Don’t be complacent

Rugby is a very competitive sport. It tests teamwork, skill, strength and endurance. All professional rugby teams train themselves to improve these qualities and enforce them on the field. Winning or losing can help to identify the training that needs to be done. Winning can provide information of what worked in previous matches while losing can provide information on what is lacking.

Antoine Dupont, Captain of the French rugby team, explained that losing allows the French rugby players to learn. He believes that the experiences the team has had in the past helps his team mates today. Everyone enjoys winning, but it can lead to complacency, which is the outcome of too much confidence and can lead to less training, preparation and awareness. It is important for teams to not be complacent and to continue to train themselves to improve their teamwork, skill, strength and endurance, and not to underestimate the other team.

After the French rugby team’s win against Scotland with a score of 36-17, Antoine Dupont reinforced that they should not become complacent and that they should stay vigilant. The French team scored a victory over Scotland at Murrayfield stadium, which, according to Dupont, is a difficult place for a visiting team to win. This win came after France’s victories over Italy and Ireland, which they achieved at their home field at Stade de France. The French rugby team’s next match was against Wales with a win meaning that France would have the opportunity to play England in the final of  the Six Nations Rugby Championship—Europe’s most important rugby tournament. It had been twelve years since France had won this tournament so the French team was determined to win. Captain Dupont said that the team had to be rigorous because determination and rigor would lead to France winning the finals of Six Nations against England in Paris. On the day of the final, France beat England because the French team was not complacent and because the French rugby players showed their ferocity and ruthlessness on the field The French team won the final with a score of 25-13. The team also achieved the Grand Slam, which means that the French team won every game that it played in the 2022 Six Nations Rugby Championship.

What can we learn from the French successes?. A strong team that is determined to win needs to be vigilant and rigorous both on and off the field. Winning must not lead to complacency while  losing allows teams to learn from their experiences, which means that they can become better. This tells us that both winning and losing are necessary for growth and improvement. Dupont’s attitude to loss and complacency should be an example for future captains and players of any sport.

Source Japan Times

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