Friday, February 05, 2010

Animal magic of Richie McCaw offers a lesson to Six Nations players

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/feb/05/richie-mccaw-england-wales-six-nations
Test rugby demands men of aggression – but with a sharp mind to keep cool amid the mayhem

Ian McGeechan calls them "Test match animals". According to Sir Ian, and he's identified a few in his time, they are a special breed of rugby player. As the demands get greater they get better. From club rugby, to the leagues, on to European competition and then to internationals ... with every step up they go up a notch.

It's not just a talent thing. There are plenty of guys who have bags of talent but fall short. The ones that matter have the full package. Talent, skill, fitness, and athleticism almost go unsaid. It's the brain that adds the extra. The mind to fit the occasion.

Look at Richie McCaw, the All Blacks captain, twice world player of the year and a near-perfect example of Sir Ian's Test match animal. Even the casual spectator has to be impressed by his all-action style of play – the number of tackles he makes, how often he's involved in attacks and the number of times he gets his hands on the ball. However, it's when you look a little deeper that you begin to understand the real value of the man to his team.

Even in those mad moments at the breakdown, he has a cold eye. To see him tackle, get back to his feet and then either strip the ball from an opponent or, in all probability, win a penalty for holding on is one of those magic moments in the game. But even that is not the end of it.

McCaw, more than anyone I can think of, lives as close to the line of legality as possible. Some referees think he steps over it and there are times when the amount of ball he wins has to be weighed against the penalties he concedes. I said penalties not points, because McCaw has that happy knack, an extra sense if you like, only to transgress (or almost only) when the penalty is safely out of range of the opposition's goal-kicker.

However, most of the time McCaw seems to have an in-built ability to know just how far he can go. When he's penalised you can almost see him rethink his approach. It's a bit like recalibrating an instrument or an engineering tool. Add a millimetre here, take away a fraction of an inch there. When he's satisfied that the referee is satisfied, then it's back into those parts of the game that often go unseen by the fan on the terrace or in the stand.

So we have the near-perfect example of a Test match animal and I hope there will be plenty around this weekend at Murrayfield, Croke Park and especially Twickenham, where England take on Wales in the best possible match-up at the start of a Six Nations. As an Englishman I obviously have a foot in both camps, but even before I started coaching with Wales, even before I switched codes and began working in rugby union, I always understood that England versus Wales – it didn't matter whether it was in Cardiff or London – was a bit special. After two years coaching in the Six Nations I now know how special.

Merely thinking about it brings me out in a sweat and this is where Sir Ian's man comes in. Looking at Martin Johnson's side, with the speedy Mathew Tait chosen ahead of Dan Hipkiss or Shontayne Hape at outside-centre, and such men as Ugo Monye and Delon Armitage in the back three, it's obvious that England have changed tack a little and are going for pace whereas Wales are, perhaps, more settled.

However, looking at the teams in isolation, examining two bits of paper doesn't tell half the story. International rugby is not called a Test for nothing. At the most obvious level it's a test of skills – passing, running, kicking, scrummaging, leaping in the lineout, catching the high ball – and fitness – doing it all for 80 minutes, the last 20 probably on wobbly legs if you have been scrummaging, rucking and mauling all afternoon.

But on another, less understood and less fashionable level, it's also a test of manhood, being prepared to put yourself where "normal" people wouldn't go. And doing it with a clear head.
Aggression is fine, but if that alone was enough, then we might as well pick a bunch of bouncers or dancehall doormen, guys who like a rumble. Winning Test rugby demands more – guys who can stay cool during the mayhem, players who keep their wits about them when all around seems madness

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