England’s Owen Farrell in challenged by Scotland’s Richie Gray (left) during the RBS 6 Nations match at Twickenham, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday February 2, 2013. See PA story RUGBYU England. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire.
I would love to know how many column inches have been written ahead of today’s Calcutta Cup encounter at Murrayfield.
It seems that the fact that England have a new Head Coach and Scotland were within a whisker of making the Rugby World Cup semi final have prompted every sports journalist and ex rugby international to comment – add the armchair commenators and blog writers, like myself, and you have an avalanche of information to plough your way through.
Some of it is interesting, some of it is, frankly, banal and most of it seems to have focused on what isn’t going to happen rather than what is – the fact that Itoje and Daly have not made the match day 23 seems to be the big one.
To me the really interesting thing is that, having picked a match day 23 consisting of 20 players who regularly featured under Stuart Lancaster, the thing that we will learn is whether both Jones and Lancaster got their selection completely wrong – chosing players who are not capable of performing on the international stage- or, if it was the tactical, environmental and psychological approach that Stuart Lancaster et al got wrong. Something significant changed between the end of the Six Nations and RWC2015.
Jones has said that he has picked a team to do ‘a job’ and win against Scotland in what will be an intimidating environment against a team that has a point to prove having felt they should have progressed in the World Cup. Lancaster did the same, with succes, with the same group of players!
I can’t wait until this afternoon to sit down and see if Mr Jones has managed, in the short period of time available, to create a new environment, a new mind set and galvanise a team that was shell-shocked when the final whistle went against Australia in their penultimate pool game in RWC2015.
By the time todays final whistle goes, we will have a clearer idea if it is the players who are not capable of performing at this level or if the England coaching team contrived to turn a team of potential world beaters into a a group bereft of snarl, grunt and tactical nouse.
Photograph taken during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool D match between Italy and Romania at Sandy Park on October 11, 2015 in Exeter, United Kingdom.
From my post at Last Word On Sport article. Click on the link here:- http://lastwordonsports.com/2015/12/15/italian-rugby-end-of-term-report-on-jacques-brunel/
So, with three weeks left before England Play Scotland in the 6 Nations, Dylan Hartley, Eddie Jones’ choice as captain – if you believe the press, is still only capable of playing 50 minutes! His lineout throwing might have been alright, but his contribution around the pitch was underwhelming. even his coach said “It was tough for Dylan”.
Meanwhile, Tom Youngs (perhaps the most controversial omission from the squad) had yet another more than solid game for Leicester Tigers before the demolition of Treviso was complete. Even his much maligned lineout throwing was good!
I agree with pretty much all of the selections made in the EPS squad – some very exciting talent selected, but still find it hard to fathom why Youngs was not included and that Hartley not only was, but has widely been touted as the next England captain.
The promise was that the squad would be chosen entirely on what Jones has seen and the players who were not selected would know that they had not provided Jones with enough evidence to choose them. If that is the case, then Hartley shouldn’t even be in the squad, never mind being thought of as being the leader!
Many of Hartley’s detractors site his disciplinary record as being a reason not to have him in the team. Personally, it would be his lack of game time and more importantly, his lack of form – when fit he has struggled to be first pick in his position at Northampton. If you then add the ‘credit in the bank’ argument to help his selection, then the situation worsens for him.
The England captain should be the first name on the team sheet, not someone shoehorned in because he has abrasive leadership qualities that the coach likes. It’s not as if there aren’t other options.
I do hope that Eddie Jones has some sort of mystic insight into this selection and that I am proved wrong, but I still feel that whilst Hartley might not let the team down, i don’t think he will add the X Factor to this young and potentially dynamic England team.
A few weeks have now passed since the All Blacks completed the first successful defence of the Webb Ellis Trophy, but could certain key statistics have made it seem like a fait a complis before the tournament even started?
Yes it is true that New Zealand were almost everyones ‘safe bet’ to win and the bookies, who are seldom wrong, also had them as clear favourites – odds going from 11-8 to 8-13 by the end of the tournament. But they also had England as second favourites and Australia langushing 5th in line to raise the trophy aloft on 31 October.
Most of us that had New Zealand to win were basing our selection on what we had seen in the last few year’s and the fact that they are…. well, The All Blacks. Surely their inability to win the tournament out of their own country must change sooner rather than later?
What if we had just looked at certain stats, never watched a game that they had played in 2014/15 and didn’t even know the result of the games that they had played? Could we and would we have all come to the same conclusion?
I will offer up stats based on a number of key criteria:-
Try scoring
Passing
Kicking
Lineout – on opposition throw
Scrum
TRY SCORING
So, its clear that tries in World Cup finals win games. Is it really as simple as that?
Up to and including the 2015 final only one team has scored more than two tries in a final -New Zealand (1987 x 3 and 2015 x 3 out of interest) and in the other 6 finals a total of only 7 tries were scored in total whilst 37 penalty goals were kicked. You could be forgiven for thinking that actually you just need to kick your kicks and that will be enough. Well no. It may surprise you to know that, despite the previous numbers, no losing finalist has cored more tries than the eventual winner in the final and that out of 281 previous RWC matches only 11 (or 4%) were won by a team scoring the fewest tries.
Turn that specifically to the All Blacks and the stats show that they scored 61% of all of their points from tries in the 2014 November Test window (NB all stats in this atricle are taken from that particular period). The closest other team was South Africa with 56%. Interestingly, Scotland was the ONLY Northern Hemisphere team to score more than 50% of their points by scoring tries! The free flowing French only 36% and Italy 0% – not a single try in their autumn internationals!!!!
Of further interest might be that the 4 Southern Hemisphere teams scored a total of 33 tries by comparison to only 25 for the 6 Tier 1 Northern Hemisphere teams!
New Zealand also top the chart on the frequency that they scored a try in the same 2014 period – one every 5 minutes and 56 seconds. The next best team, England, were taking over a minute more to score each try. Where this statistic starts to make even more sense is that NZ were also one of the meanest teams as well, conceding a try on average every 12 minutes and 5 seconds (South Africa were marginally better) and England one every 6 minutes and 36 seconds. So, whilst England might have scored relatively frequently, they were also prone to concede more frequently than they scored!
What I haven’t touched on is that Southern Hemesphere teams are also far more likely to score tries from open play by comparison to their Northern opposition (20:8) and are also more likely to score tries from their own half (12:4).
So, New Zealand are likely to score tries faster than any other Tier 1 team, they score more of their points (61%) by scoring tries than any other Tier 1 team, and, along with the SH teams in general are more likely to score from open play and even from their own half. One category down and it is already stacking up neatly………
PASSING
The heading might be passing, but it could, equally have been ‘continuity’. In other words how likely are New Zealand to try and ‘keep the ball alive’ rather than take the ball into contact? -I will specifically look at kicking under a separate heading.
At a general level the All Blacks like to pass the ball (an average of 192 passes per match or one pass every 6 seconds – very similar to Australia). What is of particular interest is that their forwards are almost as likely to pass the ball as their backs (Forwards 1 pass every 2.5 possessions, Backs 1 every 1.8 possessions). When you look at Australia and South Africa these figures drop to 1: 4.2 for Australia and 1:4.4 for SA for their forwards. In fact New Zealand top the charts for both forwards and backs passing ratios whilst all others are quite mixed with the exception of Ireland who langush in bottom place for both forwards and backs (1:5.1 and 1:2.9).
So what are we able to deduce from this information alone? New Zealand player’s, from 1-15, are all pre disposed to pass the ball, keep the game flowing and by implication play the game at pace. Ireland are far more likely to take the ball into contact with their forwards and, as we will see later, use kicking as a pro active strategy.
KICKING
It used to be that New Zealand kicked more than any other team- certainly in the lead up to the 2011 RWC this was true. What is clear now is that, whilst they still use kicking as a tactical weapon, they do it far less frequently. You might think that kicking the ball out of hand an average of 24 times in match is high- it actually sits very much in the middle of the statistics collected, with Ireland (31) and Australia (15) topping and tailing the table. Add that to the passing information, above, you will start to see a correlation between the propensity to pass tha ball and the likelyhood to kick the ball – a clear strategic philosophy slowly being teased out.
Where the kicking stats really start to add colour to the above is how frequently the kicks are made in relation to possession. New Zealand’s N°10 kicked the ball once every 4.5 possessions compared to Irelands 2.5 and their centres once every 28.3 possessions – Ireland once every 8.5. The back 3 once every 11.6 by comparison to a Southern Hemesphere average of c. 4.5.
Add to that the fact that New Zealand kick restarts were 100% contestable (next best were Italy with 62% and bottom Ireland 22%) and we now have a clear picture that New Zealand like to keep the ball alive, they will kick, but not as an overriding strategy and will always try to make the ball recoverable if they do. They will use a kick restart as a third set piece and one that they want to win possession with.
If you are not convinced that the statistics are leading us inexorably to one conclusion then adding the Lineout and Scrum information to the above will, I believe, be the clincher.
LINEOUT – on oppositions throw
New Zealand (66%), along with South Africa (68%) are more likely to contest an opposition throw than any other Tier 1 team with only Italy (and for that read Parisse) getting close at 60% with Scotland, France, England, Wales, Ireland and Argentina not even getting above 50%. The result is that they are both stealing more ball than any other teams (6 and 9 respectively) which they will then use to attack the opposition with.
SCRUM
Here a clear difference in philosophy between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams becomes hugely evident. The Southern Hemisphere will use the scrum as a launchpad for an attack and The Northern as a vehicle for winning a penalty. From the statistics gathered NZ, Aus and SA, combined, had a total of 49 scrums, in the November 2014 window, where the ball came out 37 or 78% of the time. Italy, England, France, Wales, Ireland and Scotaland combined had 79 scrums where the ball came out 46 times or 58% – and please note that these figures were skewed by Ireland who had the ball available 90% of the time (9 out of 10 scrums). New Zealand specifically had 17 scrums and had the ball out 12 times or 70.5% of the time with only South Africa (15/18) being more likely to use the ball.
CONCLUSION
Yes it is possible to make statistics say anything you want, but even the biggest sceptic can see where these are leading us.
New Zealand are amongst the top teams, or the very top team in all of the areas we have looked at. They are more likely to have backs and forwards interacting with a free flowing passing game than any other team. They are less likely to kick the ball away in open play than most and will always try to make their re starts contestable. They also contest the opposition lineout more than not and gain turnover ball as a consequence and, they will use the scrum as an attacking weapon more than any other team bar South Africa. Is it any wonder then that they score most of their points by scoring tries, that their try scoring rate is faster than other Tier 1 team (and are mean in defence with only South Africa conceding at a slower rate) and that, along with their Southern Hemisphere counterparts, are more capable of scoring tries in open play from anywhere on the pitch.
New Zealand are kings of world rugby of that there is no doubt. The statistics more than back up what we have all seen and read about. What is made even clearer is that they do it by playing a certain style of game. What is left for all of the other teams in world rugby to ask themselves is should they try and copy the All Blacks and if so, are they capable of using this blueprint for victory successfully?
NB:- All statistics produced by Corris Thomas A former chartered accountant with a law degree from Exeter University, he was also a Welsh international panel rugby referee, who took charge of a number of international matches while refereeing the national teams of 12 countries. One of those matches was the defeat of the All Blacks by Munster in 1978.
He is Game Analysis consultant who works extensively with the International Rugby Board and other rugby bodies. His work includes tracking in detail how rugby is being played at the highest international levels, which involves producing detailed reports on all major tournaments, identifying trends, and undertaking targeted investigations into specific areas of the game.
“Tournament owners World Rugby and tournament organisers England Rugby 2015, have hailed the success of the biggest Rugby World Cup ever which saw records broken on and off the pitch – RWC2015”
World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Rugby World Cup 2015 will be remembered as the biggest tournament to date, but I also believe that it will be remembered as the best. England 2015 has been the most competitive, best-attended, most-watched, most socially-engaged, most commercially-successful RWC”
So the Rugby World Cup is over and the pre tournament favourites New Zealand were duly crowned World Champions on 31 October. England failed to get out of their group, Japan set the tournament alight in the first week, Argentina played with the flair of a matador in full pomp and spectator records were broken on a daily basis.
As you can see from the quotes above, praise for the World Cup has been wide-ranging and fulsome. There is no doubt that from the ‘end user’ perspective that it was a wonderful tournament. World Rugby were happy, the RFU were happy, All tournament VIP’s were happy, Sponsors were happy and spectators were happy too.
But what was it like from the perspective of a volunteer driver?
As any of you that have read my previous blog will know, my circumstances are different to the normal volunteer in that I left home in Italy to start my RWC journey on 31 August and returned home some 74 days later! Obviously, this has had a huge impact on my experience by comparison to many other volunteers.
Here are some stats based on my particular journey:-
I have covered over 8500 miles of which over 5,500 were getting to the tournament and then getting to ‘work’ every day and about 3,500 driving tournament guests.
I worked 32 shifts as a driver, some lasting over 12 hours – not planned like that I must add
I worked just over 300 hours or 12.5 complete days
I was the very last volunteer driver to finish at the RWC on 4th November
I worked in both Gloucester and London / Kneller Hall depots
I moved beds 33 times at 18 different locations in 74 days
I managed to get to 9 of the 13 match venues on journeys with tournament guests
I saw one match – 1st Semi-Final
Full Car Park Kneller Hall – 60+ Land Rover Discovery’sThe last day Kneller Hall – where have all the cars gone
Let me deal with the negative elements of the role as a driver as they have impacted on my time at the tournament.
It was always going to be inevitable that there was going to be quite a bit of waiting around. What perhaps wasn’t clear was just how much there would be!
On occasions I know that certain volunteers spent entire 8/10 hour shifts with nothing to do – not a single ‘job’! I was lucky enough that this only happened to me on one occasion. What a waste of people’s time there must have been throughout the RWC. I have a large degree of sympathy for the Fleet Management and Depot Management staff whose jobs it was to ensure that certain service level agreements were met (minimum numbers on each shift etc) to guarantee that not a single tournament guest was left without the ability to have a car available for them regardless of how little notice might be given. What was completely inexcusable was that ALL of those being paid to run the transport elements at England2015 had experience at the Olympics in 2012 and most at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as well as other global sporting events. Given this experience, I would have thought that they would have been able to better anticipate the workload on a daily basis (bearing in mind the differing requirements based on whether it was a match day or mid-week). It was only after we were beyond mid way through the tournament that the managers started contacting volunteers if it was going to be a quiet day and giving them the opportunity to not come in that day. Surely that could have been done MUCH earlier in the tournament.
I had to speak to one of the managers early on in the tournament to say that I really couldn’t justify being away from my family and work if I wasn’t going to be busy. Whilst I wasn’t given any assurances I think, perhaps, that it helped ensure that I got a job nearly every day that I was on ‘shift’ – that, added to the fact that I always arrived a couple of hours early for my shift to ensure that I was available for anything that came in and couldn’t be done by others. Learning to ‘play the game was important and those of us who did I am sure benefitted.
The second negative element was how the volunteer drivers were treated from a personnel management perspective at a direct report level.
I am certain that if we were actually being paid to be there, we would all have been treated differently – better. I think that the way that our shifts were managed (as above) would have been done in a much more pro active manner and I am sure that the managers would not have shouted at some drivers as much as I witnessed (never at me I have to confess) and I am sure that, given just how much waiting around there was, our Waiting/ Breakout room might have been a more convivial place to be.
God’s Waiting Room. The Breakout room at Kneller Hall
It was described to me by a fellow volunteer as “God’s Waiting Room”. It was soulless (depite the bunting and odd poster here and there), uncomfortable, freezing cold, particularly at night and – as you can just about see from the photograph above – the TV was miniscule. During Twickenham match days there were often 40+ people all sat trying to watch a game that they couldn’t hear and could barely see unless you were at the very front. The fact that the control room, a much smaller portacabin with up to 6 people in it, had a bigger television was somewhat of a surprise! Again, from managing people throughout my working life, I am well aware that if you make it too comfortable it will be harder to get people out in time to do their allocated job…… But this was several steps too far to the other end of the spectrum. We were all there, after all, as we had volunteered to be there. The implication being that we could easily have not come in if we did not intend to do whatever jobs required doing.
I have to admit to having had a massive sense of humour failure on one occasion (the night of the Final as it happens) and I took it out on the Depot Manager that night. It was the day of my 30th shift and I had asked if there might be the possibility of a ‘good job’. Given that the job board consisted of tasks such as driving Boris Johnson, Lord Coe, CEO of Australia Rugby, Nigel Owens etc etc there were a large number of interesting ones to go around. I got turfed out of the waiting room at the final whistle – 18:00 – by an officious manager (one I had not seen before) for a scheduled pick up at the stadium at 21:00! – a five-minute drive away. I was due to take a World Rugby employee back to their accommodation – so a 30 minute drive or so. He arrived at 21:45 and changed his drop off to a pub in Twickenham! (something he was obviously entitled to do) a 1.5 mile, 5 minute journey. Not the way I had envisaged my one and only job on a 9 hour shift! I shouldn’t have lost my temper (not with the client I hasten to add) and I regret doing so, but my level of frustration was off the Richter Scale!
The Good parts significantly outweigh those above though.
My reason for taking part in the Tournament was to give something back to the sport that I love and I am so glad that I did get involved and that I had a role from before the first game to after the last. There is no doubt that the service we provided as drivers was a huge success (you could argue that this vindicates the negative points above….. I’m not sure it does) and comments made would confirm that – It was great to be associated with something so positively received.
The majority of the volunteer drivers were incredibly dedicated to doing ‘their bit’ for the tournament A whole raft of us volunteered to take on aditional shifts and often at the most absurd of times of the day. Some starting at the depot at 02:30! I think that shows the level of commitment that was shown by so many and the desire to help in any way possible.
I met some fascinating people in my ‘taxi’ – Too many to list, but included Referees, TMO’s, Anti Doping Officers, Citing Officers, Participating Nations Board Members, Ex International Players, World Rugby staff, England2015 Staff and others that don’t fit into any neat category. All, with one exception; were very chatty, friendly and interested in the role of a volunteer.
A couple of people/Jobs stand out though.
The CEO of Australia Rugby, Bill Pulver was one. I had to pick him up from the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge (along with two Sky TV directors and the Australia team Lawyer) and take him to Dulwich College where the team were conducting their training. I was privileged enough to be invited in to watch a closed training session just before their critical match against Wales. I met the Head coach and a number of players as well – Fascinating and exciting! A huge honour. Despite being a Pom through and through I secretly supported the Wallabies from then on!
Another was taking Joanna Manning-Cooper, the Director of Communications and Marketing for England2015, to and from her house on a few occasions. She was not only fascinating – having previously been Head of PR and Media for London 2012 – and friendly, but her kindness was also responsible for me being able to watch one of the Semi Finals. Something that I will forever be grateful to her for.
More than this though was the fact that I got to know a number of volunteers well.
Gloucester was a much friendlier place than London. It was smaller and more intimate and getting to know people was much easier (I met some people at the London wrap party that I had never met before and I was working at the depot more than most!) so the friendships made there were greater in number and stronger. There were noteable exceptions in London of course! I hope that some of these friendships endure…. I am sure they will.
Would I do what I did again?
No. I was away from home for a long time that’s true, but the real killer was living out of a small backpack -the back seat of my car resembling that of a vagrant piled high with all my other kit. Swapping beds every few days – often spending no more than one night in a place before moving on (possibly to return again at a later stage). It was exhausting – on one occasion I moved location on 9 consecutive days! Given one place to stay then the answer would become an unequivocal yes!
I am so glad that I did it and all of the comments made by the great and the good were spot on. It was the best Rugby World Cup there has ever been without any doubt and whilst it could not have happened without all those paid by England2015 to ensure its delivery, I am certain that the real stars of the show (from a delivery perspective) were the 6000 volunteers. Normal people who gave up their holidays, spent time away from home and threw themselves into making it work. It was an honour to be one and to have been part of such a fantastic tournament.
The Wrap PartyWaiting for VIP’s after the final – Cardinal Vaughan
I want to thank everyone that I met for making it a truly memorable experience and in particular huge thank you has to go to the large number of people who gave me a bed for a night (or several). Without your generosity I could not have even contemplated participating. Roll on Japan2019!!!! Sayonara.
So, unless you have been hiding under a very large rock, you will now know that England have been knocked out of the Rugby World Cup and the media and public alike are baying for blood. It was a scenario that has been a possibility since the “Pool of Death” was announced well over a year ago, the fact that it has come to pass doesn’t make it any the more palatable.
So what needs to happen? Who is to blame?
The RFU must shoulder the blame for a) appointing Lancaster and b) for giving him and his fellow coaching staff contracts up to and beyond the 2019 world cup.
Lancaster must shoulder the blame for establishing a terrific culture but a team short on the necessary skill and rugby intelligence to play at the very top level.
Farrell (Snr) must shoulder the blame along with Rowntree and Catt as they have been complicit in creating this England team and developing the strategies and tactics with which they play and…..
Certain key players must shoulder the blame for their lack of ability to impose themselves against top tier teams when it really matters.
I must confess to have been as guilty as the next man in the immediate aftermath of last nights game to have joined the pack in demanding that Richie, the whole of the England management and Coaching staff and certain players must fall on their swords and do it immediately after the Uruguay match.
Let’s be controversial and just stop and think for a minute and ignore what is written above.
Yes it is absolutely true that many things have to change and that what happened to England was unacceptable for the richest and largest Rugby Union in the world, but there might not be need for root and branch changes of personnel.
The first, and perhaps most critical, question has to be, who is there to replace Lancaster and Co that is available and would be capable enough and willing to do the job? In the UK there are two potential names – Mallinder and Baxter, but are they really the right men? In the rest of the world there are a number of names that will no doubt be bandied around, but again would they offer the best solution? I’m not sure that they would.
We don’t have to cast our minds back too far to remember that two Knights of the Realm suffered similarly devastating and embarrassing exits from the World Cup and then went on to bring glory to their respective nations. Is Lancaster capable of this?
Both Sir Clive Woodward and Sir Graham Henry were on the brink of being sacked, but, seemingly by divine intervention, hung on to their jobs. It is what they did next that defined them. They both, along with their trusted lieutenants, took a step back, ripped up the play book and completely re defined how England and New Zealand went about their business both on and off the pitch.
I am sure that the process was both painful and cathartic and ultimately they were able to create something special and, most importantly, something that delivered the ultimate prize.
There has been a great deal invested in this England team – financially, technically, emotionally – and to say that it was all a total wast of time, effort and money might well be premature. The knowledge within the England camp is valuable don’t throw it away. That there have to be changes is a given, but it might be more about HOW we do things rather than the WHO. I am sure that there will be certain casualties, but what I am saying is that they must be the right ones and not a knee jerk reaction.
Rob Andrew was vilified in the press for saying that this team would not ‘come of age’ until 2019. Whoever is in charge of England after next weekend, must make sure that this prediction becomes a reality.
As Sir Humphrey might say “It is a very brave decision Minister” but it might just be the right one.
WOW! It’s all come around so quickly and the most important rugby event in the world is literally around the corner. As with all exciting events in life, the lead up seemed to take so long and we felt that the day would never come. Then, in a blink of an eye, it’s Game On!
On Tuesday (15 September) I had my first day at work in Gloucester with a day of orientation both at the Fleet depot and out and about in the gleaming Land Rover Discovery’s that are the official vehicles for the tournament. Very nice they are too-
A thorough briefing on the day to day running of the Fleet Depot preceeded the orientation drives around the surrounding area getting used to likely routes we will have to use to and from official hotels, public transport hubs and, of course, the Stadium at Kingsholm. Lots to get used to and even a decent amount of local knowledge didn’t help, as much of the area surrounding the stadium will be turned into a pedestrian zone meaning that we have to use very specific routes in and out of the venue. Some fun was had when practicing radio communication with the base and one group had managed to tune theirs into the wrong frequency meaning they were chatting away to the London Depot instead of Gloucester – no wonder they were met with confused responses from the dispatchers back at base! Better to iron out these problems before we have anyone important on board.
Talking of important people….. who will be our clients? The list is long and varied from Match Officials to former winning Captains and Managers, Citing Commissioners to senior members of World Rugby (the IRB as was) and Directors of the RWC2015 sponsors to, even, members of the International Olympic Committee. So some very influential and important ‘players’ in the world of Rugby. Best be on my best behavior then!
There will be no such thing as a ‘normal day’ as our shifts can start as early as 04:00 and end as late as 01:30, We can work within a 3 hour driving radius (which from Gloucester brings London, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter and Birmingham into play – amonst other cities) and who knows who we will be carrying around.
Personally I have 32 shifts between now and 4 November and, I suspect, that will increase. I will work out of Gloucester and London (Covering Olympic park, Wembley and, of course, Twickenham) and I can’t wait until we ‘go live’ on Friday where we will be involved in all the Captains Run activities for the Tonga V Georgia match.
So, all the volunteers are ready to go and will be doing everything we can to make this the best ever World Cup, are you?
What are your predictions for the tournament? Which teams will spring a surprise and who will raise their profile in World Rugby as Argentina did in 2007?
I have just come back from 48 hours back in England for my “Home Turf” event – the last part of the process leading up to the start of the tournament.
So, to get here what have I, and all of the other 6000 successful volunteers been through I hear you ask? No? well I am going to tell you anyway!
When the call came out for volunteers some 20,000 plus applied and over 10.000 were interviewed and then 6000 were offered a position. A 24 hour trip back to Twickenham for a morning of presentations, an interview and sizing for the kit we would be wearing – By the way, the stuff we were trying on looked horrendous – drab, soulless and frankly uninspiring. We were constantly been told that the final article would be much, much better. More about that later. The interview was what I would imagine speed dating would be like. A whirlwind 10 minutes where the interviewer was hard pressed to get the information they needed and the interviewee had to really think quickly in order to get their point over.
After what seemed like an age, I was lucky enough to be offered a “Job” in The Pack – the fantastic name for the thousands of volunteers- my first choices of venues (Gloucester and London) and job (Driving VIP’s etc). To be honest, I had pretty much given up believing i would be chosen when the deadline we had been given had come and gone. I guess the processing just took longer than anticipated.
So role secured…. what’s next?
Another three face to face stages and a whole raft of on line work to be done. Way more than I had anticipated.
Another event in Bristol where specifics about our roles were discussed and then, a month or so later, a big event at Stadium MK (Milton Keynes) with numerous stars of the rugby world present – Dalaglio, Greenwood, Alfonsi to name a few. Amongst many other things this is where the kit we would be wearing was unveiled. They were right…. it is so much better than the awful stuff we tried on 6 months before. It has to be said that the event at Milton Keynes was totally voluntary and I did not attend – my flight and accommodation budget has already been blown out of the water so to go on a jolly to Stadium MK would not have gone down well at home!
Back home, the “E-Learning” and Driver Accreditation began. Two electronic modules to complete full of information and scenario based questions on the venues, health and safety issues and general issues that we might be faced with. Then there was the BIGGIE. The driver awareness training. Having had to get your license checked we then had to do a test and what a test it was.
Not having looked at a “Highway Code” book for some 33 years’ the depth of the questions surprised me – stopping distances, road signs and so on. Worse of all though were the video based questions – unfolding scenarios followed by a question when the screen freezes. The question could be on something that has happened – potential hazards, or what might be coming up – what road signs have there been warning you of something coming ahead or what might you have seen in your mirrors and how does that affect what you can / can not do. Hard! To add insult to injury, you are then assessed and get sent your remedial work to do.
The agency are quite canny. they give you a list of the mandatory modules you need to complete AND pass and then a whole raft of other modules that they recommend you complete. catholic guilt (even though i’m not a catholic) kicks in any you do the whole lot. Several hours work.
So, back to the “Home Turf” event. A three hour event where we, most importantly, got our official accreditation document and the kit. Which is, I have to say, fantastic – maybe with the exception of the had which is…. lets leave it at VERY bright! Quality kit made by a quality supplier Musto and it looks awesome. The remaining 2 1/2 hours was taken up by interactive lectures on the venue we will be working at and various other health and safety issues. It sound heavy going, but it was presented in a very open, friendly and relaxed way. A couple of things that stand out from the session (apart from the core information we were given), was that we were asked in our groups – tables of 10 or so- to identify one thing that we all had in common – bar Rugby- and something unique about a member of the group. The one thing we all had in common was a love of curry and the unique thing? One member of my group had been a professional paintballer! Go figure.
I left, a happy man at 21:00 on Thursday night and headed straight for a curry house!
So it’s all very real now with just over 4 weeks left until England play Fiji on 18th September. My first shift in Gloucester is on the 15th and I can’t wait.
There are just two months left before the very first match in the Rugby World Cup and I am going to be involved. How great is that?
I am delighted and very honoured to be one of the 6000 volunteers that will strive to help to make this the best World Cup that there has ever been. 6000 people who are giving up their time to ‘give back’ (a cliché that I do not particularly like, but that is so apt for this occasion) to a sport that they love.
I might be a little different to the vast majority of those volunteering as I will not just be taking a day off work here or there and popping down the road from home to participate. I am coming over to England from Italy for the duration of the tournament. That means that I have given up my role as Head Coach and General Manager at my rugby club, it means that I am having to organise for others to manage and operate the business that I run with my wife Cathy, and it means that I am abandoning (with their blessing) my family for over two months.
The logistical organisers have been very helpful in ensuring that I am fully occupied throughout the tournament giving me a role at both Kingsholm in Gloucester and Kneller Hall in Twickenham (the transport hub for all London stadia).
The problem that I gave them is exactly the opposite from most people involved. In my case I HAD to be working as often as possible throughout the entire tournament in order to justify being away for so long. The normal problem that the organisers have had is with people pulling out or wishing to reduce their level of commitment.
So here I am, armed with my Gloucester Schedule of Work (and waiting to have the one for London confirmed) as a driver. Who knows what exactly I will be doing, who I will be ferrying around and what a typical day will be like. All I can tell you is that I intend to make the most of what will be, in all probability, a unique experience and one that I would not miss for the world.
The pace is picking up now and there is still so much planning to do, not the least of which is persuading friends, family, acquaintances to be kind enough to give me a bed for the night during the tournament!
I am back in Gloucester for literally 24 hours in mid August for my final “Home Turf” briefing before packing up my car and leaving for Blighty on 30 August. It will all come around very quickly.
I will write a weekly blog throughout the tournament giving an insiders viewpoint to the tournament as well as expressing my opinions on many of the matches and anything else that takes my fancy.
For those of you who read my recent blog “A week is a long time in rugby” you will have noted that after a bad week at the office and an uplifting experience on the pitch, despite a heavy loss, I alluded to an upcoming team meeting.
The meeting was primarily player led – by those who had put their bodies on the line the weekend before for the benefit of those who were not present – but, based on the general theme of honesty, I asked the players to complete a simple form, honestly. The requirement was for every player to write both positive and negative comments on every other player in the squad.
The only ‘rules’ were that they had to be honest comments and that, if you genuinely did not have anything to say you should not just fill in the gaps. The only other point worth making is that players did not have to put their name on the form.
It was a high risk strategy, but I felt that if we are trying to create an environment where the entire group (players, coaches and management) feel they have a voice, will be taken seriously and be accepted for who they are and what they can contribute, it was a risk worth taking. The ultimate goal is for players to feel able to give ‘honest’ feedback to everyone in the club (as long as it is done in the right way) without feeling that they will be rebuked, ignored or castigated. The result, I hope, is a group whose work rate, desire to improve and, ultimately, performance will all improve due to the fact that there is an improved and collective willingness to succeed.
Some found it hard to compile, some clearly have huge time management issues (interestingly, those who are habitually late for training were also those who were unable to complete the form in the time given) and some flew through it.
It took over four hours to compile all of the information that was then distributed to all of those in the club (including those who were not present at the meeting but who had comments written about them).
I prefaced the completed document by reminding everyone that it was perception based and that, even if individuals disagreed with what was written, it was how they were perceived by others. I asked them to metaphorically pat themselves on the back for the positive comments and to read the negative ones with an open mind, rationalize them and decide how they could positively try to change these perceptions with the aim being that the next time we complete the exercise that the same negative comments are no longer evident.
There were some fairly pointed comments made.- Egocentric, never listens, interesting that he is never available when the tough games are played, a whinger, lazy. Other comments were less acerbic, but nonetheless clear in their sentiment:- always late to training, unfit, needs to work harder in the gym etc etc.
We have now had a week since the exercise was completed and the initial response has been remarkable.
I have had a number of calls from players asking me how they can overcome some of the negative perceptions that are held, others saying that they had no idea that this was how they were coming over and how it explained their interactions with certain players and a few who had been worried about the potential comments and had been pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
The impact in the three training sessions since then has been interesting. Noteworthy benefits have been that the minimum number at the sessions has been 20 (squad is only 27 strong), the normally egotistical have been keen to show that they are team players too, the timid have all, without exception, contributed vocally to the sessions and even those that were not able to attend training have all contacted me in advance to explain why they could not come.
I have yet to have a follow up session with the group (even though I have spoken to a number of individuals) so there is still work to do just to close the loop on the initial exercise, but the actions of the group thus far would suggest that it has had a positive impact and, to date, nothing negative has come from it.
I am a genuine believer that a team that has amongst its core values “honesty” is a team that will develop in confidence, feel empowered to offer feedback and help drive a positive work ethic forward.
For more information on Moscosi Rugby visit our website (admittedly in Italian) at http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/asdmoscosi2008/ or you can follow us on Twitter @moscosirugby (again mainly in Italian but am happy to do it in English as well). My views and comments are on @ready4rugby
Chris Heald 