired bodies and minds adding to fatigued from different cities, hotels and plane flights–at times it might not be the exciting adventure many would believe. Add to that the physical scars and wear and tear on bodies.
Tired bodies, weary minds
Coles will have felt much of the weight of all the games played. The first-choice hooker has been in form, with the Hurricanes playing long into the Super Rugby finals [his side won the Grand Final] The Wellington man will especially feel it now, as he had a severe rib injury mid-season. Called on to play in Sydney due to a freakish injury to Codie Taylor, the hooker has reason to be say he does no ‘switch off’.
Others will say the same. At this late stage in the year, the body is tired. Men like Beauden Barrett, Joe Moody, TJ Perenara and skipper Kieran Read have reached the peak on many occasions. The big games: semi finals, grand finals, Bledisloe Cup and the massive game last week.
Reaching so many personal and team goals, the disappointment of Chicago will still leave a mark. Be it the first or last test of the year, a loss will be thought about and turned over in players minds. Possibly, the last test of the year would last a little bit longer.
“It’s easy to start thinking about hopping on the plane, or what’s going to happen during the summer break. We need to keep our mind ‘right here, right now’ and focus on the French [team]” is what Brodie Retallick told a packed press conference.
“The summer will be a lot more enjoyable getting on the plane with a win, then heading home with a loss.”
Keeping their minds on the job
For any sports person; or in fact any employee, maintaining your attention on the task is critical to success. Be it long-term, or in a short-term contract–a season for example. Broken down into segments, the All Black players will have had sections of the year to focus on:
- Pre-season: December to February
- Opening rounds of Super Rugby: February to May
- June International test window: June
- Final rounds of Super Rugby: July to August
- The Rugby Championship: August to October
- Autumn International test window: October to November
How they stay motivated is certainly a factor, however coach Steve Hansen has commented that players should be self-motivating. His coaching group cannot wind-them-up, it has to be from the individual and from the collective.
Getting up from such a hammering in Dublin will be another factor. The 9-21 victory came after having to really step-up. There were plenty of sore bodies still on Monday. Dane Coles said “The passion and intent we probably showed on defense wasn’t a bad thing. It was an outrageous tackle count.
“I am pretty knackered to be honest, I think a lot of the boys are feeling like that.”
Many athletes would feel exactly the same, and Coles has added fuel to fire his need to end the tour–his wife gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday last week. A proud Dad for the second time, some would have forgiven him for returning home [paternity leave] but his commitment is a a commendable attitude (as much as a distraction honestly).
Player preparation and fitness is key
How athletes prepare today, how they work hard beforehand/during/after any season say’s more about the person than any fitness program. Regimes are so much improved from the ‘old days’. Fitness is one thing, but enthusiasm and dedication will mean the most–and that has not changed. The 42 players used over the entire All Blacks season will all have shown that.
How they continue to reach the high standards this week, after such a long season, is the real test. Playing to win, and playing at their potential are the KPI that NZ rugby fans will be wanting on Saturday. But is that a realistic expectation? After so much rugby in 2016.
Huge volume of Test Rugby played today
Final Test Frustrations in Rugby is nothing new. In 1987, the All Blacks played seven tests including the epic Rugby World Cup final against France. Back then, that number was considered a huge volume, in comparison to the fixtures played now. France will be test number 14 for this calendar year–add that to the Super Rugby and Mitre 10 Cup games, it is now a fulltime profession with major demands on the modern player.
Discontent could mount up internally, for any player faced with that count. A winning team may feel more contented, so imagine the sense that Wales will have felt after the June Internationals in New Zealand? They had been playing virtually non-stop since the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Suffering three consecutive losses, the word from Cardiff was that players were ‘shot’.
As much as every fan wants to see their team play, the frustration and balance that administrators and stakeholders must have is the welfare of players. Too much equals burnout. Men and women will both feel the same–less motivated. And while fans might think that attitude is unacceptable, player frustration over a long season may play a part in results.
Hopefully the match between France and New Zealand is a fine example of International rugby. Both sides will have motivating factors: remember their last encounter? A 62-13 hammering that will be at the forefront of French minds. So the All Blacks will need to put fatigue and ‘final test frustrations’ at the back of the mind. Any French team needs 100% attention, so Last Word On Rugby look forward to another classic encounter–even if it is the final match, on another very, very long season.
“Main photo credit”
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