Warriors coach Matt Elliott has engaged the services of a professional mental trainer who was one of the key elements in the All Blacks' World Cup success.
Dr Ceri Evans is a forensic psychiatrist and a leading sports psychologist, who helped develop the individual and team mindsets that helped the All Blacks to cope with the on- and off-field pressures during the 2011 tournament.
Evans' credentials are impressive. He is a former captain of the All Whites (86 caps between 1980 and 1993) and spent six years at Oxford United in the top two tiers of English football. A Rhodes Scholar, he has seven qualifications beside his name. His Christchurch day job involves running clinics in prisons for inmates with mental disorders and assessing whether individuals are mentally fit to attend a courtroom trial. Evans has also become a expert in human performances in competitive situations, including the sporting arena.
Evans is working closely with Elliott and has had a couple of sessions with the playing group. It is part of the drive to change the culture and fabric of the club or, as Elliott puts it, "tweaking the DNA".
Even before the trials of last year, the Warriors were often seen as susceptible to moments of mental fragility. They have had plenty of moments where they 'hung tough' - the 12-6 win at Penrith in 2010, where they defended for almost the entire second half; the 13-6 victory over the Storm at a rainy Mt Smart in 2010 and the memorable preliminary final in Melbourne in 2011, where the Warriors outlasted the Storm at their own game. But there have been more occasions where fade-outs have been fatal.
