Priorities

Having a set goal in any aspect of life is important. It creates motivation and resolve. It can translate to everything that we do whether it is at work, school or sports. Sometimes our goals are not in line with what is the common theme. At school, your goal may not be being the top of the class in every subject but to simply achieving a high enough score to get yourself into the university of your liking. In the case of work, your goal may just be an easy stressless work lifestyle and not gaining recognition from your peers or superiors. In sports the goals may be divided between wins and rankings. In the casual Army rugby team the goal of playing rugby was not to beat the other companies’ but to build teamwork and camaraderie. During training the priority was always placed on working effectively as a team and building cohesion. The end result may be that the team wins a game or two but even if they lose, they do not reflect on the loss but on their performance as a team and how they can improve themselves. In professional rugby the goals and priorities of a team may also differ.

 Being considered the number one in the world rankings holds great prestige and to some is the greatest goal one could achieve in any sport, not exclusively rugby. The World Rugby Rankings are determined by the results of each team. They are awarded points based on their performance in World Rugby recognized international matches. New Zealand had held the number one world ranking for the longest period. However, Ireland’s captain Johnny Sexton does not see the world ranking as a priority. Sexton stated that in other sports such as golf or tennis ranking may take precedence over other aspects of the competition but for rugby ranking only matters every three years during the world cup. It is not the goal of Sexton to rise to number one in the world. He continues with that in order to be recognized as being No. 1 you have to win the world cup. As a team this doesn’t appear to be top priority for them. They are more concerned with winning trophies in the various international tournaments held throughout the year.

Go here to read more: Japan Times

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