Like all sports, rugby provides success lessons which apply both to the sport and to life in general. The Rugby Union World Cup is a treasure trove of incidents and comments which teach valuable success lessons that could apply to anyone.
On Wednesday, Sept 12th, Japan played Fiji in Toulouse. The Fijians perform their own version of a Haka. It is called the 'Cibi'.
The Cibi is a war dance which used to be performed before battles or after battles with neighbouring tribes or warriors from other Pacific islands.
It became well known in 1939 when it was performed by the Fijian national rugby union team before each match on a tour of New Zealand.
One commentator on a forum, who saw a recent performance of the Fijian war dance was not impressed. He wrote:
"The Fijians could put more effort into their 'haka'. I mean the Kiwis, Tongans and the Samoans seem to burst blood vessels whenever they do their haka."
Another member of the forum disagreed. He suggested that the critic above should "give himself an uppercut!"
Whatever you might think about the Fijian Cibi, most spectators would agree that the Kiwis, Tongans, and Samoans do put huge effort and intensity into their war dance and this effort carries over into their rugby performance.
One way to rise to the top of the ladder of success is to put your very best effort into whatever you are doing - 'to burst blood vessels'. You will almost immediately stand out like a killer whale leaping out of water as many people are half hearted in the way they perform their daily jobs and other tasks.
The first and last verse of the Cibi goes as follows:
Ai tei vovo, tei vovo
E ya, e ya, e ya, e ya,
Tei vovo, tei vovo
E ya e ya, e ya, e ya
Make ready, make ready,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
Make ready, make ready
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
E luvu koto ki ra nomu waqa
O kaya beka au sa luvu sara
Nomu bai e wawa mere
Au tokia ga ka tasere
Your ship is sunk below,
Don't think I'm drowned too.
Your defence is just waiting
To crumble when I prick it
The Fijians run so deceptively and swiftly that they frequently do 'prick' defences. As a result, they often win the rugby world seven a side championships
In fact, they prefer sevens rugby because they have more opportunity to run with the ball and, therefore, more fun.
In Fiji, the kids will run with anything that looks like a rugby ball. An old shoe is good enough for a great game. Above all, the Fijians enjoy their rugby and have their own relaxed but, at times, ferocious style of playing.
Having fun and enjoying what you do is so important in achieving success in any field. Even learning html can be fun whenever you compare your html code with the results shown on your internet browser!
The Fijians and Japanese were evenly matched but the Fijians were bigger and better able to evade tackles. After one tackle, some fighting broke out and the famous commentator, former All Black Murray Mexted, was hoping to see some martial arts:
"I thought we might get a little bit of martials going there for a moment!"
In the end Fiji won 35 - 31. Fiji had a bonus point for scoring four tries and Japan had a bonus point for staying within seven points of Fiji.
Later Fiji went on to beat Wales in a shock victory for Fiji which resulted in the immediate sacking of the Welsh coach and the triumphant entry of Fiji into the quarter finals of the world cup. They will play South Africa on October 7th.
Incidentally, ITV3 and 4 have put their best efforts into the coverage of the rugby union world cup. Every game has been put on view at no charge and the presentation of the programs is tasteful and artistic.
Even the advertisements are in tune with the game. In one ad, a toilet roll rolled out from under a toilet door. A commentator remarked:
"Oops! That was an unfortunate fumble!"
One match that was full of fumbles was the one Italy played against Romania in Marseilles on Wednesday 12th September. Romania have won 16 matches out of 41 in previous meetings.
The Romanian anthem came first and was sung horribly out of tune. The Italians were not much better! But both sides were moved, sometimes to tears, by the words and music of their anthems. I am often moved to tears myself even with the anthems of foreign nations!
Kenny Logan, the Scottish commentator, stated about the Italians:
"The best thing they can do after a mauling by New Zealand is to get back into the trenches as soon as possible and get a few tries under their belt."
Successful people need to learn how to bounce back from disappointments and failures. Resilience is a key sign of a successful individual or team.
The Italians put in a lack lustre performance at first but with the help of some inspired individuals like Alessandro Troncon managed to win the match.
The Romanians were full of energy and verve and were notable for individual players, like Iulian Dumitras (pronounced Dumitrash) who put in some colossal kicks to touch. His name also leant itself to, at least, one feeble joke.
After Romania scored a try, Dumitras missed the conversion. One commentator joked: ""It was a trash kick!"
The other replied: "And a trash joke!"
It amazes me that so many rugby teams fail to have at least one great kicker in their sides. It has been proven again and again that kicks can win matches.
Successful sides get their priorities right and often kick their way to victory. Successful people usually manage to focus on their priorities at some point, at least.
Eventually Italy managed to stumble to their first victory of the world cup with a score of 24 -18.
On Friday Sept 14th 2007, England played South Africa who are one of the favourites to win the world cup this year.
One member of their team is Bryan Habana who can run at 26.3 miles an hour. His party trick is to race a real live cheetah!
England managed to stop Habana - but were still thumped 36-0.
Martin Johnson, England's former world cup winning captain, commented:
"We had to start with a huge amount of urgency and we just didn't do it. They took the opportunities and we weren't quick enough; we weren't urgent enough. We have to be far more dynamic."
A sense of urgency is one hall mark of successful people. Brian Tracy, the self-help guru, writes:
"With this ingrained sense of urgency, you develop a "bias for action." You take action rather than talking continually about what you are going to do. You focus on specific steps you can take immediately. By employing this technique you concentrate on the things you can do right now to get the results you want and achieve the goals you desire."
England failed to score any points for the first time in 104 games. The South African defence was brilliant. So was their attacking play.
Michael Lynagh, the Australian rugby legend, was disappointed with England:
"I'm not English but I live here and I was disappointed. There was nothing you could hang your hat on. England have done a lot of talking but they have to come out and play. They have to play some rugby."
Later, Michael discovered that England could still play rugby when, in the quarter finals, they destroyed Australia's hopes of a world cup victory!
Another commentator remarked: "England are no longer on the ropes; they are on the canvas."
Ben Kay, an England forward, had his view: "We can either sit and dwell on it or put it right against Samoa. We can take the flak that is deserved and use it as a springboard."
Mercifully, England did spring back from defeat and even managed to beat the Samoans, Tongans and the great Australians. They are now in the semi-final against France.
Several key success lessons emerge from the matches described above:
One way to reach the top of the ladder of success is to do your very best. Many people don't do this so you will stand out from the rest.
Have fun and enjoy what you do.
Bounce back from disappointments and failures. Resilience is one hall mark of a successful person. Don't sit and dwell on it. Do whatever you can to put it right!
Focus on your priorities.
Take action rather than talking continually about what you are going to do. Decide on specific steps you can take immediately and then do them now!
Become the killer whale in your own pool by working harder than the lazy majority!
John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One recent book can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/how_to_win_the_game_of_life.php
You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php
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