Unit 7 – Winner Takes All: Reading Text, page 89

THE AMAZING ALL BLACKS

It was the final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in London. New Zealand’s All Blacks had just won
a great victory against Australia. In all the excitement, 14-year-old fan Charlie Line ran onto the
field but was immediately pushed to the ground by a security guard. The next thing he knew, one of
the All Blacks’ superstars, Sonny Bill Williams, was helping him up. Incredibly, Williams took his
gold medal, the one he’d just worked so hard to win, and hung it around Charlie’s neck.
When reporters asked Williams why he had done it, he replied that it would help Charlie remember
the day and that he too might become an All Black one day. In fact, Williams was showing the spirit
and culture of the most successful sports team in history.
The All Blacks have won 75% of their games over the past 100 years – an achievement matched by
no other elite team in any sport. But despite this fantastic record, the All Blacks had a serious
problem: they simply could not win the World Cup, rugby’s most important tournament. In 2003,
after four World Cup losses in a row, discipline and morale were bad. The team’s management knew
changes were needed and asked sports psychologist Gilbert Enoka for advice.
Enoka gave them rules to help them cope with pressure and improve their mental strength. Pressure,
he said, makes people “think red”, meaning they panic and become emotional. He told the team to
“think blue” – logically and clearly – so they could perform to their best ability. Unbelievably, the
result was a complete turnaround. At the 2011 World Cup, the team remained cool even at the
toughest moments. As a result, the All Blacks won, 24 years after their last World Cup triumph –
and then went on to win again in 2015.
Something else that helped change the team’s attitude is “Sweep the Shed”, which stops players’
fame from going to their heads. After every match, the players clean the locker room themselves. In
addition, teammates are willing to sacrifice their own goals for the common good. Since there’s no
room for people who won’t cooperate, the team does not hire players with inflated egos, no matter
how talented they are.
The All Blacks may be humble, but they make formidable opponents. The haka, the fierce Maori
war dance they perform before every match, is intended to scare their opponents even before the
kick-off. It’s also done as a sign of the close ties between the team and the country’s native Maori
culture, ties that are felt by Maori and non-Maori players alike.
In New Zealand, where rugby is part of the national identity, the All Blacks are esteemed as heroes
and every victory is cause for days of celebration. This gives the team a sense of great
responsibility. They have no plans to let their country down.