Folau can change union, says former All Black

Updated December 06, 2012 16:52:16

Sonny Bill Williams' indefensible offload changed rugby union and Israel Folau's vertical leap has the potential to do the same, according to new New South Wales Waratahs assistant coach Daryl Gibson.

Former All Black Gibson, who helped mould the Crusaders' potent backline when Williams made his Super Rugby debut, watched Folau train for the first time with NSW on Thursday.

It was a low-key hit-out, with Folau laying a couple of slick passes and making a handful of line breaks during drills, but Gibson was already thinking big about the impact a bulked-up Folau can have on the 15-man game.

"Sonny brought to union some skills he had from league and he's changed our game," Gibson said.

"Israel, particularly with his aerial ability, could potentially do the same.

"It's not a skill we're particularly adept at. He spent two years catching and kicking (in the AFL) and we'd be foolish not to utilise that skill."

Gibson, part of the Crusaders' foundation squad in 1996 and involved in union ever since, said he'd never seen anything like Folau's ability to leap and snaffle the high ball.

"And what I haven't seen in union a lot is the ability to catch the ball above your head, and that's a skill he's going to bring to our game," Gibson said.

"Absolutely (it could change the game) and what it will change is teams' ability to defend us.

"If the backfield is worried about his aerial game, then it obviously opens up opportunities elsewhere on the field.

"We're going to have to exploit that."

Folau spoke of his desire to take on the All Blacks on Tuesday, and Gibson revealed the 23-year-old's switch to union had already created waves in his rugby-mad homeland.

"I got a number of texts from people back in New Zealand who were excited to see him go," Gibson said.

"A few (Super Rugby) coaches and obviously players (sent messages). It's neat that they're aware we've signed someone of his calibre."

Folau, who coach Michael Cheika says will play in the back three, will initially be shielded from contact work while he learns the intricacies of the ruck.

The code-hopper's other major challenge will be to re-design his physique after shedding seven kilograms to prepare for the endurance required in AFL.

But Cheika said Folau will do a lot of running without the ball for the 'Tahs and his body transformation won't be overly severe.

"Maybe somewhere in the middle (of his playing weights in AFL and NRL). I can't be sure, there's no exact science to this," Cheika said.

"I don't know if it's about upper chest or lower body. Most players know the weight they feel comfortable at. You got to go with your gut feel.

"It (Folau's preparation for Super Rugby) is not really about that. It's about footy."

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted December 06, 2012 16:52:16

View the original article here

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 10 - 'El Mago!'

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 9 - David Loses to Goliath!

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 2 - The Haka

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 4 - Deja Vu?

Like all sports, rugby provides success tips which apply both to the sport in question and to life in general.

The rugby world cup is a treasure chest of incidents and comments which are full of valuable success lessons that could inspire anyone whether they are interested in rugby or not.

On Saturday 15th September, New Zealand, the legendary All Blacks, played Portugal in Lyons. One commentator remarked:

"This is like the story of David and Goliath; only David has forgotten his sling and his stones!"

Portugal rank 22nd in the world at rugby. New Zealand frequently rank first and have an aura of invincibility. Undaunted, the Portuguese gave 100% to the singing of the Portuguese anthem before the match.

"I'll be interested to see how long that passion lasts!" said a New Zealand commentator.

Passion and enthusiasm tend to fade when the 'going gets tough'. That's when the successful and the 'tough get going' and maintain their enthusiasm.

It was Churchill who said:

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

The Portuguese soon experienced one failure after another but, to their credit, maintained their enthusiasm

New Zealand scored in 3 minutes. Nine minutes later, Rockofoco, the All Black rocket man, scored another try. The score was 12-0 after only twelve minutes.

After forty minutes it was 52 - 3 but Portugal played their part and it was a game worth watching. The so called minnows gave it everything and Portugal were the first to score a try at the start of the second half.

Their try was converted and Portugal were starting to catch up. 52 - 10.

However, successful people put in extra efforts when they start falling below their own high standards and see other people catching up with them. The All Blacks are no exception. Bob Leonard scored almost immediately. 59-10.

My martial arts students do not like to see other students moving up the belt ladder ahead of them. Some will redouble their efforts to stay one belt colour ahead of the students just below them in the belt rankings. Competitiveness is frowned on by the politically correct but is a powerful motivator.

Portugal kept their shape and their determination all through this game. The game ended at 108 -13 in favour of the All Blacks but Portugal could hold their heads high. They had given their all and done their best. Though they had lost the game, they had achieved success.

In my view, success is doing your best whatever the results. Portugal had done their best.

On Sept 15th, Wales played Australia in the Cardiff stadium, one of the great rugby grounds of the world. Australia are the most successful country in the history of the world cup.

Australia soon moved ahead and Wales were overpowered in the first half. At half time, the score was 25-3 in favour of Australia.

Wales needed to forget about the first half and needed to control the game and try to score. It helps to forget past failures and start afresh in the present moment.

The Welsh forwards scored a try almost immediately with determined play. Hook converted the try. 25 -10. If pride and passion were enough to win world cups, Wales would be at the top of the tree.

Wales needed that try for their self-belief. People build their belief and success on one small step after another. Everyone can improve their lives by at least one small step every single day.

For example, if you are weak take the small step of doing squats every day (i.e. sitting down on an imaginary chair with your arms held in front and then standing up).

Next, do pushaways from the wall (i.e. lean forward facing a wall with your palms on the wall and your feet about thirty inches away from the wall. Then push away from the wall and then lean forward again). Make sure that your feet are not too far away from the wall or you will fall on your face!

You could do ten squats and then ten pushaways. Repeat that sequence for about ten minutes every day and you will become leaner, stronger and fitter both mentally and physically. Back to the game!

Wales had a penalty and the score moved to 25 -13. Victory would seem gettable from this score. The extra points infused the Welsh players with belief. Could they twist the knife and make the Australians doubt themselves?

A Welsh player performed a powerful tackle which would win hearts and minds even though it did not win the ball. Any display of extra effort can inspire and bring results. Leonardo da Vinci came up with a brilliant line about the value of effort which goes a long way to explaining his lasting success:

"Oh God! You sell us everything for the price of an effort."

Latham, the Australian, broke through to score a try. 32-13. Latham makes his own luck He chases everything and never gives up.

Where England had just subsided against South Africa, Wales had come back strongly in their second half. They might start to think: "We can still take on the best teams."

Gareth Jenkins later remarked: "If you have plenty of spirit and belief you can come back."

Wales were not looking for the final whistle. They were enjoying themselves. Someone commented: "The Welsh dragon fizzed but was ultimately doused by the Wallabies."

However, Wales still had something to hope for. They could qualify as second in their pool and then face South Africa in the quarter finals. Stephen Jones commented:

"We need to learn to play over 80 minutes and to improve our rugby."

Michael Lynagh, the Australian commentator, was disappointed that Australia rested on their lead in the second half.

Successful people tend to play and work hard in 'both halves'.

On Saturday 15th September, Ireland played Georgia in Bordeaux

So far, Ireland were not happy with their world cup. Paul O'Connell said: "We are just not playing to our potential."

O'Driscoll, the Irish captain said: "Perhaps we took our eye off the ball."

Will Greenwood agreed: "Ireland need to keep their eye on the game and not on what other teams in their group are doing."

The Georgians are a hugely physical side. They started well and put Ireland on the back foot. Rory Best, the Irish hooker, scored the first try. The score was 5-0 to Ireland after 17 minutes. Ronan O'Gara scored a great conversion. 7-0.

Ronan had practised for a good hour and a half the day before the match. Practise in private and shine in public. Georgia got a penalty near half time and scored three points 7-3.

After half time Stringer threw a long slow pass which was intercepted by a Georgian. A try was scored and converted 10-7 to Georgia. Ireland, who were no longer in the lead, discovered their sense of urgency. Successful people don't usually do this. They have a sense of urgency from the start.

Ireland scored a try in the 54th minute when a Georgian missed a tackle. The Georgians were beginning to tire. O'Gara converted the try. 14-10.

The Georgian forwards moved forward yard by yard and inch by inch. They were happy to take this Irish team on. They continued to shock and surprise. Kashvili kept putting in great kicks to touch

There was now a real sense of urgency from the Georgians. They were sniffing an unbelievable upset.

O'Driscoll, not surprisingly, noticed this: "Once they were within a sniff they grew in confidence. When you are within one score anything can happen."

Anyone who realizes they are close to achieving their goals is capable of putting in the kind of extra effort that produces miracles.

The Irish supporters were on tenterhooks and could not wait for the final whistle. The bigger men and hearts had been Georgian. Ireland scored two tries but were lucky to get off the pitch with a win.

The TV ads continued to be original and to blend in with the French background to the world cup. A character in one of them asked:

"What's French for déjà vu?"

It is worth reminding ourselves of the twelve success tips that emerged from the rugby games described above:

Passion and enthusiasm tend to fade when the 'going gets tough'. That's when the successful and the 'tough get going' and maintain their enthusiasm.

Successful people put in extra efforts when they start falling below their own high standards and see other people catching up with them!

Success is doing your best whatever the results.

Forget past failures, even if they are recent, and start afresh in the present moment.

Build your belief and success on one small step after another. Improve your life by at least one small step every single day. Try out the 10 squat and 10 pushaway 10 minute system suggested above.

God sells us everything for the price of an effort.

Make your own luck by chasing down an opportunity with all your heart.

Successful people tend to play and work hard in 'both halves'.

Don't take your eye off the ball. Focus on your priorities.

Practise in private and shine in public.

Have a sense of urgency when you start any project. Don't wait until the deadline is close.

Let the thought of being close to achieving your goal inspire you to greater efforts.

Most of the lessons above have been deja vu (already seen). They just need to be applied.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. The following book is full of success lessons http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 12 Cheetah Speed Kills The Pumas!

Like all sports, rugby provides success lessons which apply both to sport and to life in general. The World Cup has been an event full of shocks, incidents and comments which teach success lessons that could apply to anyone.

England showed again that miracles are possible by defeating France, who had defeated them in their last few meetings, in the first semi-final. Next day, on Sunday Oct 14th 2007, Argentina, the Pumas, faced up to South Africa, the Springboks, in the second semi-final.

One of the South Africans was Brian Habana, the man who races cheetahs in public. Another was Percy Montgomery, one of the greatest full backs and goal kickers in world rugby.

Montgomery has received considerable flak for his film star looks and an alleged tendency to leave the difficult kicks to other kickers. Like all successful people, he has proved his critics wrong by achieving excellence in his field of expertise. I cannot remember seeing him miss a kick.

Argentina fielded the same team that had beaten Scotland. The Pumas had several injury concerns but Juan Martin Hernandez, Felipe Contepomi, Ignacio Corleto and Captain Agustin Pichot had been passed fit.

Argentina were playing in their first World Cup semi-final to become the first team from outside the Tri-Nations and the Six Nations to reach the last four in the rugby world cup.

They had lost all eleven previous meetings with South Africa. But they have won ten of their last thirteen matches of world cup rugby and are now an established force in world rugby. Their ten victories had given them enormous confidence and the belief that they could win the cup.

All successful people experience growing confidence and power when they achieve one success after another. South Africa had the right to be even more confident as they had experienced success after success for years.

South Africa emerged from the home changing room used the day before by the winners - England. Both teams sang their national anthems with great feeling.

Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former Union of South Africa anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of South Africa".

The lyrics employ the five most popular of South Africa's eleven official languages - Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English.

Mandela's attitude of embracing all nationalities as one in South Africa may well have helped the success of the Springboks in the current world cup. Any great and successful leader understands the power of unity and team work.

The Argentinian national anthem was born out of their fight for independence against Spain in 1810. The chorus sums up the attitude of their current rugby team:

Sean eternos los laureles

Que supimos conseguir.

Coronados de gloria vivamos

O juremos con gloria morir.

May the laurels be eternal

That we knew how to win.

Let us live crowned with glory,

Or swear to die gloriously.

Pumas' coach, Marcelo Loffreda, insisted that the side that won the mental battle would book their berth in the final to play England:

"This World Cup is where one's head plays a big part...apart form the physical side; against South Africa it's fundamental," Loffreda said.

Argentina will go into the match at the Stade de France as underdogs but their English director of rugby, Les Cusworth, said their spirit and passion could surprise people.

"What no one should under-estimate is the collective will of the Argentina players," said Cusworth, a former England fly-half. "They have a real pride in playing for their country. I have been involved in rugby for forty years and I have never seen anything like it.

"We also have a base of players that other countries would die for. We go into the semi-final with a side that has been developed over the last six or seven years and that gives us every chance. The players are warriors."

Courage is another hall mark of success. This includes the willingness to fight until death stops further action. Successful people are usually warriors in the sense that they fight for what they believe in. Even if they seem to be losing they will keep fighting until the end - juremos con gloria morir.

The game began evenly but South Africa were a little quicker to take action. Then Argentina did some exciting running and passing. Unfortunately for them Fourie du Preez intercepted a pass and ran in for a try.

The intercepted pass was one of several mistakes by one of the best Argentinian players Felipe Contepomi. Percy Montgomery converted the try. 7-0 to South Africa.

In the last eight world cup semi finals the team that has scored first has gone on to win. Hernandez, another of the Pumas' best players then missed a drop goal.

Francois Pienaar, the South African commentator and former world cup winning Springbok captain, said: "Apart from the interception Argentina have had the edge."

Felipe Contepomi kicked over a penalty. 7-3 after 15 minutes. Montgomery kicked one over too. 10-3 Contepomi just missed a penalty. Still 10-3.

The Springboks nearly scored a try but Argentina cleared their lines skillfully. Twenty minutes had passed.

Corleto, one of the Puma backs, is always keen to have a run but he ended up meeting the brick wall of the Springbok defence. However, Contepomi scored with an excellent penalty kick. 10-6

At thirty one minutes, Habana took a long pass, chipped the ball ahead skillfully, caught it and ran at cheetah speed to reach the try line. Montgomery added two points 17-6.

There is no professional rugby in Argentina. Only three amateur players from Argentina were in the squad. Nearly all the professionals play in Europe. Successful people transcend the limitations of their country and local environment even if they have to travel thousands of miles to do so.

The big names of Argentina were making the errors that were helping South Africa to lead the game. The top Puma professionals were probably trying too hard. An element of self doubt began to creep into the Argentinian team.

Possibly, the Pumas were thinking too much about an open bus tour through Buenos Aires as world champions instead of doing their best in the current game. Successful people focus on doing their best whatever else happens.

If they do their best consistently, successful people will usually win whatever it is they are doing since so few people do their best on a regular basis. Even if successful people do their best only occasionally they will probably win as so few people ever do their best!

The great Hernandez failed to do his best by dropping the ball and the Springboks picked it up gratefully. After some brilliant passing Rousseau scored for South Africa. Montgomery converted just before half time. 24-6

The mistakes had killed Argentina. Argentina needed zero mistakes and they were now looking a tired team. South Africa, on the other hand, had been taking all their opportunities and looked full of confidence and the energy that goes with confidence.

However, suddenly the tide changed. Manuel Contepomi scored a try for Argentina. Felipe converted 24-13. A commentator said: "Anything is possible from here. We know what is likely but what is likely hasn't happened so far in this tournament. Do Argentina have enterprise? We know they have but there are tired bodies out there."

The Argentinian fans found their voice and were out of their seats cheering as Argentina moved up the field.

Felipe kicked a penalty with confidence but not with accuracy. Missed kicks along with handling and passing errors were not helping the Pumas. The clock was ticking but the scoreboard was not. 60 minutes had gone.

Habana seemed to score a try but had been given a forward pass. No try. Pienaar was still nervous:

"South Africa need to put Argentina away before they score a try." Successful people do not believe in half measures!

Francois Steyn, the adventurous, tried to kick a 60 metre penalty. He was on target but a few yards short. Montgomery, the reliable, kicked a penalty. 27-13 at 70 minutes

Argentina might as well go out in a blaze of glory. They had looked so certain but were now looking tired and fragile. They gave away another penalty. There is no luck about Montgomery's kicking. He scored another three points. 30-13

Brian Habana intercepted a pass from Hernandez, the golden boy, at 75 minutes. If a cheetah has trouble catching Habana, when he has a head start, no one else will. Montgomery converted. 37-3

A minor riot broke out at 77 minutes as Smit tackled high. Felipe Contepomi threw a fist at a Springbok who was grabbing him unnecessarily.

"He is a surgeon. I hope no one irritates him before he operates!" commented Will Greenwood.

At full time, South Africa had achieved a well deserved victory. They had done their best. The Argentinians had not and were in tears.

An interviewer spoke to the Springbok captain: "You are a ruthless team; you punish people."

"You have to," said John Smit.

Next Friday, France, the hosts, will play Argentina in the play off for third place. The Pumas will have another chance to shine on a world stage.

Several success lessons emerged from this semi-final:

Prove your critics wrong by achieving excellence in whatever you do.

Enjoy growing confidence and power as you achieve one goal after another.

Use the power of unity and team work. Even two heads are better than one.

Keep swinging until you have clearly lost the ball game. Fight until the end even if you seem to be losing - juremos con gloria morir.

Transcend the limitations of your local environment even if you have to travel miles to do so.

Do your best consistently or, even inconsistently, and success will take care of itself.

Avoid half measures. Take massive but focused action to achieve your goals.

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 of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup - Part 3 - The Cibi

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

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Rugby Union Explained

For many, the only way to identify Rugby Union teams is by looking at the colors of the shirts worn by players of a team. Sometimes, even avid fans of the sport do not really know what it's all about. Basically, it is defined as an outdoor sport played by two competing teams using an oval ball. The teams, which are composed of 15 players on each side, follow the rule or code of rugby football.

The term Rugby Union was first coined after a schism in 1895, which led to the formation of a separate set of rules for the rugby league. For the longest time, it was considered as an amateur sport. However, in 1995, the International Rugby Board declared the sport open, which means that there are no longer any restrictions with regard to the payments received by the players. Thanks to the lifting of payment restrictions, the Rugby Union became even more popular and fans from all over the world started to wear rugby shirts of their preferred teams.

The International Rugby Board, which is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the governing body of the Rugby Union. This sport is popular in countries such as England, Australia, France, Italy, South Africa, Ireland, Japan, Romania, and even in Samoa and Madagascar. Thus, it is not surprising to see raving fans wearing rugby shirts with the colors and logos of their favored teams in both national and international Rugby Union games in the above enumerated countries. Some other places that are starting to become interested in Rugby Union sports include Namibia, Canada, Russia, Germany, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, and even the United States and Canada.

The most popular (and important) International Rugby Union competition is the Rugby World Cup. This is a men's sports tournament that occurs every four years. In the 2007 tournament in France, the South African team emerged as the champion, beating England which won the Cup in 2003. With the increasing popularity of the Internet, fans from all over the world can now buy merchandise, such as rugby shirts and paraphernalia, in many online stores.

There's more information on rugby shirts at Rugby Union Shirt.

Success Lessons From The Final Of The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 14 - England Expects

On Saturday October 20th 2007, England played South Africa for the world cup. The English newspaper headlines quoted the famous order given by Nelson on a distant October day just before the battle of Trafalgar: "England expects!"

"England expects that every man will do his duty" was the full signal sent by Nelson from HMS Victory as the battle was about to begin on October 21, 1805. The victory at Trafalgar gave Britain and Ireland control of the seas.

However, one journalist at least who was commenting on the rugby battle in prospect, felt that England did not so much 'expect' as 'hope' for victory. Successful people tend to 'expect' victory rather than 'hope' for it although hope can keep you trying.

The opponents this time were not the French, as at Trafalgar, but the South Africans. Just 36 days after being humiliated 36-0 by the Springboks, could England shock the South Africans and the world and become the first side ever to win back-to-back World Cups?

Laurence Dallaglio, the England Rugby legend, later wrote in his book about the competition:

"In the early days of our preparation, there was a sign on the changing room wall at Twickenham that just said "STW"......Somewhere along the way, the Da Vinci code was cracked and "STW" was revealed as "Shock The World".

"Everyone thought it was a pretty clever message. Then Andy Farrell tapped me on the shoulder one evening and said: "Know what it should say?" "What?" "SOS," he said. "SOS?" "Yeah, Shock Our Selves."

Andy may have been right. Successful teams need to shock themselves, before they can shock the world. You have to shock and amaze yourself first if you plan on shocking and amazing others. Maybe, he also meant that England were in need of outside help! Aren't we all?

South Africa had beaten England in their last four games but the previous seven had all been won by England. Pienaar, a former Springbok world cup winning captain, was asked if he thought South Africa would defeat England in the Final. His reply was typical of his humility and common sense:

"If South Africa are complacent they will lose. England are a brotherhood; they are fighting for the ball. There is an edge to the team."

Brian Ashton, the England head coach, was asked: "Why did England beat France? What do you put it down to?" He replied:

"Tremendous determination from a group of players who just don't want to lose. They were hurt by the defeat by South Africa. We determined that nothing like that would ever happen again."

No one knows who will succeed for sure in any venture but the attitude that is most likely to succeed is one of whole hearted determination to let nothing stop you from achieving your goals.

Laurence Dallaglio said much the same thing: "The will to win can often beat the skill to win." Successful people also know that, if they want success badly enough, they can learn the skills necessary to achieve it.

Ashton mentioned the talent in the England team: "England have some top players. No 10 Jonny Wilkinson is one of them."

Jake White, the South African coach, also understood the value of Jonny Wilkinson: "Jonny doesn't have to play well. He gives others around him so much confidence."

Confidence or belief in one's ability to succeed is a huge factor in any success. The interviewer asked Ashton the sixty-four dollar question: "Are you going to win it?"

"It's a two horserace now isn't it? I hope they are going to make millions of people happy in England. "

Ashton, unlike Nelson, did not 'expect'. He only 'hoped'. Trafalgar, after all, was almost a two horse race - England versus the combined fleets of France and Spain.

Of course, to be fair to Ashton, no one can be sure of winning even a two horse race. Little things can change the course of a game. Francois Pienaar, commented shrewdly:

"In a rugby final, it is about the bounce of a ball and an ankle tap tackle. An ankle tap saved England from defeat by France. A bounce of the ball against Ireland sent them home."

Martin Johnson, the captain of the 2003 world cup winning English team commented: "Mistakes will happen. If they do, we have to sort them out with something good."

Johnson believes in action rather than words. Don't feel bad about your mistakes. Do something to make up for them.

One commentator said: "England have nothing to lose and they are beginning to believe. They are beginning to believe."

South Africa, too, had good reason to believe and to expect to win. They had an excellent record of victory after victory both before and during the world cup.

They also had a balanced team of youth and experience. Ominously for England, they had the best penalty kicker in the competition - Percy Montgomery and a long distance kicker in Steyn.

England kicked off and some of the team almost reached the South African line. A little later, Tait gave away a penalty right in front of the English posts. The writing was on the wall. Montgomery seldom misses. 3-0 to South Africa.

However, Jonny Wilkinson countered with a brilliant penalty kick. 3-3

After fourteen minutes, Moody gave away an unnecessary penalty as he tripped a fast running Springbok. "I saw that!" said the Irish referee, Alain Rolland. 6-3 in favour of South Africa. Pienaar commented rightly:

"Sticking your foot out can cost you the cup."

Jonny missed a drop kick from a good position. He was not at his best. Montgomery was. Francois Steyn missed a long range penalty. He would make up for this later.

The score stayed at 6-3 for South Africa for a long time. Just before half-time the Springboks were close to the English try line. Rossouw picked up the ball and drove for the line. He was held up a foot short. Sheridan entered the scrum from the side and gave away a penalty which possibly saved a try.

Montgomery did not miss the kick and South Africa were in the lead at half-time by six points. 9-3. In every World Cup final so far, the side who's been leading at half-time has gone on to win.

However, it would be silly to write England off. South Africa had not shown greater talent or aggression than England but they had not made the same number of mistakes as England and they were dominating the lineout.

Johnson said that England should: "Up the tempo and not go home with any regrets."

Four minutes after half time, England were not awarded a try which they seemed to have scored. Cueto had gone over the Springbok line close to the corner flag. Tragically for England, he had put his left foot about an inch into touch just before he reached the try line.

Small things change matches and you just have to live with them and not with what might have been. You can only play within the reality of your situation and not with the points you feel you should have gained.

England were, however, awarded a penalty for an earlier infringement, and Wilkinson converted from a tough angle. 9-6 to South Africa but England were catching up.

However, after fifty minutes, hands in the ruck from Corry handed a penalty gift to the Springboks. Montgomery brought his points tally to 12. South Africa 12 England 6.

There was only a converted try between the two sides. England could still win.

After fifty-seven minutes, England were looking dangerous and were starting to take risks. South Africa seemed content to contain them and wait for their mistakes.

Gomarsall sent a kick into the end-zone for Flood to chase but Montgomery got there first. He was rewarded by being pushed by Flood. into the advertising hoarding. He cleared this and banged heavily into a very solid metal camera.

My respect for Montgomery rocketed as he climbed back over the hoarding into the field of play without a single complaint even though he must have been in considerable pain.

After sixty two minutes, England were punished for an illegal block. Steyn kicked the penalty over from 48 metres. 15-6 to South Africa. The Springboks were nine points ahead.

Johnson had not given up: "Let's keep on going. Something might break. We might as well lose by 16 points as 9."

Nothing did break and, at full time, South Africa were world champions. They prepared to accept what was rightfully theirs - the world cup.

England had tried hard but had failed to beat a South African side who defended with determination and who punished England's errors ruthlessly. The Springboks had been the best team in the entire tournament. There were no complaints from the English players and commentators:

Martin Corry: "We played with heart and courage but it is so sad when it is all wasted. To be so close and not do it is so heartbreaking."

Jonny Wilkinson: "The South African team deserved to win. They've been fantastic all tournament."

There had been no surrender from England but they had just come up short and it hurt. In the end, the final was one match too far. Pienaar, as usual, had a generous comment: "The disallowed try was a huge moment."

Johnson said: "The back line gave it a go but it just wasn't good enough. England have done something special to get here. We had a chance to win it but didn't."

Laurence Dallaglio wrote later: "It pains me to say this but, given our preparation, getting to the final was a victory in itself and one that reflected great credit on some truly great players. The pain lies in the fact that second place should never be acceptable to an England player. We go to every tournament to win and, if we don't do that, we fail."

Fran Tarkenton, a former NFL quarterback, had a different view of success perhaps because he had reached the superbowl three times with the Minnesota Vikings and lost all three finals:

"Success, in my view, is the willingness to strive for something you really want. The person not reaching the top is no less a success than the one who achieved it, if they both sweated blood, sweat and tears and overcame obstacles and fears. The failure to be perfect does not mean you're not a success."

As for STW and SOS - England had already shocked the world and themselves by defeating Australia and then France. They were no longer a laughing stock and could leave France with their heads held high.

As usual, several important success lessons can be learned from this game:

Expect to succeed and, if you can't do that, hope to succeed. Hope will keep you trying.

Amaze yourself first, if you plan to amaze others. Don't be afraid to ask for help from a higher power.

Do not be complacent. Respect the opposition.

Show tremendous determination to achieve your success goals.

"The will to win can often beat the skill to win."

If you want success badly enough you can learn the skills necessary to achieve it.

Confidence or belief in your ability to succeed is a huge factor in any success.

Don't worry about your mistakes. Do something to make up for them.

You can only respond to reality and not to what you wish had happened.

Keep on going and something might break in your favour.

Don't be content with second place. Always aim for first place.

Strive with your blood, sweat and tears for what you really want. Overcome your obstacles and fears and you will be a success whether you come first or not.

After the competition, the winning South African head coach, Jake White, lost his job. The runner up, Brian Ashton, was given just one more year on his contract as England head coach and Eddie O'Sullivan, the head coach of the Irish team who had exited the competition early on, was given four more years in charge!

Brian Ashton, probably, did not receive enough appreciation for his flexible style of coaching which did not suit some of his players who preferred a clearer and more dictatorial style. He described a lesson he had learned from the competition which applies to us all:

"You just have to battle your way through on a daily basis."

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 of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Fiji Rugby Union board concerned about player sanctions

Last Updated: Tue, 24 May 2011 16:32:00 +1000

The Fiji Rugby Union has called on the International Rugby Board to relocate the Sevens World Series away from Australia and New Zealand.

The Fiji Rubgy Union (FRU) board has written to the world rugby body, voicing Fiji's concern about sanctions being placed on players with connections to the Fiji Military Force.

The FRU says the national side's performance in London over the weekend showed that when Fiji Rugby is able to select players on merit, they perform well.

Australia and New Zealand imposed heavy travel sanctions on Fiji following the coup in which Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power in 2006.

View the original article here

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 8 - Allez Les Bleus!

In the first of the quarter finals, on Saturday, October 6th, England had conquered the unconquerable Australians. Could France, later on the same day, stop the unstoppable All Blacks and send them home, like the Australians, to watch the semi-finals on TV?

Bernard Laporte, the French coach, banned the use of the name 'All Blacks'. They must just be called 'New Zealand' instead. This was a wise move. The name 'All Blacks' has been associated for years with victory. Many teams surrender to them before the game even starts.

Successful people like to create their own realistic image of the difficulties ahead. The French needed to change the popular image of the All Blacks as unbeatable.

The French also insisted on wearing their traditional blue colours. They argued: "We don't say 'Come on les whites!' We say 'Come on les bleus!' 'Allez les Bleus!'

This meant that the All Blacks could not even wear their famous black colours which might look too much like the blue of the French. They ended up without their beloved black uniforms and probably did not feel like themselves at all. At least, they no longer looked invincible!

Most successful people realize that the way you look can raise or lower your self-confidence. Looking the part leads to actions that suit the part.

The French, however, also had a handicap. This quarter final would be played in Wales instead of France to reward Wales for supporting the French as hosts for the 2007 world cup.

No one was sure what would happen since the French have a history of not doing what they are supposed to do! They had also beaten New Zealand before in the semi-finals of the 1999 world cup. However, New Zealand were still the overwhelming favourites to win.

The New Zealand Haka was performed with the usual gusto. At the same time, the French team faced up to the All Blacks right on the half way line. This symbolized their commitment to not yielding an inch of territory and took the sting out of another All Black victory symbol.

The score was 0-0 after seven minutes. After twelve minutes, New Zealand led by 3-0. New Zealand nearly scored a try after fifteen minutes but a foot had gone into touch. Two minutes later they scored an outstanding try.

There was individual brilliance but also great support. Carter converted the try. 10-0 to New Zealand. The New Zealand environment turns good players into great players.

Successful people like to mingle with other successful people to pick up their mindset and habits. The All Blacks are supremely successful rugby players.

They let the ball 'live'. They keep the momentum of their attacks flowing by passing and catching the ball before it goes dead. Both backs and forwards are big and fast. Train with them and you could become like them.

Carter kicked a penalty for the All Blacks. 13-0 Dan Carter's dad had put up rugby posts in the garden when Dan was a boy so that he could practise regularly. Most successful people put in hours of practice at the skills they need to reach the top.

In the stadium, the 30,000 New Zealanders were happy with the score. The 25,000 strong French crowd were not so happy. Nor were the French team.

The French instinct is to run with the ball but the orders from the bench were to kick. The French missed a second penalty but then Beauxis kicked the next one over. 13-3

As a boy, Lionel Beauxis, watched his father, Patrick, kick the ball 60 metres in his bare feet, and decided to develop the same power and prowess. His father had, like Dan Carter's father, put up rugby posts in his garden when Lionel was only twelve years old.

Beauxis had also been inspired by the great All Black fly half, Andrew Mehrtens, who never seemed to miss a kick: Beauxis commented:

"The first match I saw when I was very small, I especially remember a penalty by Andrew Mehrtens. I was always kicking a ball. If there was only a flower on the field, I would kick it."

Successful people look at someone who is outstanding and take steps to become like them. The unsuccessful tell themselves they will never be as good.

At half time, Thomas Castaignede, the French commentator, said: "If the French continue the way they are playing they will lose but if they play entertaining football they might win."

France started the second half with some determined attacks down both flanks. The players seemed to have been given permission to run with the ball rather than try to kick it at every opportunity.

A penalty for obstruction went to France who gained another three points. 13-6

Carter tried a drop goal and missed. Thierry Dusatoir of Toulouse, on the other hand, scored a try and Beauxis converted it. 13-13 France were now looking to play rugby!

France had had a taste of success and began to feel they could score and even go on to beat the New Zealand team. The All Blacks who looked like they could score at will in the first half were now finding it hard to get points.

They had failed to kill off the French when they had the chance. Successful people do not cruise when they are on top of things. They push on to keep the momentum and the victory going.

France, the tournament hosts, were now head to head with the tournament favourites. The Northern Hemisphere were stacking up much better than

expected against their Southern Hemisphere opponents.

New Zealand came back at the French and scored a try. They now had a narrow lead of five points. 18-13.

Frederic Michalak was sent on after 67 minutes to rescue the quarter final for France. He replaced Beauxis.

One minute later, Michalak sprinted 25m and spun round as the tacklers closed in. He gave the ball to Yannick Jauzion who scored a try which sent the French fans into ecstasy.

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, the French scrum half, converted the try and France were in the lead for the first time. 18-20 with ten minutes to play.

Sometimes things just go your way. French winger Vincent Clerc was going nowhere and took a swing at the ball. It sailed 60m and took a lucky bounce into touch. The French crowd rejoiced! Fate was on their side.

New Zealand attacked desperately and even tried a drop kick which failed. The French defence held firm against attack after attack and France had won the match!

October 6th 2007 will go down in history as one of the great days in rugby. Two underdogs, England and France, had beaten two favourites - the invincible Australians and the unbeatable All Blacks!

This was a happy day for all who feel like underdogs. There is hope for us all!

The joy of France contrasted with the misery of New Zealand. The All Blacks now have to wait another four years to get another shot at the world cup.

No one thought France would do it but they did. They played with passion and skill and then shut the game down to win by two points.

Thomas Castaignede celebrated: "If we can beat the All Blacks we can win the world cup."

Like a true Frenchman, he had the courtesy to say 'Sorry' to Sean FitzPatrick, the New Zealand commentator, for knocking his team out of the tournament!

Martin Bayfield who presented the game summed up the whole day: "The much maligned Northern Hemisphere found its heart today. Green and gold and all black were overshadowed by white and blue today. It feels pretty good to me."

In Paris there was ecstasy. People hugged each other, danced and sang in the streets. Back in England, I was delighted and could hardly believe what had happened. If the world cup had ended on that Saturday, I would not have minded. I now knew for certain that miracles are possible!

Both England and France had proved that you can do the impossible not once but twice and that miracles still do happen in the 21st century.

What success lessons can we learn and apply to our own lives? I need these lessons as much as anyone else.

Create your own image of the difficulties ahead. Don't exaggerate them or let others exaggerate them. Exaggerating problems is one way to stop your dreams dead.

Realize that the way you look can raise or lower your self-confidence. Take steps to look the part whatever it is.

Mingle with successful people to pick up their mindset and habits

Put in hours of practice at the skills you need to reach your goals.

Look at someone who is outstanding and take steps to become like them. Don't tell yourself that you will never be as good.

Do not take it easy when you are on top of things. Push on to keep the momentum and the victory going.

Believe that you can do the impossible and you just might achieve not just one but two or more miracles.

Remember Saturday, October 6th 2007 for the rest of your life! Allez les blancs et les bleus!

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 of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 6 - Crazy Horse

Rugby, like all sports, can teach anyone how to achieve competitive success and how not to achieve it! It can also teach basic principles that apply to achieving success of any type.

On Friday 28th Sept 2007, England played Tonga in another must win pool game.

The Tongans have a reputation as the wild men of world rugby but they don't agree with this image of themselves. They have, however, been given more cards for fouls than any other team in the 2007 world cup.

They believe that rugby is a contact sport for men and dish out their own form of punishment to the opposition: "You stamp on the soft tissue but you don't stamp on the head or the crown jewels." They believe in limited violence!

Belief in God also plays its part big time in the Tongan psyche. They pray as a team nightly. Their team preacher tells them: "Our Lord can do any things, especially impossible things."

The Tongans believe in angels as well: "All the angels in heaven are supporting us."

Certainly the French crowd were supporting them!

Lewis Moody had returned to the English team. He is called 'Crazy Horse'. Crazy Horse was the Lakota war leader involved in the battle of the Little Big Horn where Custer was killed. Every successful team needs an inspired warrior to lead them in competition or in battle.

Martin Johnson, England's world cup winning captain, was pleased by Moody's return:

"He will bring a huge amount of energy to the game. We showed against Samoa that we can hit these guys too. At some point tonight, it is going to come head to head It is about winning those collisions We need to step up the intensity and tempo of this game. We need to out work and out hit these guys and then they will have no where to go."

The Tongans performed their haka or siva tau and moved forward staring right into the faces of the England team. The England fans sang "Swing Low Sweet Chariot!" at the same time and almost drowned out the sounds of the siva tau.

It was a case of England winning or going out. If they won, they would go to Marseilles for the quarter finals to meet Australia as the underdog but an underdog which was beginning to bite.

Tonga scored a penalty 3-0. Then Jonny Wilkinson scored one for England 3-3. Next Tonga slid over the line on the greasy surface to score a try. 10-3

England came back with an amazing try as Wilkinson kicked to Paul Sackey who caught the ball after it hit him in the face. Paul landed on his knees and got the ball down just before he slid over the dead ball line. 10-8

Barkley missed a drop kick but Wilkinson didn't. 10-11 to England. Then Wilkinson scored another three points with a penalty kick. 10-14. Things were going England's way. Wilkinson seldom misses because he practices kicking

for hours on end. Successful people realize the need for constant, regular practice.

Sackey, the English winger, intercepted a ball and streaked away to score. It is fair to say that he was enjoying his world cup. He had rediscovered his zip and try scoring ability.

England led 10-19 at half time but Tonga never give up. Greenwood was concerned: "We are inviting Tonga back in to the game. No wonder Brian Ashton has no blooming hair left."

Tonga kicked a penalty. 13-19 Tonga still believed they could win. They had good reason to believe. They had beaten the USA and Samoa and had pushed South Africa all the way.

Mathew Tait scored a try for England which was converted. 13-26.

Tonga were looking tired. Andy Farrell scored another try for England between the posts. This was the first try for this ex Rugby league man. Jonny converted it. 13-33

Jonny then scored a drop goal. 13-36. Tonga finished the game with another sliding try which was brilliantly converted. 20-36

Australia would now be waiting and licking their vengeful lips at the opportunity to defeat England in the quarter finals. They had waited four years to avenge their defeat by England in the finals of the last world cup.

The Tongan players gathered for a prayer. They could leave this world cup with their heads held high and their reputation enhanced.

Jonny Wilkinson commented on England's victory: "It's satisfying but we have a long way to go."

Lewis Moody had nearly knocked himself out several times chasing the ball and tackling ferociously. He had fully justified his name of 'crazy horse' and had inspired the whole England team and the spectators with his courageous example.

England had maintained their record of always reaching the quarter finals of the world cup and it looked like the team had started to enjoy the game of rugby again.

When you get to the knockout stages anything is possible.

Wales, however, did not make it to the quarter finals. Fiji beat Wales in one of the most exciting games of the world cup. The final score was Wales 34 Fiji 38.

Wales went out of the world cup. Gareth Thomas, the skipper, felt he had let the nation down and the coach, Gareth Jenkins, was sacked the following day.

Scotland did better than Wales in their next game against Italy. The wily Scottish coach who had rested his best players against the All Blacks said that a good start gives you the confidence to do well in the rest of the game.

The Scots started with a bang and ended up with a narrow victory thanks to consistent kicking by their main goal kicker, Chris Paterson, who is probably one of the best two kickers in world rugby. He kicked six penalties to allow Scotland to win 18-16 even though Italy was the only side to score a try.

Scotland were now through to the last eight.

France beat Georgia convincingly 64-7 on Sunday 30th September. They had scored nine tries. France were now on top of Pool D but needed Ireland to beat Argentina if they wanted to stay there and avoid playing the All Blacks in Cardiff next week in the quarter finals.

Another key match took place on that Sunday. Underperforming Ireland faced Argentina. The Irish had the full support of France. Thomas Castaignede was wearing a green hat: "Argentina can send us on the road to hell."

If Ireland did not beat Argentina, France would end up enduring the hell of playing a fierce and talented All Black team in a foreign land (Wales).

A French placard said: "Allez Les Verts!"

An Irishman commented: "We have to play much better than we have been doing and we need to take our opportunities when they come."

The Irish captain, O'Driscoll, said: "If we are to die, we must die fighting."

However, Argentina have the best defensive record in the whole world cup and they won the battle of the anthems. They were singing with tears running down their faces. Back home, the whole nation was following their progress.

Ireland went for it in the first seven minutes. Their minds were focused on scoring the four tries they needed to get to the quarter finals. They camped in the Argentinian half but did not score.

Now Argentina came back and had a good spell. They scored a try which was a stake in the heart of Irish ambition. 5-0 Then Ireland scored a penalty goal 5-3. Argentina countered with a drop goal 8-3

Argentina were starting to look good The crowd were all for Ireland but the Argentinians didn't care. These were difficult moments for Ireland. They had to stay positive and hope that things would open up for them later.

The Irish had to dent Argentina's self belief as well as ignite their own. O'Driscoll did just that by scoring Ireland's first try.

Ireland 10-8 Now there was a totally different feel to the game. You could almost see the Guiness flowing and feel the belief in the Irish camp.

Hernandez, the brilliant Argentinian kicker, scored a drop goal to prick Ireland's bubble. 10-11 Argentina were winning by a narrow margin.

Argentina scored a try. 10-18. The pumas were smelling the sweet aroma of being in the last eight teams of the world cup. They were half way to four tries and the bonus point which would put them in the quarter final whatever Ireland did.

For Ireland, this game was always going to be a cliff hanger. Their finger tips were being removed from the edge of the cliff one by one

After half time, Argentina scored another three points 21-10

Then Irish back, Jordan Murphy, scored a try. 21-15 Once more, the dream flickered alive for Ireland.

Argentina must keep their momentum going and win if they wanted to go far in the world cup. They scored through a penalty.

15-24 for Argentina. Another penalty for a high tackle 15-27 to Argentina

Hernandez scored a drop goal off his left foot - a hat trick. 15-30

Argentina could now go back to their hotel believing anything was possible. This has been a definitive win and they had laughed in the face of the D word (the pool of death).

Ireland had never been beyond the quarterfinals of a world cup before. They did not even get that far this time. France would now have to play the All Blacks in Wales.

Thomas Castaignede said: "We have done it before, eight years ago. I hope we can do it again. Argentina have sent us on the road to hell. So let's do it."

Eddie O'Sullivan, the Irish coach commented: "It's been a tough world cup for us. It's not for the want of trying but that's the way it goes."

Augustin Pichot, the Argentinian captain summed up their achievement: "We just wanted to win the four games and we did it." Successful people make a plan and stick to it."

Paul Wallace commented "The Irish can leave with their heads held high. They just need to get back on their horse and then start looking to the next world cup."

Seam Fitz Patrick, the former All Black Captain was not so kind: "They've been living on past glories and not doing it out in the pitch. They had an opportunity and have lost that opportunity."

Successful people continue to seek fresh glory rather than rely on past victories for their reputation.

Francoise Pienaar, the former South African Captain, was equally blunt: "They were not facing the truth and were looking for excuses."

Successful people ignore possible excuses and focus on winning..

Several success lessons can be learned from the rugby games described above.

God or the Universe can do any thing, especially impossible things. With God's help so can you.

If you believe that God and the angels are on your side, they will be.

Dr. Robert Anthony wrote: "All our experiences have led us to believe certain things about ourselves. Whether these beliefs are true or not really doesn't matter because if we accept them as true then they are true for us."

Every successful team needs an inspired warrior or 'crazy horse' to lead them in competition or in battle. If necessary, become the 'crazy horse' yourself and fight like mad to achieve your goals and dreams. Others will follow you.

If you are the underdog make sure you are an underdog who bites hard.

Realize the need for constant, regular practice. Daily repetition even if it is tough and boring brings mastery.

If you face death and/or disaster you might as well go out fighting!

Stay positive in tough times and hope that things will open up for you later.

Dent the self belief of your competitors but ignite your own.

Make a plan and stick to it.

Seek fresh glory rather than rely on past glories.

Do not make excuses for your poor performances. Get back on your horse immediately and try again.

John Watson is a fifth degree martial art instructor who has written articles and ebooks on the life and success lessons you can learn from sports whether you like sport or not. One of his ebooks on this theme can be found at: http://www.lifelessonsfromsport.com

His motivational ebooks can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com

Mason switches to rugby union

Updated May 23, 2011 06:12:00

Controversial rugby league star Willie Mason switched codes on Sunday after signing a one-year contract with big-spending French rugby club Toulon.

The 31-year-old - who can play at centre or in the back row - had been sacked by his Super League club Hull KR on Saturday just three months into his three year contract after it learnt he had been to Toulon to meet with the club's directors.

Toulon has become known as one of European rugby union's biggest-spending clubs and currently have the likes of England great Jonny Wilkinson and troublesome Wales international centre Gavin Henson in their squad.

The club has been reported to have offered Mason 395,000 euros ($531,000) per year and club president Mourad Boudjellal said they had offered him a year's extension to his contract should he make 15 starts next season.

The former Canterbury, Sydney Roosters and North Queensland NRL player will reportedly play for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham next Sunday and then again against Wales on June 4.

"I'm just so excited to be playing rugby and I'm looking forward to the challenge," Mason told the Sun Herald on Sunday.

"I've certainly jumped in the deep end in agreeing to play for the Barbarians without having any rugby experience.

"If you ask all the boys, I've always told them I've wanted to have a crack at rugby and I've always been the type to jump in at the deep end, and I'm ready to try the best I can to make an instant switch."

Mason has been involved in controversial incidents throughout his career.

These include testing positive for a recreational drug in 2003, being banned for one match after knocking out Great Britain forward Stuart Fielden during a Tri-Nations match in Sydney in 2006 and receiving a fine for urinating in a public place in 2009.

He is the 11th new signing by Toulon, which has had a disappointing season in failing to reach the Top 14 title play-offs.

Its most high profile acquisitions have been Wallabies back Matt Giteau, Springbok World Cup winning lock Bakkies Botha and exciting French international back Alexis Palisson.

- AAP/AFP

Tags: rugby-league, rugby-union, australia, sydney-2000, townsville-4810, france

First posted May 23, 2011 06:11:00

View the original article here

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 7 - Swing Low Sweet Chariot!

Rugby, like all sports, can teach anyone how to achieve competitive success and how not to achieve it! It also teaches principles that can bring spectacular success both in sport and outside sport.

The quarter finals had arrived in France at last on Saturday, Oct 6th 2007. The best eight teams in the world were ready to do or die! Competition is intense in the knockout stage of any tournament and anything can happen.

However, few people believed that England would conquer Australia, the most successful nation in the World Cup Series. Australia had played well in the years before the world cup and had defeated all their rivals in the pool stage of the world cup itself. England, on the other hand, had suffered a humiliating defeat in the pool stage.

The majority of spectators were in for a big shock in the quarter finals. Those who had lost their belief in miracles found out that miracles still do occur and that the impossible really is possible.

Successful people often believe in miracles and that they can defeat in the present whatever has defeated them in the past.

England played Australia in Marseilles. Australia were considered to be winners who were out for revenge for past losses. England were now thought of as losers and the worst world champions in the entire world series.

England's defeat against South Africa by 36 - 0 in the pool stages had made most of their fans give up all hope of victory against Australia. England appeared to be on their way out of the tournament.

However, the humiliating defeat against South Africa had changed the mental attitude in the England camp. Humiliation and abject failure can be the starting point for success!

Will Greenwood, the English rugby legend and commentator said:

"The weather is stinking hot. In the first part of the game, England need to come out of the blocks storming and creating panic in the ranks of the opposition. They need to play like a mad dog or like 'crazy horse' Moody."

Greenwood continued: "Lewis Moody gives England a sense of madness and of something being possible. England need to play with commitment bordering on recklessness. We have to put doubts in the minds of the Australians. Action today will speak a hundred times louder than the one word - revenge."

Successful people know that at times they must go a little crazy and take extreme steps to succeed.

An interviewer spoke to the England hero, Jonny Wilkinson: "Millions will be watching and saying 'Jonny's there; we'll be fine.'"

Jonny Wilkinson replied: "That's good for them. They'll soon see that rugby is about fifteen players against fifteen. Everyone must hold up their hand and be counted. You just need to get your head down and trust what you are doing and give everything. You just give it your best shot and you leave the field with your head held high."

If England were to win it would take fifteen heroic performances. Could England defy the odds and send Australia back home from Marseilles? Very few people believed that they could.

History would count for nothing. It was all about the here and now. England had one last chance to escape the debris of their disappointing four year reign as World Champions since their victory in 2003.

England accepted the fact that they were seen as underdogs. Australia had beaten England in their last four meetings but would England be ready to accept another defeat?

England started the game explosively but Australia had the first chance of points. Mortlock missed a penalty. He was then given a second chance and scored three points. 0-3 to Australia.

He later missed another controversial penalty. England's rugby song 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' broke out.

'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' was composed by Wallis Willis, a one-time slave of a Choctaw Indian in the old Indian Territory. He was inspired by the Red River which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah being taken to heaven by a chariot.

The chariot in the song was a kind of heavenly taxi that came to earth near the river Jordan to take Elijah up to heaven - a major miracle in those days.

As Elijah went up, he dropped his mantle, a symbol of his power, for Elisha to pick up. Elisha continued the miracles performed by his mentor. Successful people believe in miracles and in repeating or even outdoing the performances of their mentors. England needed a miracle badly.

England played well with some skilful passing and kicking and they achieved a penalty a fair distance from the Australian posts. Wilkinson scored with an excellent kick 3-3. He then had the opportunity for another one. The kick went over and England were leading 6-3

England were playing on the front foot and winning the contact - exactly what the doctor ordered. 'Swing Low' broke out again. Wilkinson missed a penalty but England were playing with confidence and had something to build on.

Australia may have been complacent but they now scored a try - a good riposte to England's dominant period of play. The big Australian backs had hurt England. First tackles were missed and this put England under pressure.

6-10 to Australia. Wilkinson missed another kick. Half time arrived. England could start to lift their ambitions. There was reason for hope. Australia led but this was a close match.

Lynagh, the Australian commentator and former rugby legend, was enjoying the game: "England have come to play and they are playing the best they have for a long time."

Will Greenwood was hopeful: "The first half was dynamic in thought and deed. We need to keep the intensity going for the next forty minutes. England need to up the pace when they can."

Some of the England team were defying their birth certificates and the hot weather. Successful people avoid making excuses!

Wilkinson scored a penalty won by the England forwards who were winning the scrums. 9-10. Australia now attacked with energy. Martin Johnson commented: "This game right now is in the balance. Whoever scores the next points should win."

Suddenly, the impossible could be dreamed about. The Australians were off side and Wilkinson kicked a penalty. 12-10 to England!

The English pack had turned a small hope into one of massive expectation. They needed to keep the ball now and test Australia's mental powers and self-belief.

It was fairly subdued in Marseilles. The England crowd couldn't quite believe that they were within minutes of beating the Australians favourites.

Wilkinson missed a crucial penalty. Five minutes left to play! Mortlock, in turn, missed a penalty which would have given Australia the match. Two minutes without a score from Australia and England would win.

Two minutes seemed like hours. They passed without any further scoring and England had won! The self belief of the Australians had drained away and, at the end, England had the self-belief.

England were now into the semis against either France or the All Blacks. Marseilles was turning white. The day that was meant to be Australian green and gold was English white.

Sport and life can do amazing things. It was England's third world cup win in a row against Australia. The match was a thunderbolt with Australia on the losing end of it!

Martin Johnson commented: "I woke up thinking Australia would win in the hot weather but I think the Australians thought that they only had to turn up to win the game."

Andy Gomarsall, the attacking English scrum half, commented: "I cannot believe it. Quite honestly, I cannot believe it!"

"How did you do it?"

"Sheer grit and bloody mindedness. It wasn't pretty. We believed we could do it. There were plenty that believed we couldn't. The forward pack were phenomenal. They got a turnover and went mad. They inspired us to a victory."

The England team had been vindicated. They had beaten the most successful team in world cup history. Jason Robinson found words to say:

"Every man and his dog had written us off. Today was our day. We just dug deep. It was great to do it for the crowd."

Some one else said: "As long as those thirty guys believed in themselves - that's the key. The Australians must feel they've gone back to the scene of an accident and crashed again."

Lynagh commented: "England were just too strong up front for Australia. The big hits from all the England players shook the ball loose. You could see the belief building in the stadium."

Phil Vickery, the England captain exclaimed: "Fantastic atmosphere!"

"How did you do it?"

"I don't know really. A bit of belief, dogged determination. We just tried our guts out."

An interviewer questioned Nick Easter, a powerful England forward: "How do you feel, Nick?"

Nick's was still angry with the English press who had slated England from the start of the tournament:

"Good, to be fair. I'd like to thank the press from the heart of my bottom for all the support they've given us over the last weeks. A few guys have given us a slight siege mentality to pull off a victory like that and its now onwards and upwards.

"Well, you saw a fully committed performance from all fifteen players. We destroyed them up front. We had a good look in their eyes at about the 50th minute and we knew we would win. We proved people outside our changing room wrong. Not inside our changing room. It was a bit of an insult to be underdogs in this game to be perfectly honest but we knew we could win and have done the job."

England had missed some opportunities to score points in the match but had just fought back when this happened. Andrew Sheridan, a top England front row forward was asked for his opinion:

"It was an effort from everyone. Every one put themselves on the line today. There always are nervous moments against Australia. They never give up until the end."

"How long did it take before you started believing England would win?"

"79 minutes and 80 seconds!"

England had shoved the words of their critics back down their throats. They had remembered who they were - the world champions of 2003. Meanwhile thirty Wallabies would be back home in Australia watching the semi-finals on TV!

The England v Australia quarter final can change your life if you study and apply its lessons. It teaches the following success principles:

Believe in miracles and believe that you can defeat in the present whatever has defeated you in the past.

Your humiliations and failures can be the starting points for success!

At times, you may have to go a little crazy and go to extremes to succeed!

Realize that success usually involves team work. Everyone must hold up their hand and be counted. Don't hesitate to ask for help and support from others when necessary.

Give it your best shot and then, whatever else happens, you can stand tall and hold your head high.

Repeat the performances of your mentors even if they seemed like miracle workers. Try to outdo them.

Don't let your birth certificate or the weather deflect you from success. Avoid excuses.

Try your guts out. Belief is not enough on its own. Work and believe.

Success may demand sheer grit and bloody mindedness.

Believe that you can achieve your goals. There are plenty that believe you can't.

Show both belief and dogged determination.

If you do all the above, you should, one day, see that chariot arriving to take you to heaven and you might even be able to pass on the mantle of your power to others before you go!

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 of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Success Lessons From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup - Part 1

There are few if any new success lessons. But we may well need reminding of the ones we already know. A good way to remind ourselves is to see these success laws applied in different environments. One exciting environment is sport.

Like most sports, rugby teaches useful success and goal achieving lessons which apply both to rugby and to life in general. Both men and women now play rugby and the popularity of the game is increasing world wide.

The rugby union world cup started in France, the host country, with a shock result on Friday Sept 7th 2007.

France, one of the favourites to win the world cup, were beaten, on their home ground, by Argentina. Argentina scored the only try of the match. My step brother, who always has something witty to say, commented:

"Don't score a try for me, Argentina!"

It was the first try of the world cup.

If France get through their first phase games by coming only second in their group, they will have to face the powerful All Blacks in the quarter finals and might be out of the competition well before the final.

France probably lost against Argentina because they were trying too hard in front of a critical Parisian crowd and made too many mistakes.

Nervousness and lack of confidence often lead to mistakes. The referee also came in for some blame from the losing side as one might expect!

Any one who wants to achieve success needs to show confidence or at least pretend to be confident even when under the gaze of a critical audience. They also need to stop blaming others and to take responsibility for their own progress.

The English World Champions played the USA on Saturday 8th September at Lens in France.

Clive Ashton and 'raging bull' Phil Vickery, the captain, laid a wreath at British war graves on the way there. This would give the team a sense of perspective.

Most of our goals are not matters of life or death and should not be taken too seriously at the expense of higher values.

Ashton gave his team a pep talk telling them to expect to win the world cup and not just to be content with coming third even if their fans thought that was a good result.

"The only expectation I can have when we come to a world cup tournament is to win it. What's the point in wanting to finish bl***** third because the rest of the country think that's pretty good from where England are. Who gives a monkey's!"

Jim Rosenthal, the commentator, asked him if he really believed England could win the cup again:

"I do believe it but it's even more important though that the players believe it. I don't cross that white line; I don't go onto the field. They do and they've got to take that belief with them into the tournament.

"My sense is that they are starting now to operate in that way. The players have worked exceptionally hard and we are now prepared to give everything we've got for our country and this tournament."

Again and again in every sport and human activity the importance of belief and the expectation of victory is stressed. Without some belief, we won't start any project and won't try to win any game.

Denis Waitley has described belief as an ignition switch:

"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad."

Belief can come through taking small steps and succeeding and then moving on to bigger things. It can also come through affirmations. Claude M. Bristol (1891-1951) the author of 'The Magic Of Believing' wrote:

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."

Jim asked Martin Johnson, England's world cup winning captain: " Do you deep down believe England can go all the way again?

"We don't really know till they play a game. If they win that South Africa game confidence will build up. They have to play and prove it to themselves that they are playing at a higher level.

"We can win against South Africa and then we can go on from there. I wouldn't worry right now about retaining this trophy. I'd worry about Saturday and then the following Friday."

Martin's belief is pragmatic and based on previous results. It is probably more reliable than belief based mainly on pride and the desire to win. One of the England coaches said later that the only way to gain confidence is to win.

Jonny Wilkinson, another English legend, was interviewed before the team left for France. He was asked what tips he had for kids:

Working as a team has value both for sport and life as well.

Try and improve daily even if it is not in rugby

Write down your goals. There is much evidence that actually writing out your goals daily even if they are the same goals makes it more likely that they will be achieved.

Get excited about the things you can do well. Excitement and enthusiasm get things done.

Have high expectations but realise that others may have the same expectations as you.

Jonny was asked what his expectations for the tournament were:

"We can beat any one if we play at our best but we know that there at least ten other teams that can say the same thing."

England did win against the USA but not easily. The American team put up a tough fight as you would expect. The final score was UK 28 USA 10.

England were criticised for a lack lustre performance. Some of the English team ignored the criticism by not reading the papers; others used the criticism as motivation and couldn't wait to ram the words down the throats of their critics.

It is usually far more effective to encourage rather than to criticize.

Jason Robinson, another English legend, commented:

"Encouragement is like oxygen to the soul. Unfortunately, too many people are looking to us to fail. We are not here to get second place."

England had the points but the USA had the pride. The England team were disappointed. The coach told them they had won but had things to work on.

Martin Johnson believed that England had made far too many mistakes.

The former cup winning South African commentator, Francois Pienaar, said:

"England should be fitter and stronger and show more urgency. Execution should have been better. If South Africa should play like that tomorrow, I should be very disappointed.

"Where's that urgency around the rucks and the mauls. When there is an opportunity did they take it? It comes down to the urgency again."

After only a few games of the world cup several success lessons emerge:

Nervousness and lack of confidence in front of a critical audience can lead to mistakes both in sport and in ordinary life. It is important to be confident or, at least, to pretend to be confident!

Stop blaming other people, like referees, and take responsibility for your own progress.

Many goals are not matters of life or death and should not be taken too seriously at the expense of higher values.

Have high expectations whatever other people think. Don't accept the limitations that they place on you.

Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad and into action.

The repetition of affirmations can lead to belief. Once belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

Successful results lead to greater confidence. Some argue that the only way to gain confidence is to win.

Write down your goals. There is much evidence that actually writing out your goals daily even if they are the same goals makes it more likely that they will be achieved.

Use criticism to motivate yourself to try harder

Encourage yourself and others since encouragement is like oxygen to the soul.

Show more urgency if you want to succeed. Don't hang around waiting for something to happen or for someone else to make it happen. Take speedy action yourself to make things happen.

Mike Litman has noticed that successful people act from a sense of urgency:

"There's an URGENCY to accomplish tasks. There's an URGENCY to live their dreams. There's an URGENCY to get things done. They're ATTACKING vs. WAITING. Big difference. Huge difference. None of us are going to live 'till 150 years old."

We all need to get moving now before we no longer can. We need to act today rather than tomorrow! This key success principle is summed up by the well known words: Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!

There are very few new success principles; we just need to keep reminding ourselves of what they are.

Above all, we need to do what the principles suggest every single day.

John Watson's most recent ebook takes a look at several sports and the lessons we can learn from them. These lessons, if applied, could transform your life into an extraordinary one.

http://www.motivationtoday.com/how_to_win_the_game_of_life.php

Success Tips From The 2007 Rugby Union World Cup Part 11 - The Gambler Advises England

Like all sports, rugby provides success lessons which apply both to sport and to life in general. The World Cup has been an event full of shocks, incidents and comments which teach success lessons that could apply to anyone.

On Saturday Oct 13th 2007, England faced France for one of the great semi-finals of the world cup. England, after defeating Australia in the quarter finals, were, at last, feeling like winners. The English team had had four years of failure since they became world champions in 2003.

Now, after beating one of the favourites to win the cup, Australia, England were only one step away from the final! What had turned the England team into rottweilers instead of poodles to use the metaphor of John Inverdale, the sports commentator?

Possibly, England were so humiliated by their 36-0 defeat by South Africa early in the competition that they had been stung into finding the energy and will to turn the tables on those who had ridiculed them as the worst world champions in world cup history.

Possibly England had started to win because they had decided to ditch beautiful, flowing rugby in favour of the tactics hinted at in Kenny Rogers' hit song 'The Gambler'. This song had become a favourite of the England team during the world cup.

In the song, a man who is down on his luck (i.e. the England team for the last four years) is given advice by a washed up gambler who tells him:

"If you're gonna play the game, boy,

Ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold'em,

Know when to fold'em,

Know when to walk away,

Know when to run."

The England players interpreted the song as teaching them to hold the ball in the scrum as they pushed their way into the opponent's half. They would then pass the ball to 'golden boots', Jonny Wilkinson, who would score a great drop goal or they would get a penalty in enemy territory which Jonny would kick over to score them points. These tactics lacked glamour but were effective!

England now needed to beat the dangerous French who had conquered the unconquerable All Blacks last week. Eighty minutes of huge effort and skill would be needed for England to reach the final.

It had also been seven long years since England had won in Paris! They would be fighting the French on French territory. The situation reminded the English of former battles on French soil!

A friend sent me a 'You Tube' video of the Kenneth Branagh film about the battle of Agincourt in 1415 which showed Henry V encouraging his small and sick underdog army as they faced the might of France in France.

The captions applied his words to the English rugby team. The original words from Shakespeare sum up the feelings of the English before this match. They provide a kind of English 'Haka'. The Marseillaise may do the same for the French.

In Shakespeare's play 'Henry V', a duke tells Henry that he wishes that ten thousand men who were not working on St Crispin's day (the day of the battle) could be with them in France.

Henry tells him that he is quite happy with the number of men he already has and does not wish to share the glory with any others. In fact, he gives permission for any one who wishes to leave France to do so:

"We would not die in that man's company

That fears his fellowship to die with us."

Henry proclaims that he would be happy to die with just a few of his brothers who were willing to shed their blood with him.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile.

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

This do or die spirit was summed up by the tattoo on the arm of Phil Vickery, the England captain: "I will fight you to the death!" Phil realized the size of the challenge the English faced: "We are going to have to give body and soul to get through."

Several success lessons emerge from Henry's speech and the situation of the English in France. Henry turned a negative into a positive. The fewer men he had, the more glory they would all have. He was ready to face death in the company of a select band of brothers.

The English rugby team do not kiss each other before a rugby match like the more openly emotional French but they do have the occasional hug! They are ready to put themselves on the line for their team mates.

Successful teamwork and esprit de corps can make a huge difference in ordinary life as well as in rugby. The right words can do the same.

Many a team manager or leader of any kind has discovered how the power of words can transform defeat into victory and failure into success. Everyone needs to fill their minds with powerful words that encourage action rather than paralysis.

France had beaten England in their last two meetings before the world cup but the French legend, Thomas Castaignede, warned: "Too much confidence can be bad. We saw that in the past."

Successful people are confident but not complacent.

David Ellis, the French defence coach, was described by one of the French forwards: "He is an English with a French spirit!"

He is also a blunt Yorkshireman. He was asked: ""Good luck! Will you need it?" "No. Don't think so." He was in danger of underestimating his own country men.

Martin Johnson, England's former world cup winning captain, stressed once again the importance of belief and doubt in achieving any success:

"If France lose in France it will be a disaster for them. We have to make France doubt. We have to put doubt into their minds."

Rugby had "left the age of reason for dead last Saturday when England beat Australia and France conquered New Zealand. It had entered the world of heart, emotion and belief."

Will Greenwood was worried about which England team would turn up:

"Will it be the bloody minded nasty group of men who made us so proud last week? If it is, we're one step closer to the win. How can you doubt these fifteen men? Keep the faith. They can do this!"

After eighty seconds of the match, Josh Lewsey followed up a cunning kick from Andy Gomarsall and scored an amazing try. The English team and fans began to believe that victory was possible.

The English team had started with the sense of urgency which they had lacked previously. They had also charged down several French kicks which nearly led to points. One commentator remarked:

"France are rocked and England are believing!" 5-0

France gained a penalty. 5-3 Beauxis kicked a second penalty and France now led. 5-6

Jonny Wilkinson never backs out of a big decision. He will always back himself but he was not on form and had missed three difficult kicks. However, he had also made some 'fantastic' tackles.

Both the English and French teams were defending well. Both teams were kicking a lot to avoid making mistakes near their own posts. At half time, England had the try but France had a one point lead. 5-6

After half time, England gave away another penalty. 5-9 to France.

Then, England gained a penalty. Wilkinson scored with a difficult kick. 8-9

'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' rang out from the English fans. Soon the Marseillaise was heard in response from the French home crowd. The Battle of Agincourt was well under way!

The brilliant French fly half, Michalak, came on at fifty-one minutes but "it is not always spoils to the genius and the attacking team. It sometimes is about the graft and the grit."

Everything was possible with 25 minutes to go. Jonny's drop kick hit the post but did not go over. England knew they could win but both teams were very tired. Who would have the courage to take a risk and win?

France looked like the better team but, after last week and with ten minutes to go, you wouldn't bet against anything happening. At 74 minutes England went in front with a penalty kick. 11-9

Then Wilkinson, the man France rightly feared, scored a brilliant drop goal. England led. 14-9

Despite his early failures in the match, Wilkinson like all successful people had kept plugging on with his attempts to reach his own high standards. Later, he commented: "You just go back to it and hope it will go over next time!"

When it mattered, Jonny came through. The papers later said: "Golden boots does it again!"

England were nearly there! France made a last desperate attempt to score the try they needed but the whistle blew and England were in the final of the world cup! Cinderella had arrived at the ball!

The England rugby team has made the nation proud for the second time in four years. The great Webb Ellis trophy would not be handed out by the English world champions without a fight.

England could have given up after being hammered by South Africa and after playing poorly against the USA but they decided to be heroes instead. One hero was Joe Worsley who prevented a certain French try with an amazing tap tackle on the foot of one of the French backs.

England were in ecstasy but France were in mourning. Greenwood remarked joyfully: "World cup finals are coming round like London buses."

Jason Robinson, one of the 'old men' of the England team commented: "We dug deep and have come up with a great win. We know how to close games down. In the last couple of matches we started to play with test match intensity."

Martin Johnson was impressed: "I'm pretty stunned. Those guys have stuck together and have taken their opportunities."

Greenwood was ecstatic: "What's going on? Suck it in! Enjoy it!

France had lost in 2003 to England in the semi-final. History had repeated itself.

Thomas Castaignede, the French commentator in the English camp, looked very sad: "I'm thinking about going back to live in France because I will have a hard time in England!"

Brian Ashton, the former school teacher and England coach, has said all along that: "We have the men to win this cup Trust me!" Now we do.

Few people would have believed in England after they lost against South Africa. However, after one or two good results the English nation started to believe again. By 2003 England had beaten everyone in the world before the world cup. Belief was easy then. By 2007 England had lost to nearly everyone in the world. It was easy to doubt the English team in 2007.

Belief and praise abounded now: "These players have gone out and given it a go!" "Fair play to the boys. They dug deep!" "Not bad for a few grumpy old men!" "Amazing group of guys to do what they have done."

Thomas Castaignede was gracious in defeat: "Sometimes when we have confidence we don't manage to continue. England deserved their victory. Jonny makes a difference. He tackles well and gives confidence."

Jonny knew how to be gracious in victory: "That was an incredible game by the French. My body has never felt so sore. We've learnt by going one game at a time."

Back home, the English fans were starting to believe that England could win the world cup again. If England won the final, they would be the first team in history to win back to back world cups.

Brian Ashton, the English coach, praised the team's bulldog spirit:

"They have come so far I can't imagine they will be content with just reaching the final. They will want to make history."

Several great success lessons emerge from this rerun of the battle of Agincourt!

Turn the tables on those who ridicule you and decide to be a hero rather than a has been. Decide to have the last laugh.

Choose what works over what looks good.

Turn negatives into positives and appreciate the people you have.

Be ready to face 'death' in the company of a band of brothers.

Listen to or read words of power. Fill your mind with powerful words that encourage action rather than paralysis.

Be confident but not complacent. Make others doubt rather than yourself.

Sometimes ignore reason and believe with your heart and feelings.

Act with a sense of urgency!

Graft and grit can conquer talent. Hard work can even create its own talent!

Keep plugging away when you fail and hope you will succeed next time.

Seize your opportunities when they come.

Go out and give it a go! Who knows what will happen?

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 of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above.