Nathan Sharpe: One point means the world
Nathan Sharpe, The West Australian
March 20, 2012, 8:07 am
It's amazing the impact a solitary point on the scoreboard can make in the week of a professional sporting team.
The hard work that has been applied over many weeks seems rewarded.
Small adjustments made to preparations become warranted and the general mood of the team is influenced so positively you could be mistaken for assuming that it was the first game of the season all over again.
The energy returns immediately.
Those small adjustments included a greater fluency in our training. Less structure and more game- related skills in an open environment. The importance of keeping this in our program is paramount, and like any victory in life, we still need to search to improve.
This has been an area that we identified as needing attention and we must remain focused on it.
That solitary point earnt in the darkest of hard places on the rugby field comes from the effort that a player makes at some stage of the game and that no one will ever know about except him and maybe the man beside him. That solitary point can turn the tide of a season.
However, the victory is worth nothing this week without a follow up of a far better performance where our team realises the individual preparation required is not a sometimes thing, it is an every time thing.
This week for us is exciting.
In the change room after the final whistle and our 21-20 win over the Waratahs, I overheard three players, all sitting busted and bruised, saying how much they were looking forward to playing the Rebels in Melbourne this week and continue the hard-fought momentum that we can capitalise on now.
I can wait at least five days. The old rig takes a bit longer to fire up each week!
One of the pleasing aspects of the game was welcoming several new players to our ranks, some who were playing their first game in Super Rugby. They will be important cogs going forward.
Dave Harvey and Willie Tupou made outstanding debuts and when you get to share the victory song in the change room after the game with a debutant you realise the path they have travelled just to arrive at this destination.
No player gets to this level without discipline and sacrifice.
You can be sure one victory does not make a season and this approach was adopted immediately after the game.
I was proud of the way Dave Pocock led the team. In a tough start to the year he has shown already he will be a terrific leader.
·Congratulations to Sam Wykes who tied the knot with his partner Moana on Sunday.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...ans-the-world/
Greg says ...
