Rugby’s cruel summer and why stress levels are on the rise for players


The business end of the season means one of two things; either you’re in the mix for silverware or your season is done, and the beach looms large. That might seem overly simplistic but for some players in the European leagues, they are into week 52 of the season! Yes, that’s right, some teams started week one of pre-season a full year ago. I think they can be forgiven if they are picking their heads up looking for the finish line.
There are different motivations for each player regardless of where you sit in the league; selection, performance, trophies, holidays and for some the very real prospect of having nowhere to play at the start of the next season which is just six or seven weeks away.
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Hide AdAt Edinburgh, for example, they’ve got a huge game this weekend, away at Benetton, winner takes all. Such a massive emotional investment will require every individual throughout the entire squad to be 100 per cent committed to salvage the season. At the other end of the scale, clubs like the Dragons and Zebre have nothing left to play for other than personal pride. There will still be commitment from the match-day 23 but the rest of the squad will have known that their season was over when the team was announced on Monday or Tuesday morning. How will they have motivated themselves for this final week?
How you approach these games can depend on your contractual situation and whether there is any certainty about where you’ll be playing your rugby next season. If you are starting every week, you know you are going to be playing regardless and the chances are your employment for the following year has already been sorted. But if you are a squad player who is out of contract and probably not going to play, your approach might differ. It is not uncommon for self-preservation to kick in. Innocuous little niggles might pop up taking you out of training and games for the last couple of weeks because you can’t afford to pick up a big injury at the end of a season when you are moving on and starting with a new club in four or five weeks’ time. Players are only human, and rugby is a brutal sport. It may be unpalatable to hear as a fan, but you can’t criticise players for prioritising themselves, their family and their careers.
Of course, there is always one group who are moving on at the end of the season for whom it’s easier to motivate themselves and give their all. For the players who are retiring, there is nothing after this. No more pre-seasons, no more injuries, no more taps on the shoulder ‘how’s the family’ and getting dropped for the following week. That is all the motivational fuel they need.
I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve been looking for a contract at the end of the season. Last year was probably the latest it has ever gone. I signed the new deal at the start of April which is pretty late for me to be honest. Normally, my negotiations were done and dusted by December, and I’ve been extremely fortunate to have it all sorted it out early. However, there are plenty who still don’t know what their situation is heading into April and even May.
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Hide AdCovid has definitely affected the transfer market. Most people used to get contracts tied up in January, February and March. But the impact of Covid combined with a number of clubs in England folding has meant more players coming on the market. Deals are now getting done in May and June. More and more players are going into the summer without clubs, and they might get picked up in July and August or even at the start of the season.
It has meant a lot more uncertainty and player power has decreased. Clubs are less likely to snap you up early and the money’s significantly reduced too. So not only do you have the uncertainty of not having a club, the chances are that you will be getting paid less than the previous season when you do eventually find a new team.
It’s hugely stressful. Even if you get signed up in February or March it’s still stressful because if you are going to a new club you’ve got three months to move your entire life and it can have a big impact on your wife and kids. It could be a different country, a different language and some of these moves can be done suddenly in the space of a couple of days.
Unless you’re fortunate to get signed on a three- or four-year contract, the likes of which are few and far between at the moment, you’ll end up on a relatively short deal, just one or two years. And the shorter the contract, the more the stress. You are playing for your job. If you want to be in a team, you need to be fit and you need to be playing well.
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Hide AdDespite what people think, there is not a huge amount of money in rugby, so the prospect of going one, two or three months without wages when you’ve got a mortgage and bills to pay, and you are moving around the country trying to find a club, adds to the strain.
Inevitably that’s going to impact on performance, and not necessarily negatively. It could bring out the best in players.
You have to try to not let these situations have a detrimental effect on your game and some players are very good at making the pitch a sanctuary and adopting a singular mindset where they can put all the worries to one side for 80 minutes and go out and perform. If life is stressful, playing at the end of the week can almost be a relief and if you can string together three or four good performances then you put yourself in the shop window
I think I’ve always played better leading into a contract because you have the bit between your teeth. The idea of playing for your contract and playing for your career does tend to focus the mind a little bit.
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Hide AdWe’ve got our end of season dinner with Glasgow Warriors on Saturday and it will stir up some emotions. I’m in a different situation because I’m retiring. I’m not moving club so there is a finality about me leaving. In some ways it’s even more stressful because I’m going into the real world and need to find a proper job!
Situations with players leaving can also bring out the best in a team. All clubs do it: they stick up photos of the players who are leaving or retiring to try to coax out that extra one or two per cent. Some of the best games I’ve been involved in are the ones where the team has tapped into those emotions.
When you’ve got a tight-knit player group, and you’ve got someone leaving who means a lot to the squad, it can be a powerful motivator. The best coaches use that, even when it’s someone they do not know that well, they understand the value of that individual on the squad and the club.
At Glasgow, everyone at the club, from the players to the commercial staff, forms a tight group and we’ve been very good at using players’ last games in a positive way. It can be beneficial to involve the supporters. They are a huge part of creating a successful club and can generate an electric atmosphere on game days so it is important for them to be part of saying goodbye to players that have given everything to entertain them and win for them. That has certainly been the case at some of the games I’ve played in at Scotstoun.
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Hide AdIt is definitely a more uncertain time for players. The risks in rugby have not changed. They’ve probably increased and yet it has become harder for players to have security in the game and you see more and more having to compromise by taking lower wages or shorter-term deals. It’s a much more stressful environment than it’s ever been and that applies to everyone, young and old.
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