How to win the big one

01 April 2015 - 02:55 By Daniel Schofield, ©The Daily Telegraph

Habana, Thorn and Wilkinson talk World Cup QUESTION: You have all won a World Cup, you have played at eight tournaments collectively and have 262 caps between yourselves. What are the biggest changes that you have seen in rugby union since the start of your careers? Jonny Wilkinson: In 1997, we were just ceasing to be amateurs and you could feel the transition coming. There was no one playing at that time who was straight out of school. Everyone had jobs and played rugby because they wanted to enjoy it. It was very different. When I went into my first changing room I didn't speak for three months. I spoke on the field, but in the changing room I only spoke when spoken to. Brad Thorn: I call it the two-year rule: shut up for two years before you open your mouth. After a couple of years you might learn to speak. In 2000 it was still early days. It has really come on as a fully firing professional league. Bryan Habana: The game has changed a lot since even I started out in 2004, particularly with the physicality of the young players coming in. The game in South Africa has become more professional from an earlier age. In South Africa they are having video sessions at schoolboy level now, which is crazy. Hopefully, the core ethics of rugby will never be lost. As a youngster you wanted to make sure you carried the seniors' bags through the airport. Now the game has become so professional so quickly that some of those core values might be disappearing. Question: Has that professional-ism and physicality made rugby a better spectacle? JW: I definitely think it is better than in past days. I have looked at some of the games I have played and been like, 'what the hell was that?' Literally, awful stuff. BT: If you look at the last round of the Six Nations everyone knew who they had to play. They were free to play rugby and you saw three high-scoring games. When you look at the World Cup finals you didn't see attractive rugby. The 2011 World Cup final, I was playing in it and I remember thinking, 'this is rubbish'. Same thing in 2003 and 2007, because it was so tight. BH: When you ask if it's still a spectacle, I don't think we have ever heard of a rugby game that is 0-0 after 80 minutes. When you compare it to soccer a lot more happens. The one thing that has played a big part and where the game is going backwards is that there is so much being played. You have got Top 14, you have Champions Cup, you have got Super rugby, you have sevens and international rugby. Where's your spectator value? Is it in the most attractive rugby? The workload of players needs to be handled better. Question: So how do you deal with the pressure involved in a World Cup year. In England's case, a home World Cup? JW: It is a funny one because we have all been fortunate enough to win World Cups. Now that you have won it you can look back on it differently to someone who hasn't. Six months out from a World Cup, if you start thinking about how close it is then you are no longer the same player. It is a horrible balance. The only way to truly protect yourself and control everything is to let it go. Go out there and say this is all I have got because that puts you in a better state of mind for the next game. Then by the World Cup you are ready to go.BT: After the 2011 World Cup I was on the plane to Japan one week later. I was playing in front of an empty stadium and getting beat by an ordinary Japanese team. The guys who I had invested time with, like I have with Leicester Tigers right now, I feel a responsibility towards the fans, to my teammates and the jersey. That World Cup was the grand final of grand finals, but like Jonny was saying, you move on to the next thing. You refocus. Question: Is there a single component that every World Cup winning team needs to have? BH: I look back at 2007, what really worked was first of all meticulous planning from our coaching staff. From 2004 they had a plan for where they were heading in three years. Also in 2007 the experience in the team played a vital role. Guys like John Smit, Victor Matfield, Os du Randt. Percy Montgomery was absolutely phenomenal - accurate with the boot and clear decision-making throughout that tournament. We had a great team work ethic, which was utterly vital. Whether you were in the starting 15 or a non-playing reserve, the work ethic in the team was non-negotiable. JW: It is a tightness and a cohesion and a togetherness which is built on respect and experience, but it is driven and feeds on belief. All of those things that Bryan says give you a reason to believe. You have got guys who have done it before and it makes you think, 'of course we can do this'. That's the job of every single person, even if that guy's in charge of the bus schedule. You have got to make it right and make it work for the team. ..

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