A LEADER AND WINNER – THIS A IS A REAL COUP FOR SCARLETS
THERE have been plenty of rugby players over the years who’ve looked to the stands for a signal – any kind of signal – over what to do next.
Sometimes, the chap scanning the massed bank of supporters searching desperately for his coach might even be the captain.
Sean Fitzpatrick was cut from different cloth.
As with the best on-pitch leaders, the ex-New Zealand skipper didn’t need a coach to tell him what to do in the heat of battle.
The former referee Ed Morrison tells a story about a Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney in 1994 when Australia had opened up a 20-point lead over New Zealand early in the second half.
Fitzpatrick approached Morrison to say: “I’m giving you a warning. We’re going to change the pace of this game.”
There followed an increase in tempo that almost blew Australia, and Morrison, clean away, though the Wallabies did hold on for their win.
No coach made that decision to move from second gear to overdrive in a split second. It was Fitzpatrick, and his players responded. It was leadership of the highest order.
Little wonder Morrison rates him the greatest captain he came into contact with.
That is what the Scarlets have just acquired with the appointment of Fitzpatrick as a non-executive director and global ambassador for the region.
Quite who approached whom isn’t altogether clear.
What is certain is the Scarlets have ambition and wanted to strengthen at board level.
Fitzpatrick, who says Welsh rugby is in his blood after his dad’s loss to Wales in 1953, evidently was keen to have an input and ticked every box for the West Walians. Before you could say Llanelli 9, New Zealand 3 – or even Llanelli 3, New Zealand 81, for that matter – he was at Parc y Scarlets last Tuesday afternoon, smiling for the cameras.
His press release quotes were revealing, with the 57-year-old speaking of the Scarlets’ rich history and their community-based environment “with a total focus on the development of local talent and pride in their achievement”.
For Fitzpatrick, the likelihood is that rich history didn’t start in 2003, when the Welsh game went regional. He’s more likely to consider it a 144year operation – of course he is. He even mentioned Phil Bennett as one of his childhood heroes.
Expect those deep roots of Llanelli rugby to become increasingly spoken
about as the former league champions look to underline and emphasise an already strong culture and the region’s links to the local community.
Fitzpatrick will also add ballast to the Scarlets brand.
Put it this way, a sporting enterprise keen to go places stands more chance of attracting investment if one of the men making up the pitch is a bona-fide legend.
Whether we like it or not – and many don’t – money matters more than ever in rugby and bringing as much of the stuff into a club or region is key.
As welcome as it is for Jones the Butcher or Dai the Milk to throw a few bob the way of any team, assistance on a such a scale isn’t going to lead to a conquest of Europe any century soon.
But a major organisation willing to pay for its name to be associated with a sporting brand?
Now we’re talking.
And having a big hitter such as Fitzpatrick on your team will undoubtedly help convince potential backers of the seriousness of your operation. In a crowded market for investment and sponsorship, faces matter.
Potential sponsors and investors are only human: they, like the rest of us, are keen to be made to feel special and having Sean Fitzpatrick offering his hand to take, or even an elbow to bump, will do it for many.
The ex-hooker’s standing and track record will carry clout.
Maybe his presence in the Welsh game will inspire beyond Llanelli.
A while back he made a presentation to a business conference at which he revealed some of his secrets to those present.
“I grew up in Auckland,” he said. “My father was an All Black in the 1950s. He was involved in the last team to lose to the Welsh in 1953. When he was invited to a reunion of the Welsh ‘53 team by Cliff Morgan, he slammed the phone down. Dad would not go back to Wales when we toured.
“My most memorable game was in 1993 against the Lions. We lost. I personally had a terrible game. The team played badly. I said to the team: make a mental note of the way you feel now and make sure you never feel that way again.
“Celebrate success, but park it quickly.
“Remember your losses more than your wins. In business, remember the accounts you lost, the customers you lost. Losing that game in 1993 changed my life.”
In the same presentation he underlined the importance of making sacrifices to succeed.
“Warren Gatland was sitting on the bench for 63 internationals,” he said.
Gatland never won a Test cap, “but I thought he was a better player than me,” said Fitzpatrick. “We were hugely open with each other, challenging each other.
“This is the most important thing in your life – if not, go and get another job.
“If you want to be world class your work has to be number one. I would be away 180 days in a year.
“I missed my kids’ first day of school, prize giving, the birth of my second daughter.”
For him, success didn’t fall out of the sky.
It had to be worked at.
For the Scarlets board and perhaps their entire operation, he will doubtless play the role of critical friend, willing to point out where he thinks things could be done better.
He’ll also reinforce the region’s determination to go places.
That’s what winners do.