Crestfallen

I have just watched the Ireland versus Scotland game of the Rugby World Cup. The cameras moved to the Scottish dressing room towards the end of half time and the announcer summed up the scene. ‘’They look crestfallen,’’ he said. That was the perfect word to describe those men – heads down, exhausted and downright dejected. Whilst they had played magnificently, the score was not reflecting their effort, with a 26 – nil score against them. The Irish defence had been too strong. Towards the end of the second half, after several changes to both sides and finally back to their full numbers after a player was sinbinned, the team went on to score their first try. That was the inspiration they needed and they soon scored again, with the game ending 36 – 14 to Ireland.

Humans can achieve great feats when they have 100 per cent belief in themselves. Watching the demeanor of those players change after they scored that first try was incredible. Finally, they had a glimmer of hope, that they could achieve some points. Every single team member was lifted, and they played as if they had just started the game. The crowd responded as well, buoyed by the team’s new found confidence and enthusiasm.

So much of sport and our lives is actually governed by the mental aspect. If we allow even a tiny glimmer of uncertainty to enter our thoughts, that can give an opposing team the upper hand, with that glimmer becoming a giant chasm very quickly. It is so hard to remain positive when a score is rising so much against us, yet with even the slightest hope, the chasm of uncertainty can just as quickly turn the other way as happened after that first Scottish try.

But how do we remain optimistic when things have gone against us? How do we change our beliefs to positive ones when the previous experiences have all been negative? If we have lost every game against a particular team, for example, how do we face them knowing we can win? Does it need a win to regain that confidence and belief or does one secure the win after regaining that confidence and belief in the first place?

I know in my case, it is very difficult to turn my beliefs around, if my experiences have all been negative in a particular area. It is repetition that creates a belief in the first place. Many of our beliefs are recreated when we are born, after having been our beliefs and our patterns in our previous lives. Then these are that much harder to shift, because they are so ingrained in our systems. But I know these beliefs repeat, especially the negative ones, so that we can do our work on ourselves, heal and change them. I also recognise that there are cycles, our whole lives are cycles. There is always a down after an up and conversely an up after a down. If we are at rock bottom, there is only one place to go and that is up. Some of these cycles last years, while others happen relatively quickly.

Teams are the same. No team ever stays on top forever.  Players come and go, circumstances change. Whilst it is easy for a winning team to believe in themselves, I am sure the pressure on them is double that of the rising team. Just as there is only one way to go from rock bottom, there is only one way to go from the top. It is just a matter of how long one can stay there.

Our All Blacks meet Ireland next Sunday. Listening to the commentator, who was obviously Irish aligned, bemoaning the fact that the Irish would have to play the All Blacks next and insinuating at the difficulty, we in New Zealand have been feeling exactly the same way about the Irish. But would South Africa have been any better?

I’ll be rooting hard for the All Blacks on Sunday and just hoping they have enough belief in themselves to secure that win, and hoping, that at half time, it is the Irish who are the crestfallen ones and not the All Blacks.