Psychological barriers

First topic message reminder :

Well some of the NH teams touring this summer haven't beaten their SH rivals at home or away for some time. Indeed some haven't beaten them ever as in the case with Ireland and NZ. Scotland, funnily enough, had probably the best record over their rivals than any of the other teams in terms of the oppositions they face and the last time they beat them.

So how much of a psychological barrier is it to have never beaten a team or to have not beaten a team in ages? Firstly, in this professional age I think most teams go into a match thinking they are capable of winning and indeed will win. The teams facing NZ, Aus and SA are too good not to think like that. When the anthems are played or in some cases the haka is performed, adrenaline kicks in and the players are pumped up and ready to get stuck in.

But to my mind, it's not so much the opening moments of the match or indeed the first half that is important. Most teams are in with a shout at the halftime break. Often where I think many NH teams have come unstuck in the past is in the closing moments of the match. If the opposition is up on the scoreboard and controlling the game, that is where the psychological barrier lets out the wind from the sails. We are naturally optimistic and full of hope at the start of a game. But as the clock ticks on we get brought closer to the cold hard reality and that's where frustration sets in and where mistakes are made. Composure and cool heads are called for not to mention self belief in the dying stages. Wales seemed to me to turn a corner in this 6N. They were often a man down but never gave up and attacked with purpose and intelligence. Can they replicate that cool calculated thinking against Australia? Scotland's win does Wales no favour but what might work in their favour is the realisation that this Australian side is beatable and Wales do have the players to do the job.

Similarly, Ireland and England have enough talent to pull off victory in the two toughest places in world rugby to tour. But how much does success depend on having the right mental attitude? I heard a comment that Ireland might not be taken seriously by the ABs. Their record against Ireland shows that Ireland are always taken seriously. To me it sounds more like wishful thinking. Ireland have to have that burning desire to beat the ABs and I don't doubt that they have that. But they need to prove that on the field and they showed in the RWC last year that in the right frame of mind, they are a huge threat. But I think one strength of the ABs that is often underestimated is their mental strength and familiarity with getting in the right frame of mind to get the job done. England and Ireland and Wales have all put in performances that are noteworthy but they have a perfect opportunity to not only get an historic win but also make a significant deposit in the psychological bank that will produce benefit for years to come.

What was the major change in Djokovic, what does he (and Rodders) say? http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/is-a-glutenfree-diet-behind-djokovics-smash-success-2285004.html
Tiger Woods strikes me as someone who has incredible unwavering belief in himself, however he lost his focus. Other issues took his attention and his time, but once he refocuses he will rediscover his form.

The body is driven by the brain, that is a physiological fact. Hand to eye co-ordination is processed by the brain and in some people that is well developed and in others not – largely an accident of birth. Those people who don’t have good hand/eye co-ordination could be said to have a psychological barrier to being brilliant sportsmen. They can overcome that barrier to some degree through practice but once they start competing against opponents who were born with better hand/eye co-ordination AND have practiced just as much they’re going to lose.

Paradoxically psychological barriers are usually physical boundaries rather than mental ones. For example no one thought a human could run a mile inside four minutes, until Roger Bannister did it and then a whole raft of people broke it. RB didn’t get there overnight but gradually found ways to improve, and he is supposed to have said, “the man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win”. Like a lot of quotes it’s a nice sound bite but every top sportsperson experiences pain and some much more than others, yet sadly it doesn’t mean they all will win.

In relation to Saturday’s game I’d say what happens in the last 15 minutes is determined by the first 65. In order to compete Ireland will have to make up the difference in rugby team quality by sheer bloody-minded toil and will be out on their feet. They won’t have the depth to come off the bench and so will lose the game irrespective of whether they’re ahead or behind.

I disagree somewhat kia. Opportunity is good for the entire game, especially the way Irish players tend to play. They might very well implode under the strain of bad tactics not working or indeed pressure exerted by the mighty All Blacks. But.... they don't really capitulate anymore in real terms ( ie, just give up) They'll keep plugging and Kidney will try to use his bench to swing things and if they're playing well enough to be competitive in the beginning I think they'll remain competitive to the end.

In times past, NZ and other SH sides simply were more conditioned (as well as skilled) - but more conditioned is the primary one. In the past, NZ could sustain the onslaughts because the Irish weren't as fit, didn't have sufficient stamina or bulk to compete for a full 80. A team like that can always fall away dramatically due to gas in the tank being depleted (red indicator flashing! ) Year after year, players here are becoming more athletic. They might fall off in tactics still but they'll truly fight to the end in the physical stakes. If they don't, we'll probably be blaming coaching techniques again - because certainly these players can strongly last 80 as athletes.

Yup fitness affects concentration, which is the crucial thing. You can be pretty much spot on all the time playing the All Blacks or, say, Barcelona, but just a couple of minor lapses will see you on the wrong end of a 40 point, or 4 goal, scoreline when you didn't really play that badly. I've seen so many 30-40 point NZ games when we didn't play that well and it was only our sheer ruthlessness that inflated the scoreline.

I think its the fans and not the players that have the psychological barriers - Sometimes a teal loses 'cos it just aint good enough on the day or luck wasn't with them - Others like to look back and see that as a psychological barrier

The others being pretty much the media. It's nowhere near as entertaining to them writing about the SA cricket team's WC loss as "just another off day"!

Interesting points boys. Thanks for the comments.

Looking forward to this match. Usually the ABs are not too flash first up but they'll have to be if they want to preserve that record. Will be interesting as well if someone gets early points on the board. I expect Ireland to come out the stronger in the opening exchanges but much depends on the AB ability to weather the storm. Often the team who is pressing on attack for long periods first up but unable to get an advantage on the board is the one punished later on in the game.

RubyGuby wrote:I think its the fans and not the players that have the psychological barriers - Sometimes a teal loses 'cos it just aint good enough on the day or luck wasn't with them - Others like to look back and see that as a psychological barrier

I think its just a case of many people have physcoloigical barriers. even professional sportsmen/women.

However having the mindset to get to the top in any field means you certainly have a much higher threashold..

BTW your post is almost as hard to work out as some of mine... just saying