Close

England! Stop kicking our ball away!

28 Feb 2019

If you are a follower of Rugby, you'll know that this years 6 Nations Championship has been really exciting, especially if you are Welsh! 

Wales beat England in a massive physical battle last weekend. They earned their victory by defending bravely, but they also took risks by changing tactics and personnel late in the game to create the winning attack. Wales are now favorites to win the Tournament.

England beat Ireland and France with two stunning displays, but in my opinion we did not deserve to beat Wales, because our tactics were too conservative. The voice in my head kept screaming 'England! Stop kicking our ball away!' It felt that we were hoping to win by capitalizing on our opponents' mistakes, rather than using the ball to create our own match-winning opportunities. And Wales accepted the challenge, held onto the ball and deservedly won the match.

So what can we all learn from this?
I believe being successful in life is no different. To be the very best, working hard, volunteering blood, sweat and tears must be a habit, not a gesture. But my point is that physical sacrifice is not enough. Real long-term success and happiness can only be earned by being brave with our decision making too. What's the point in having all the ability in the world if we don't find the confidence to use and refine it? We need to be brave in our personal decision-making and goal setting. We need to dream bigger dreams. We need to take the risk of believing that if we work really hard, we will be good enough. Mistakes will happen, so we need to look after each other when this happens, but trying new things needs to be encouraged. If we never fail, we can never learn how to win! Our competition is getting quicker, faster and stronger, but by attacking these challenges we can learn how to defeat them before they become a problem. Even if the odds look like they are stacked against us, by taking the risk to win, we may suffer a few defeats, but eventually we will evolve and learn how to win.

So maybe this England Rugby Team will learn from this defeat? Maybe when the World Cup arrives, the coaches and the players will remember that winning at the top requires bravery, physically and especially mentally.

So thanks for reading this – I hope you enjoyed it and well done for all you have achieved so far. Try to play to win, rather than not to lose. Celebrate the good times, the brave calls, and remember the future really is in your hands, if you accept it is a challenge, not a problem!