“How Do You Act When the Pressure is on?" England v Ireland Six Nations 2011

"How do you act when the pressure is on, when the chance for victory is almost gone? When fortune's star has refused to shine and the ball is on your own five-yard line. Cowards can run when they're way ahead. It's the uphill grind that marks a thoroughbred. How do you act when things are rough? Do you want to quit when the breaks get tough, or is there in you a flame that grows brighter and fiercer as the battle goes? How long and how hard will you fight the foe? That is what the world wants to know. You hope for success, then tell me son, how do you act when the pressure is on?"

In sports we talk about intensity, passion, and spirit. We see these as ‘essential’ to success and characteristics which inspire. Watching England play Ireland in the last match of the Six Nations, with the Championship and Grand Slam at stake, it struck me that these ‘essential’ elements were missing from England’s game. The Irish came out fighting, no hope of a championship, they weren’t playing for anything more than a win, but they wanted it and it showed. Fellow sport psychologist, Dr. Jim Brenner is a believer in asking athletes: Where would you rather be than right here? Looking for the answer: Nowhere, nowhere else but right here, right now. I’d be willing to bet every Ireland player would have answered in this way, from the dressing room through to the last second of the game. England? I’m not so sure. From even the very first few minutes, they played desperately, panicked, and couldn’t build momentum. They wanted the result but forgot the method. Hence, the fluidity of play we have seen from England in the last 4 matches was nowhere to be seen. They lacked the confident, brave play from key members of the team. Where was the well-oiled partnership between Ben Youngs and Toby Flood? The dynamism from backs Ben Foden and Chris Ashton? The bulldozer running of James Haskell? I imagine the whole of England sighed when two of International Rugby’s finest and most consistent kickers missed. Whatever spirit England had, it was quickly and tragically shattered.

They say a picture tells a thousand words, well this one tells the story of the game:

England looked confused and at a loss, tired, worn-out, and dejected

Where was the leadership? Surely an International side cannot fall because their captain is injured, furthermore, just because a captain is injured doesn’t mean he can’t inspire from the bench. And what happened to other players stepping up? There was a crucial resilience lacking from this Championship side. Can we blame the lack of experience and youth of the team?

In games and situations like these it’s easy to look at what went wrong and how a side crumbled under the pressure. But perhaps, it was Ireland who rose to the challenge? Did England lose the game or did Ireland win it? And let’s not forget, England may not have won the Grand Slam, but they still won the Six Nations. What deserves more attention, the loss of the Grand Slam or the Win of the Championship? What’s more important the process or the outcome?

It all comes down to: How do you act when the pressure is on?

by Kat Longshore 2011