As of Saturday 17 September, that changed.
Our dismal performance against the All Blacks was just too disappointing to watch.
Now as you may know we are in trouble as a national team. We have been slipping down the world rankings and we clearly have administrators and coaches who haven’t been able to find the answers they need.
So again I return to the business principles. When one strives for excellence, it is always a great idea to benchmark. This means that you go out there, see what the most successful organisations in your industry are doing and analyse the potential of bringing similar thinking to your own organisation. Simple really.
So apart from the club structure that New Zealand use, referred to in a previous blog, what else can we learn from the New Zealand team?
Motivation. Not motivation of the team on the day. Continued motivation and engagement of all the stakeholders. Motivation for young players to stay engaged. Focus and structure on an individual level.
How do New Zealand do this? Well, at the beginning stages of rugby, around about the age of five in South Africa, New Zealand do not divide their kids into age groups but rather weight groups. This means that a hulk of a kid at the age of eight could play against a 10 or even 12 year old. A smaller kid at the age of 12 could likewise play with another kid much younger or older for that matter who is of a similar weight.
What are the advantages of this? Well in my thinking it is a fairer game. Injuries are less and kids don’t get hurt. This translates to the continued engagement of the players, players remaining motivated, developing a love for the game and staying in the system. See where I am going with this? Only when they are much older and their fully developed bodies can take the blows do they step into the harsh contact of the sport. Makes sense to me.
So why have we not done the same here? Simply because the logistical nightmare of doing this from a school’s perspective is just that. A logistical nightmare. Grade one learners leave school around about 12h30. Grade four learners closer to 14h00. Can’t be done easily. And that brings me back to the necessary club structure. So why are our administrators not learning from New Zealand?
Maybe our administrators are the ones not sufficiently equipped to do their jobs. Maybe their business thinking should be expanded. After all, sport is the biggest money spinning industry in the world today, bigger than movies. Maybe we have the wrong leaders in place in SARU, leaders who are not adapting to a changing landscape, leaders who have the passion, but not the knowledge. What do you think?
© Debbie Engelbrecht
Debbie is the director of Staff Training, a training company offering management and leadership skills training nationally. She is also a rugby lover of note! For more information on the courses presented by Staff Training visit our workshops page.