ALL BLACKS: LEARNING

TO DELIVER UNDER
PRESSURE
(by Gazing Performance Systems Ltd)

F or Gazing Performance Systems, perhaps the

most significant words spoken at the 2011 Rugby
World Cup were delivered at Eden Park, Auckland
in the immediate aftermath of a nerve-jangling
final in which New Zealand, the overwhelming pre-
match favourites, edged past France 8-7 to exorcize
two decades of national World Cup frustration and
disappointment.

Amid the outpouring of collective delight and relief

in New Zealand, possibly the calmest person in the
whole country was Richie McCaw, the All Blacks
captain and flanker extraordinaire. Interviewed
almost as soon as the final whistle had sounded,
he commented with astonishing sang-froid: “We

“
couldn’t have been under more pressure at times, but we stuck to our guns
and got there in the end. I think the key [to winning the tournament] was ...but they also
expecting things to happen. If you hope for the best and don’t prepare for it developed a
when adversity comes, you’re not ready for it.” At the 2011 World Cup, the reputation for
All Blacks were ‘ready for it’. being serial World
Cup ‘chokers’,
The All Blacks have long been regarded as the finest rugby union team repeatedly failing
on earth, but they also developed a reputation for being serial World Cup to cope with the
‘chokers’, repeatedly failing to cope with the pressure they found themselves pressure they found
under when an opposition occasionally produced unexpected ‘things’. Such themselves under
as in 1999, when rank underdogs France turned a 24-10 deficit into a 43-31 when an opposition
victory against an All Blacks team that imploded when the pressure valve
was turned up. Or in 2007, when the French again defied the odds to beat a
occasionally
produced
unexpected ‘things’.
“
rudderless New Zealand side 20-18, with the All Blacks lacking such clarity
of thought under pressure that they were unable to create a dropped-goal
chance in the last few minutes despite having plenty of opportunities. And
then there were defeats by Australia in 1991 and 2003, by South Africa in
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1995………

And here is where Gazing – whose fundamental tenet is to provide the

framework and tools that help people to think clearly and correctly under www.gazing.com
E: gazing@gazing.com
pressure by stripping away any mystique and complexity – fits in. With the T: +44 (0)20 8568 0298
2011 World Cup still a year and a half away, the All Blacks management
team, partucularly their mental skills coach enlisted Gazing directors and @gazingtraining
founding partners Ceri Evans and Renzie Hanham to develop a team to build
on existing structures and to assist in mentally preparing the All Blacks – not www.linkedin.com/
company/gazing-
performance-systems
 just in readiness for the World Cup, but during the course of the tournament
itself, too. Henry, who was also the New Zealand head coach at the 2007
World Cup, was conspicuously aware that the ability of the players to think
clearly and correctly under pressure – and for the players to be prepared for
the unexpected – could well prove to be the difference between winning the
2011 World Cup or not.

So much so that, prior to the tournament, Henry said of the 2007 debacle
against France: “We wondered if we’d been stronger mentally whether
we would have knocked over the French in that Test. That’s a biggie –
performing under immense pressure and doing it when things you don’t
expect to happen, [do] happen.”

After advancing to the last four of the 2011 World Cup with ease and then
producing a thoroughly controlled performance to see off arch rivals Australia
20-6 in the semi-finals (and how cathartic that must have been for the All

“
Blacks), would New Zealand be able to hold their nerve under pressure in
the final in the seemingly unlikely event that the underperforming French
could actually give them a half-close game? But their mental
strength in adversity
As events transpired, France confounded their critics by playing magnificently would continue
– and particularly so in a second half they dominated. Having closed the to be repeatedly
scrutinised until they
deficit from 8-0 to 8-7 with more than half an hour remaining, however,
the French were unable to add to their tally as the All Blacks performed
with cool, calm precision, limiting the opposition to one long-range penalty
“
did regain the Webb
Ellis Cup.
goal attempt. There was no sign of the panic button that New Zealand had No longer.
pressed so readily in previous tournaments. Rather, McCaw and his cohorts
were able to think clearly and correctly under pressure, executing the skills
they possessed and doing the simple things well. They were prepared for the
unexpected and they responded accordingly.

And so the All Blacks were, once again, the champions of the world, 24 years
after their last triumph. No one doubted for a moment that they possessed
the technical skills and the tactical ability to win the World Cup once more.
But their mental strength in adversity would continue to be repeatedly
scrutinised until they did regain the Webb Ellis Cup. No longer.
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E: gazing@gazing.com
T: +44 (0)20 8568 0298

@gazingtraining

www.linkedin.com/
company/gazing-
performance-systems