ASK SIR CLIVE
World Cup winner answers your questions both serious and funny
DID YOU HAVE PRE-MATCH RITUALS AS A PLAYER? WHO HAD THE ODDEST?
No, but I did play with Rodney o’Donnell on the 1980 Lions tour. He was mad as a hatter and had a very real phobia about cracks in the pavement or lines on a rugby pitch, so much so that he would change his running angle or the way he caught a pass to avoid stepping on a line.
He was also superstitious about 13 and when he broke his neck against the Junior Springboks he pointed out his tackler was Danie Gerber (No 13), that he broke his sixth and seventh vertebra (6+7 = 13) and that he had to spend 13 days in hospital in a neck brace that had 13 screws! Make of that what you will.
WHAT’S THE BEST SLEDGE YOU’VE HEARD?
FoRMeR Aussie coach Alan Jones used to have a popular breakfast radio show in Sydney and in the week of the 2003 World Cup final he ran a poll with his listeners to determine who they would least like to share a lift with: Saddam Hussein, osama bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, Douglas Jardine or Clive Woodward. I polled 95 per cent.
WHO IS THE BEST COACH YOU PLAYED UNDER OR COACHED AGAINST?
A SCot called Jim Greenwood at Loughborough College. I chose Loughborough specifically because I wanted to play under him. He put so much emphasis on players taking personal responsibility to develop skills and understanding of the game. Jim would have made an incredible national coach. His book Total Rugby is still the rugby bible in New Zealand.
Australia’s Rod Macqueen was the best opposition coach. He did a great job at the 1999 World Cup and two years later topped that with one of the greatest coaching displays ever: quite how he manufactured a 2-1 series win over probably the strongest ever Lions squad was miraculous.
I have no idea why he and Australia parted company in 2001 but that was a lucky break for me and england ahead of the 2003 World Cup in his own backyard.
WHAT ARE YOUR ABIDING MEMORIES FROM THE OLYMPICS?
tHe first is quite leftfield. It was 2.30am in Beijing and I was restless. Despite strict team GB protocol that nobodyody was to be seen gorging on burgers and milkshakes inn the 24/7 free McDonald’s ld’s in the village, I found nd myself craving a Big Mac.
there was only one other figure at the counter in team Spain kit and a baseball cap p — it was Rafa a Nadal! He had just st finished a singles les match and had been sent out by his teameam to get food. ‘I didn’tt expect to find you here!’ I said.
Nadal (above) just laughed and replied: ‘I finished very late and my team were hungry and it was my turn to do the Big Mac run.’
We chatted for about five minutes and he was brilliant. His massive order finally arrived and we said our goodbyes before he staggered out weighed down with food — and McDonald’s had just missed the greatest PR photo in their history. Secondly, I was at the bobsleigh track at the Vancouver Games in 2010 when Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian athlete, was thrown off his luge and killed when he hit a stanchion. It was harrowing as word went around about the accident. What left a massive impression on me was the solidarity of the teams in the village that night. the winter sports crowd live with quite a lot of unspoken danger and support each other massively. Nationalism is not a huge thing with them. It is their shared love of mountains, snow, ice and speed that binds them and I felt that very strongly that night.
DO YOU LEARN MORE FROM DEFEAT THAN VICTORY?
I HAVe never agreed with the old adage that you learn more from analysing defeats. You learn much more analysing your wins and trying to bottle that. Bad defeat or bad day at the office — get down the pub and forget it.
the most important moment for england en route to 2003 was our win over South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2000. We suddenly cracked how to beat Southern Hemisphere teams on the road and needed to learn from that.
YOU GET A SECOND GO AT LIFE — WHAT JOB DO YOU DO AND WHY?
tHe job I have always coveted above all is to be a golf caddie. What other job enables you to be both a participant and witness to greatness inside the ropes. You help with the tactics, choice of clubs, you keep your boss — the player — calm or you fire them up a bit. But you don’t have to play the shots! A unique, privileged job. I am available any time, by the way...
HOW WOULD CLIVE THE COACH ASSESS CLIVE THE PLAYER?
I WAS a natural 10 playing out of position at 13 and sometimes on the wing. As a coach I would have moved the player back to fly-half, honed his specialist skills with individual training and given him a run in his best position. Fly-half is the pivotal position and I wish I had insisted on playing there.
WHAT IS THE SECRET WHEN DROPPING PLAYERS?
You get the team to discuss how they expect their colleagues to react when being picked in the team, on the bench or left out. then when everything is agreed as a team, you set that in stone. A player going rogue before a big match can be devastating, but if everything is agreed in advance then players know how to react.
occasionally, you must be blunt. I remember Lawrence Dallaglio had performed well in our win over New Zealand in 2002 but I wanted to play Lewis Moody, Richard Hill and Neil Back in the next game against Australia. Myself and Lawrence had a very civilised discussion but he was still dumbfounded. ‘ So Clive,
let me get this right, just so
I’m clear,’ he said. ‘You are resting me for this game?’
‘No, Lawrence,’ I replied. ‘I am dropping you. The back row I want to play against the Aussies is Lewis, Hillie and Backie.’
WHO WAS THE MOST TALENTED PLAYER YOU ENCOUNTERED?
THE greatest talent I played against was Gareth edwards. He was in his last season and I was in my first. His talent was undiminished and he had a great aura. His banter with his old Lions mate Bob Hiller was also priceless.
As a coach, it is Jason Robinson. He was a game- changer for england. I witnessed players of the calibre of Martin Johnson, Dallaglio, Hill and Jonny Wilkinson instantly raise their levels in training and games because they wanted to match Jason’s talent and professionalism.
Jason was also amazing to coach. He was a sponge and soaked up every single rugby union skill.
By the end he was probably the best kicker out of hand we had, he laid the ball back at rucks perfectly and his tackle technique was perfect. What a player.
WHO WERE YOUR SPORTING HEROES GROWING UP AND WHY?
ENGLAND’s 1966 World Cup winning football team. I was a football-mad 10-year- old and it was an unbelievably exciting time. I was in awe of the entire squad and I still am. I followed their subsequent careers closely and was privileged to meet many of them. They were a very special band of brothers who delivered under the greatest pressure and made a nation proud.
YOU SEEM A BIT OF A SPORT OBSESSIVE. IS SPORTING OBSESSION A GOOD THING?
WoW, what a great question. I could write a book on sporting obsession and if we stay in lockdown much longer I might do just that! obsession is not a disease, it’s not a dirty word. But in this country we seem uneasy and suspicious about what is considered abnormal attention to detail and the sometimes tough reality of what it takes to be a winner.
I am proud to declare myself a sport obsessive and yet I like to think I also lead a perfectly normal life. Next time you read something negative about obsessive sportsmen and women, try substituting obsession with the word passion. Then read the sentence again.
WHAT ONE THING COULD OTHER SPORTS LEARN FROM RUGBY AND VICE VERSA?
RuGBY must learn how to grow the game around the world. Be global. We have been really poor at that. The big sides are exactly the same as when I was playing in the 1980s. We have stifled the Pacific Islands, thwarted Georgia, failed to support Romania and we ignored Argentina for too long. Rugby must start seeing the bigger picture.
The thing rugby still has to offer the rest of the sporting world is total respect for referees and officials, and how they are always made part of our community, free to enjoy a beer and joke with players afterwards. We must not be complacent — there is some on-field chirp creeping in that I’m not happy with — but it’s still a very healthy relationship.
HOW ARE YOU GETTING THROUGH THE LOCKDOWN?
I AM practising my swing and short game in the garden while listening to the radio. I will be absolutely creaming the ball when life returns to normal.
I am also catching up on some great sporting DVDs and programmes. I devoured Sunderland
’Til I Die on Netflix in one sitting. It provided a fantastic insight into what goes on when you manage a sports team. I can’t recommend it enough.
We are trying to make the most of our time together as a family and supporting the NHs by doing the right thing and staying in isolation.