Squad put Springbok demons behind them
England’s squad addressed the demons of their World Cup final defeat by South Africa in a debriefing meeting led by team psychologist Andrea Furst rather than head coach Eddie Jones.
The squad have gathered for a preSix Nations training camp in Portugal, their first meeting since their 32-12 defeat by the Springboks in November. Just as important as the physical preparation for the opener against France on Sunday will be ensuring they are in the right place mentally after falling at the last hurdle in Japan.
Furst worked with the players in the build-up to the World Cup and was in touch through Skype and text throughout the tournament. Now on a full-time contract with the Rugby Football Union, she has also worked with Great Britain’s female hockey team and Surrey County Cricket Club.
According to flanker Sam Underhill, the overriding message from the meeting was that the World Cup as a whole was a “brilliant experience” in spite of the ending, but acknowledged dealing with the fallout would be an ongoing process. “We will work with Andrea to unpack anything that might be there,” he said. “But equally we are not going to dig if there is nothing to dig for. Ultimately the aim is be better and make sure it is not an issue moving forward.
“A lot of the time players know what they are feeling, but not why and she can just help unlock it. We’re probably not gifted with the best self-awareness and mental tools as players. Growing up I was never taught about the psychological aspect of sport. If you were an individual sportsman that would be massively important but in a team sport, certainly in the northern hemisphere for rugby, it wasn’t seen as important. I think it is.”
Most of Furst’s techniques are conversation-based, whether with individuals or in groups. “It’s just being open and honest,” Tom Curry, the flanker, said. There are two components to Furst’s work: strengthening team bonds, which has taken on extra significance since the Saracens salary-cap scandal, and equipping individuals with the requisite mental strength to deal with Jones’s exacting standards.
“The training has always been very intense and the standard of expectation has been incredibly high,” Underhill said. “If you don’t have psychological support and you have an incredibly high level of performance, all that creates is anxious players. It’s not a good place to be in. If you’ve got that psychological support and you’re working hard in a high-performance environment then you have learning and growth and development. Too little expectation around training and you are comfortable and complacent but, if you are pushing it on the pitch, we also need to push it off it psychologically.”
Underhill and Curry emerged from the World Cup with their reputations significantly enhanced. Without Billy Vunipola, who will miss the entire Six Nations with a broken arm, their dynamic is set to change. With no specialist No 8 in Jones’s squad, both players could be asked to shift away from their natural habitats as openside to the back of the scrum. Such a prospect holds little trepidation for Curry.
“We’ve always been pretty proactive,” he said. “As a back row we train with multiple combinations. I’ve been here three or four years and we’ve always mixed and matched for different scenarios. In that sense it doesn’t really change anything. Billy’s a world-class player, but part of team sport is somebody stepping up to that role.”
Underhill, too, feels the emphasis placed on specialist back-rows is overrated. “The way the team has gone and the style of play, I don’t think it will make too much difference – apart from at set-piece,” Underhill said. “That’s not to underplay the importance; I just think that is the only specific role. Same for any other back-row position.”