An interesting weekend for sport in England with two extremes demonstrated. As a nation we are very proud of our sporting heritage, and of our national teams as well as our regional teams, and on a global stage, the sports that we brought to the world, particularly football, cricket and rugby union are considered priority. Over this weekend we have seen two very different performances from two of our national teams. Our Rugby team played Wales, a match that we would expect to win, particularly in the run up to the World Cup next month, and our Cricket team played India, the World number one team, a match that we would expect to be far more of a struggle. I managed to watch both matches and the differences were very obvious. Our cricket team, playing at Edgabaston, excelled themselves beating Indian by more than an innings with some spectacular, record breaking scores, completing a series win three games to nil. By comparison, our Rugby team lost to Wales with only one try in the game being scored by the Welsh side.
What was perhaps most interesting was the passion, or lack of it shown by the two teams. At international level there should be utter pride in playing for the national team, and it should be shown from the singing of the anthem through to the final whistle. With the cricket match we saw a level of determination from the England players to not simply beat the Indian side but to demolish them. As each wicket fell there was a calmness to the celebrations that demonstrated a mindest that was solely focused on getting the job done. By comparison the rugby team were lacklustre from the outset. Simple plays were not completed, passes were wayward, tackles were missed and the team were not at any point being outplayed by better opposition but were simply unable to compete effectively. Sure, the Welsh team defended well, but there were far too many mistakes.
In situations like these there is a requirement that is inherent to the success of a team. That requiement is leadership. The cricket team was led by Andy Strauss, a player of passion and commitment who leads by example and manages to control and organise the team whilst being heavily involved in the action. By comparison the rugby team were led by Mike Tindall, undoubtedly one of the most passionate players in modern rugby, always committed, always full of energy and drive, but often so wrapped up in his own performance that he is unable to take a clear overview of the bigger picture and consequently is less able to take the tactical decisions that were needed to run the team effectively.
When I look back over the great sporting captains and the way that they organise and manage the way ames are played I think of a commanding presence, not simply comfortable with managing their own performance, but also comfortable managing everyone elses at the same time. The same can be said of great managers in business. It relies on being so complete in ones own role that time can be allocated to enhancing and mentoring others to bring the best performance from the team as a whole. I can only think that Mr. Johnson the England rugby team manager will be somewhat disappointed by his captains performance, and will either work to fix the problem or appoint another captain for the World Cup matches next month.......
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