Gatland’s player management

BOD could do no more in tests 1 & 2 but it clearly wasn’t enough for Warren, writes James Griffin.

The coach of a professional rugby team who aspires to team and personal success can learn quite a bit from best practice in business management. People management and enabling people to give of their best are essential if a business is to succeed; that equates to good player management and enabling players to perform to optimum levels in a sports environment. In short, good people management and a good strategy are required for success in sport as much as in business.

It may sound easy or intuitive but player management is challenging and even more so in a Lions tour context where former adversaries are expected to put sometimes entrenched national and / or club rivalries to one side and gel as a team pursuing a common goal. If the coach gets it right, the chances of success are greatly improved; if the coach gets it wrong, failure is almost guaranteed.

For the sports coach, getting the right people with the right skills and experience in the right place at the right time and all implementing an appropriate game strategy are key parts of running a successful team.

So where does our Mr. Gatland stand? Has he chosen the right people with the right skills and experience in the right positions at the right time doing the right things in the right way.

Lets consider the position of outside centre. The player selected for the third test does have the appropriate skills to correctly perform the duties of the position but is he the right player or best player available in that position? I don't think so. Does he have the right experience? Yes, but again I think there is a better and more experienced player available for selection in that position. Is it the right time to make such a change? Given that this next game is a series decider, absolutely no in my view. Is the player selected capable of doing the right things in the right way? Yes he is, but to date on tour he has not done so consistently. Some of that inconsistency is attributable to him being selected out of position by the coach. Has the more experienced player done the right things in the right way? Notwithstanding poor quality ball from a pack struggling to secure its own line out and scrum ball and an inside centre not accustomed to that position, the player performance statistics from both tests to date clearly show that the more experienced player has consistently done the right things in the right way.

In short, my view is that Brian O'Driscoll has done all that was required of him in defence in the first two tests and indeed more but had little opportunity to attack in those games and has taken the rap for a flawed team selection and game strategy - a systems failure attributable to the coach who is ultimately responsible. As for the change at no. 8, I find that equally baffling.

Leaving all the management speak aside, I suspect that Roberts and Davies were Gatland's preferred centre partnership all along and that if Roberts had been fit for the last two tests, he would have been selected by Gatland. On that basis, Gatland can rationalise his decision - going with his first preference and Brian O'Driscoll has had two more Lions tests than he ever intended to give him.

Will the Lions win? I hope so. But the manner in which this has been handled leaves a sour taste - Brian O'Driscoll is at least worth a bench place especially when looking at the player performance statistics from last week and that extra magic that only he seems to be able to conjure up. I would have picked him to start.

For me the Lions concept and Lions jersey has been devalued on this tour.

James Griffin is originally from Tipperary, lives in Dublin where he is married to a Dubliner and Leinster supporter. He supports Ireland, then Munster and after that, other Irish teams when his own is not involved.

The worrying evolution of rugby rivalry

by James Griffin

For players and supporters, the rivalry between our provinces can represent rugby at its best and most enjoyable. The annual competition between our provinces and the history and tradition associated with them can drive individual players and their teams, inspiring them to even higher performance levels, and bring supporters together in shared enthusiasm like few other games can. This can be seen annually in Thomond, the RDS, Ravenhill, and the Sportsground.

Rugby rivalries are dynamic relationships with many participants - opposing coaches, opposing players, opposing supporters, sponsors, the media, and others. When the rivalry at provincial level is healthy, the intense competition can engender respect, passion, superior performances, and enjoyment. Whatever antagonism exists is balanced by a shared understanding that the two opposing coaches, the teams and their supporters need each other as integral halves in the game itself and longer term to act as a driver to push on to new and even higher performance levels.

However, when supporters lose perspective on the purpose and relative importance of a game of rugby, rivalries can turn ugly. That ugliness can manifest itself in ways that threaten to undermine our sport at every level. It can infect the overall climate of our game, creating an atmosphere where sportsmanship is replaced by oneupmanship and even more sinister outcomes. It can result in demonization, name-calling, and taunting; provide enjoyment but for all the wrong reasons; and ultimately undermine support at national team level - the pinnacle of our sport.

Have we reached rugby armageddon here? Not quite yet but a substantial minority have, I fear, migrated from healthy to unhealthy rivalry.

So if that is the case, what can be done to to rebuild a rivalry that has turned somewhat ugly? Other sports have developed Codes of Conduct setting out acceptable behaviours and punishments for infringements. I'm not sure that that is necessary here or even that such a Code could be applied. I would simply ask though - "what kind of culture do we want to have in our game?" And furthermore "what are we, as rugby supporters, going to do about it?"

Apologies about the length of my comment but this is something that has concerned me for some time.

James Griffin is originally from Tipperary, lives in Dublin where he is married to a Dubliner and Leinster supporter. He supports Ireland, then Munster and after that, other Irish teams when his own is not involved.

Editor’s note – this was left as a comment on the HoR Facebook page as part of a thread on a different topic, but I felt it warranted a post of its own as it is well worth discussing.  Please share your views if you can.