Graham Lowe: How to get the edge

COMMENT

As two of the most formidable league teams in recent years line up for a transtasman war tomorrow, it's tempting to think about the big things that could prove the winning edge.

But the truth is there are just as many little things that can turn a test and influence players.

Most coaches I have worked with or against have a grand plan in mind and spend a lot of time making sure the players all understand their jobs and responsibilities.

And they tend to grab anything that will help them achieve this.

During my time as Kiwi coach, I called on mothers, fathers, brothers and even once the grandmother of a player who I thought needed a bit of extra encouragement or motivation.

Test matches are special and every player wants to be able to make his family even prouder than they already are seeing them run onto the ground in a Kiwi jersey.

So it's often the family factor that coaches look to switch on to get the very best from their players.

We all know there are players with exceptional talent but who appear to be a bit slack. In 1983 I was faced with such a player - Nicky (Nick the Greek) Wright, older brother of ex-Kiwi Owen Wright.

Nicky was one of the most talented players I ever coached, but it's no exaggeration to say he was also a problem child.


In the 1983 test series with Australia, we lost the first match at Carlaw Park 16-4, even though I thought we played reasonably well.

But in analysing the game, I was convinced we needed to bring Nicky in at fullback for the second test and the selectors went with my opinion.


But he had to be in the right frame of mind to deliver for us.

I knew Nicky really well but even then I was unsure whether I could trust him to follow my instructions in such an important game.

So I turned to his father, (now the late) Jack Wright, and asked him if he could help.

Jack was someone I often turned to for advice. But this time I wanted a more fatherly influence.

So I went visiting with a bottle of Jack's favourite Scotch and outlined my concerns about Nicky.

After listening carefully, Jack called Nicky into the lounge and launched into one of the best motivational speeches I've ever heard. Jack said that if Nicky let me down on or off the field he would be getting the biggest kick in the backside he'd ever had when he got home.

It wasn't exactly textbook stuff, just a dad that knew what made his son tick. But it did the trick - Nicky Wright played the game of his life, was man of the match and we won 19-12.

Without Jack's help, I have no doubt we would have lost.

In this professional era, I'm not at all certain those strategies are still employed. But if any coach is looking for inspiration, I can vouch for the fact that the mums and dads of the players are the equal to any sports psychologists.

When winning is everything, the smallest things can count.

As silly as it sounds, I also secretly altered the clock in our Brisbane dressing room for that test to read slower than the actual time.

I worked to my own timetable and knew that when the clock showed six minutes to go before we were scheduled to leave the sheds, it was actually the time we were required to be on the field.

When the bell went calling us out I had our players convinced the Aussies were trying to pull a swifty on us. I worked them into a real lather, and by the time they hit the paddock they were ready to tear Australia apart.

For that Brisbane test I also called on the legendary Queensland coach Bob Bax.

Bax felt that we could exploit the appointment of English referee Robin Whitfield, who had a reputation in Britain of letting a bit of biffo go.

His point was that at that time the judiciary in Sydney was being run by Jim Comans, a tough chairman who was handing out long suspensions.

As a result, most players in Sydney were not game to flirt with anything that could be considered foul play.

Baxy reckoned we should needle the Aussies and try to put them off their game, and we obliged.

We won the game, the biff and the support of many back in New Zealand.

If Bax was still alive, I'm sure Wayne Bennett, who was also a great mate of his, would be seeking a bit of advice about the little things that will matter for his team tomorrow.TOMORROW'S match promises to be as good as any in recent years, but I can't help thinking it could be better.

The International Rugby League board must regain control of the game from the clutches of the NRL chief executives and their counterparts in Britain.

The NRL club chief executives do not have the international game at heart and selfishly cling to what is best for their own little patch. I think it is time the game's governing body reminded them who is the boss.

The NRL does an outstanding job for the domestic Australian competition, but test and representative football in other parts of the world has suffered.

League is never going to be a global game and it is a waste of resources fiddling about in Russia and a few exotic league destinations in the Mediterranean.