Council President Provides Wise Advice At Under 15 Tournament

At the 8th Annual Hurricanes U15 Boys Rugby Tournament Dinner, Council President Grant Gilbert (Hawkes Bay RFU) was invited to share his thoughts on what-it-takes to be successful in rugby, (and in life). His thoughts are repeated below.

The 2018 Tournament was played in Upper Hutt during Winter Tournament Week, with Kelston Boys (Auckland) winning the Tournament Cup, while Kings College (Otago) and Manukura (Manawatu) won the Plate and Bowl sections respectively.

The qualities needed to play rugby are many and varied and can I believe be summarised in the acronym "POPPERS". If you like, they summarise the collected experience of this old rugby man and I humbly offer them to you as well-intentioned advice.

P - Preparation. If you fail to prepare then prepare to fail. If you genuinely seek to live a successful life not only as a rugby man, everything you will do in your life involves careful preparation.

O - Opportunity. There are four things you can never get back – the spoken word, the bullet fired, the past and the neglected opportunity. So recognise your opportunities, take your opportunities and do not die wondering ... "what if ... ?".

P - Potential. If we did all the things we are capable of, we would amaze ourselves. Accept your limitations, embrace your talents and constantly continue to strive to be the best you can possibly be. “Those prepared to accept second best are destined to often finish second.”

P - Persistence. That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not the task itself, but our ability to perform it. Stickability, perseverance, never ever giving up, keeping on keeping on no matter the opposition are characteristics of all successful rugby teams.

E - Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm + persistence can conquer all. Enthusiasm is one of the most infectious conditions known and if you can approach all you do in rugby, and life with enthusiasm never will you be unhappy. Closely allied is the crucial place of optimism - always looking for the bright side of any situation.

R - Resilience. Our greatest glory is not in falling down but being able to rise back up every time we fall. In rugby bow the knee to no one - the harder they tackle the harder you respond the faster they run the faster you respond.

S - Selflessness. (The greatest quality of all and one that allows good players to perform as great teams). John Wooden is arguably one of the greatest coaches who ever lived. He coached the UCLA basketball team from 1948 until 1978 for an 80% win record. He is remembered as much for his wise advice on life and his coaching philosophy which was always “athletes first, winning second”. He has many inspirational quotations attributed to him. One I tried to live by throughout my rugby and professional life is this; “it is amazing how much can be achieved when no one cares who gets the credit”.

Finally, the two most important words in the English language are in my opinion - “thank you”. So make sure you always recognise and thank those who have helped you to be here tonight. These are largely adults whose love and passion for rugby willingly enables them to make sacrifices for you, so you  can enjoy this unique experience of playing a game you love, with your mates.