If old habits die hard then, from Dan Carter’s experience, the New Zealand and French dressing rooms will be very different places this Friday night.
This Friday night is D-day. It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for as, in the Saint-Denis suburb on the north-side of Paris, the biggest show in town finally kicks off.
This Rugby World Cup has been a long time coming but what better way to get it started than with a clash of the titans as France host New Zealand.
Fabien Galthié’s French may be down a few bodies in Romain Ntamack, Cyril Baille and Paul Willemse. This may not be a vintage All Blacks side either but none-the-less, it speaks volumes about their status in the game these are still the pre-tournament favourites at 3/1 and 7/2 respectively.
All Blacks legend Dan Carter is looking forward to the game as much as the next man and, speaking exclusively to SportsJOE, after the launch of ‘Dan Carter: The Art of Winning’, he gave a fascinating insight into how both sides traditionally prepare for big games like this.
The legendary out-half explained that, throughout his career, dressing room speeches were never a thing for the All Blacks. From his experience in France, it was quite the opposite.
“No. You know, when the All Blacks were successful, there wasn’t really a lot of motivational speech speeches.
“You know, if you felt like you were relying on a speech from someone to motivate you to help you in the game, it’s too late,” says Carter.
“Like, the game isn’t around trying to find the right emotion 24 hours out from the game or a couple of hours out from the game, the work needs to be done right throughout the week to give you confidence to go out there and play.
“It’s something I learned when I played in France, that they were all on emotion.
“They were all waiting for the head coach to give a really motivational speech before you hopped on the bus to go to the game, a couple of hours before kick-off.
“By that stage, it’s too late,” he says.
“Yes, it might work one week, but in terms of consistency and relying on emotion, week-in, week-out, it’s just not going to last. One of the things that we did when Tana Umaga was (captain), he had to tell Graham Henry that we no longer needed him doing the motivational speech to us on game day.
“You know, he was a little bit taken back by it, Graham Henry, but he had the growth mind-set to realise, ‘Ok, well, you know, if the captain is asking or telling me that the players don’t need this then, then I don’t do it.’
“And we’ve never had a pre match speech from the coach, the day of the game, you know, from Friday onwards. You don’t hear anything from the coaches. It’s up to the players to drive things on the Friday and then game day, Saturday as well.”
“You know, the less you hear from the coaches, it inspires you that they have trust and faith in the work that’s been done throughout the week, to get you over the line.”
Styles make fights. Bring on Friday.
*The Art of Winning: Ten Lessons in Leadership, Purpose and Potential is available in book stores, and online, now.
