PROFESSIONAL in everything but name. Professional everywhere but pocket. Long-standing entries into the GAA vernacular but irritating and, let’s be honest, inaccurate too. While it was encouraging to see Gaelic inter-county players stand up for themselves in the wake of Stephen Hunt’s comments, they just aren’t professional. Let us rephrase that — they aren’t just […]
Transformation of the game in two decades has been phenomenal The physicality of the collisions in international rugby is breathtaking but so too the athletic prowess, as demonstrated here by Australia’s Kurtley Beale, who beats team-mate Israel Folau and Ireland’s Rob Kearney to the ball at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire. One truth […]
Andy Goode is discussing how strength has displaced skill as the foremost requirement in modern academies when he delivers a mightily depressing yet prescient snapshot of the culture within the English game. “I have played with players who have told me they are happiest if they don’t touch the ball once during a game; they […]
Pic: Laurent Benezech in his playing days A message to my fellow rugbyman, Alan Quinlan. Mon Cher Alan, It was with great interest that I read your column in Wednesday’s Irish Times. It arrived via email with a cover note from the journalist Paul Kimmage: “Alan Quinlan is speaking your language – he just doesn’t […]
Self-confidence is the belief that you can successfully perform a desired task/behaviour. Confident athletes believe in themselves and their ability to acquire the necessary skills and competencies (both physical and mental) to reach their potential. Self-belief motivates all performance, so remember: “If I believe I can or I believe I can’t, then I’m probably right. […]
At a recent high performance sports summit with the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, one of the most provocative and interesting presentations was given by Paddy Upton, on the presence and impact of psychopathic individuals in sports teams. It is estimated that 1% of people are born with psychopathic tendencies, but in business that […]