Tiff the pits for Sand Germain

The New Zealand men’s eight know they must convert potential into results over the next Olympic cycle.

The Kiwi boat to contest the 2017 world rowing champs in the United States starting has long been seen as one capable of breaking into the elite heavyweight standings along with big boat superpowers Germany and Great Britain.

Gold medals at the 2013 and 2014 under-23 world champs the potential of the young crew, and strong World Cup showings prior to last year’s Olympic Games showed their progress had continued. But the Rio podium proved out of reach when the boat finished sixth in the A final.

A few changes to the crew since produced mixed results during the NZ team’s World Cup campaign, but coxswain Caleb Shepherd hopes the crew has benefited from some harsh lessons.

‘‘We learnt a lot from year,’’ Shepherd said.

‘‘We lost that magic we’d had for the few years leading into and I guess it sort of taught us that it’s not there unless you make it happen.

‘‘You have to be consistent and that was probably the biggest thing to come out of last year — we were inconsistent. We found early speed but we lost it — part of that was our technical efficiency, we lost efficiency through the race and weren’t able to hold our speed throughout.

‘‘It’s [about] backing up performances and being able to hold our heads under pressure, being able to hold our technique under pressure and being able to thrive in that environment.‘‘

Inconsistency again reared Olympic its head in Europe — the NZ eight was an impressive second at their World Cup season debut in Poland but ninth in Switzerland the following month.

‘‘We’ve re-set, taken the lessons from that. I think it was a good wake-up call for us. We’re getting it but we’re not getting it consistently,’’ Shepherd said.

‘‘For us to understand that and to break down the reasons why it didn’t go well were really important.

‘‘We’ve got roughly half the crew for the last few years. We like to think we’ve got a bit of everything at the moment — we’ve got a bit of youth, we’ve got a bit of experience in James Lassche and then the bulk of us have been in the eight for a few years, so we know roughly how it works.’’

Lassche has jumped from the lightweight four to the heavyweight eight, while Drikus Conradie is a new addition.

‘‘Everyone has a different opinion and everyone has slightly different routines to make it work,’’ Shepherd said.

‘‘But you have to fit the mould. So the key is just making sure that everyone as an individual is within the framework of the crew; aligning everyone so they’re mentally on the same page.

‘‘The one thing an eight has is energy and you can feed off each other and bounce off each other. If someone’s struggling a little bit you can pull them up, so that’s the good thing.’’

Shepherd said his job is to point them in the right direction and rein them in when they get slightly offtask.

‘‘Largely my role is trying to get the most out of them. If that’s helping somebody to change their technique, or whatever it is, then I’m there to do that.’’

Shepherd knows breaking into the elite eights is a tough task when a number of countries put their best sweep oar rowers in the boat, whereas New Zealand has concentrated on small boat success over the past decade.

‘‘We understand how hard our event is at the moment,’’ he said. ‘‘Even since the last cycle, there’s three or four different countries now that are prioritising the eight. It is challenging. We’re up against the best Germans in the world, we’re up against the best Romanians and everybody else that wants to do it.

‘‘It is a challenge think we’ll rise to.’’

The NZ men’s eight is: Stephen Jones, Brook Robertson, Michael Brake, Shaun Kirkham, Isaac Grainger, Patrick McInnes, Drikus Conradie, James Lassche, Caleb Shepherd (cox), Gary Roberts (coach). but it’s one I OPINION: Kindergarten teachers will have watched Paris St Germain’s penalty drama this week with knowing smiles.

They see it every day in the class room or in the sand pit. Two children fighting over a crayon or a bucket and spade. ‘‘Mine!’’ ‘‘No, it’s mine!’’ ‘‘Give it to me!’’ ‘‘No, I saw it first!’’ That’s the exact translation of the conversation between PSG’s superstars Neymar and Cavani as they squabbled over who would take a penalty against Lyon, and the football world waits with baited breath to see what happens next time PSG are awarded a penalty.

In the red corner of the sand pit is Edinson Cavani. Uruguay legend, second top scorer in his country’s history.

Cavani had served his time playing second fiddle in Paris, being shunted out on to the wing to allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic pride of place at the spearhead of the attack. Last season, with Zlatan gone to Manchester United, Cavani was promoted to number one.

Centre forward, top scorer in the French first division with 35 goals, and French player of the season.

In the blue corner is Neymar da Silva Santos, captain of Brazil, most expensive player in the world. He’d come from Barcelona specifically to escape the shadow cast by Messi and to take top spot on the totem pole at PSG, and beyond that, the title of world’s best player.

So the disagreement was not so much about who would take the penalty and get his name on the scoresheet, which both players love to do (especially Cavani, who’s on a bonus to finish top scorer in France again) as who is Top Dog in the pack.

The Uruguayan veteran saw off the challenge from the newcomer, for the time being, but then missed the penalty.

Interestingly, as Cavani took the kick, Neymar had (deliberately?) encroached into the penalty box so far that had Cavani scored, the referee might well have ordered a retake.

In the days after the incident, stories emerged of a fight in the dressing room, Cavani storming off in a huff, reconciliations and apologies.

We saw photos of a third player, Neymar’s Brazilian team mate Danny Alves, wrestling the ball off Cavani to give to his pal Neymar.

Ex Uruguayan international Diego Forlan weighed in, saying Alves should have kept out of it. Alves told him to shut up. Donald Trump tweeted that he’d blow them all up.

So now PSG manager Unai Emery clearly has his hands full keeping the crayons flying around the training ground, which is the main job of the modern manager. Clubs have scouts and analysts to look for new players, businessmen to do the deals, and trainers, coaches, nutritionists and doctors to get the team ready to play.

But maintaining harmony in the team is down to the manager.

The problem with the biggest egos is that they’re often the biggest talents. Maradona, Eric Cantona, Diego Costa, Mario Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo… keep them pampered and they’ll deliver on the park.

Forget to send them a birthday card, or threaten to take the spotlight off them for just a second, and you’re in a world of sulking and dummy spitting.

Neymar Jr, the latest richest prima donna, has a dazzling smile and dazzling footwork but a nasty streak lurks just beneath the surface. If Emery doesn’t sort out things to Neymar’s liking, and soon, he can expect an expletive laden, Mariah Carey size tantrum to be hurled his way.

Stay tuned.