Editorial: Trying to turn adversity into motivation and momentum

The Springboks were all over the All Blacks at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday in London. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Adversity can sometimes be turned into opportunity or momentum - simply by necessity.

Just look at former United States President Donald Trump.

He tried to make the best of a dire situation by posing for his official booking mug shot in Georgia with a flinty stare borrowed from Clint Eastwood in his heyday. “Never surrender,” he later posted online, even though he had surrendered to authorities.

Now the Republican presidential candidate is busily selling merch mugs at US$25 each with the arrest photo on it. Some would say you’d have to be a mug to buy one.

Fulton County jail inmate number P01135809 does after all have huge legal costs to deal with from four indictments. By yesterday Trump had raised US$7.1 million in campaign funds since his booking, mostly from online store items.

He’s accentuating the upside - using defiance to rally his supporters and demand they stay loyal - amid what seems to be a growing legal trainwreck. Trump remains on track for his party’s nomination.

In the thick of our own election, the different political parties are under pressure dealing with - less dramatic - setbacks.

They attempt to quickly bounce back to solid ground, and then pivot to more positive subjects. They have to maintain party morale and avoid missteps while trying to project competence to voters.

In the same general way, the All Blacks after their hammering by South Africa on Saturday have only one option - to use the disaster as motivation to put things right and drastically improve, in order to avoid a more painful failure at the Rugby World Cup.

There are just two weeks before the tournament begins and seven weeks before the quarter-finals.

Short turnarounds can be done. At the 2019 tournament in Japan, South Africa lost to New Zealand early on but went on to lift the trophy.

There are a few mitigating factors when assessing the record loss to the world champion Springboks at London by 35-7. Most of the team’s starting players lacked recent rugby. This wasn’t a World Cup fixture. It’s the first defeat for the All Blacks this year.

However, the All Blacks were fielding close to their best available side in preparation for France on September 9 and got clobbered up front.

They couldn’t find space with their quick passing game, made mistakes under pressure and paid for ill-discipline. They had to get through 42 minutes of play a man down.

It will be forwards coach Jason Ryan’s task to get the engine room firing again.

Front line props Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot were worse for wear, adding to existing concerns. Lock Brodie Retallick and blindside flanker Shannon Frizell are with the squad but recovering from injuries.

Earlier this year the team gained momentum by playing with confidence, physicality, and an attacking plan. That build up of steam has escaped for now.

This loss had New Zealand looking rushed and rattled. Now they need to work out how to blast back, against the tournament hosts and favourites.