Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Most people in Ireland know this phrase as the Roy Keane credo; a quintessential expression of the Corkman’s approach to sport.
The phrase actually has its origins in America, where a slightly different version was first uttered by that habitual speaker of plain but memorable words, Benjamin Franklin, who said ‘By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail’.
In the 1950s it received its modern form when basketball star John Wooden updated Franklin’s more circumspect terminology into a sports-speak: ‘Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail’. From Wooden’s utterance it then, presumably, wended its way from American sports psychology to Manchester United and the midfielder from Mayfield.
As with all clichés (is anyone else tired of the once interesting but now utterly banal ‘win ugly’ yet?) it still contains an essential truth. Obviously, England are the prime example of a side that is ‘failing to prepare’. At the pinnacle of modern sport, playing and training are very separate experiences. The modern conditioning session is a murderous and unforgiving affair, designed to take players well over the pain barrier they experience in matches.
Because each English player serves two masters, club and country, their strength and conditioning has suffered compared to other countries’ leading players. The English players are kept fresh for regular Premiership duty and don’t do anywhere near the level of sustained conditioning work Ireland or, for that matter, New Zealand - the other world leaders in this field.
Even in match week, the English approach is obviously a shambles. They are the Leaving Cert student with a weekend job who puts in only two or three days of serious work before each exam. Because of the limited training time available to the international side, Brian ‘emergency grind teacher’ Ashton is forced to rely on an absurdly simple gameplan, designed for players who barely know each other.
In terms of preparation, Ireland are at a different level entirely. After last weekend’s rout, the players spoke of feeling fresh and of how they could have kept going for another half. The core of the team has been over the pain barrier so many times during the provincial and International pre-seasons they endure; that when things are going well they can focus on playing rugby at the optimum level instead of worrying about tiredness or collapsing. Hardworking A1 students who have done the work throughout the year and don’t need to try and bluff or bluster to do well.
France, meanwhile, are possibly the brightest boy in the class. Certainly they would appear to have the most going for them naturally. Bernard Laporte’s idea this time around has been to try and make use of his massive player pool while at the same time building team spirit, and against all the odds it seems to have worked. Bringing 40 odd players together in one group and playing a selection of them each weekend means that at the very least everybody is working within the same framework.
Looking at next weekend, the key match is obviously England v France at Twickenham on Sunday. England are likely to make considerable changes due to injuries – Phil Vickery’s concussion is chief among their problems but Andy Farrell, David Strettle and Jonny Wilkinson are also worries, while there’s a chance they will bring in flanker Tom Rees in place of Magnus Lund, hauled off at half time against Ireland. Jason Robinson returns to training tomorrow (Tuesday) and can also be expected to line out.
France also have problems. Sylvain Marconnet broke his leg skiing of all things, while Laporte has committed himself to playing all 40 of his squad during the tournament. A core of quality players remain in place though, and their two key men, Serge Betsen and Yannick Jauzion, are in top form and injury free. That said, they still look as though they can be exposed in the right conditions and England have the credentials to do it. The fixture has been a close run thing in recent years, even through the Andy Robinson era, and the dynamics haven’t shifted all that much.
In fact, it is arguable that, last week’s blow-out at Croke Park notwithstanding, England have become a better team. As for France, Ireland held them for 60 minutes during which they looked nothing like the world beaters they were painted as afterwards. While it’s hard to make an unbiased judgement given that an England victory would give Ireland a shot at the Championship, I predict a home victory by around six or seven points.
Wales’s trip to Italy is perhaps the most interesting tie of the round in terms of the shifting sands of the RBS Six Nations. Are Italy the fourth best team? They certainly have the weapons to duff up a weak and seemingly under-motivated Welsh front five. However, they are vulnerable to the Welsh style if Stephen Jones and co. get on a roll. Class will out, though, and Wales look to have enough of that to concede a try or two but still take the win.
Ireland and Scotland looks the mismatch of the week. Scotland were abysmal against Italy and their underlying strength and fitness problems ought to ensure that they perform poorly against a superior Irish side. The danger for Ireland is that they become over-focussed on running up a big score. That said, they are due to get off to a flyer sometime, and Scotland’s lower skill levels might just give them openings early on. Even if they are held early on, scoring heavily at the end of a match is the key to getting a big total. Ireland should be able to crack the Scottish pack early enough to give them a good 25 minute spell of dominance and win by around forty points to eight or ten.
