The five pillars of Rugby

For a game that falls marginally short of becoming a combat sport, contrary to what some may still believe that it is, Rugby endorses, promotes and strives to instil five core values viz. discipline, integrity, respect, passion and solidarity. With the Schools Season around the corner, it’s an ideal time to make an effort to understand what these principles mean to all those who are a part of it; the players, spectators, coaching staff, match officials and the social media. Appreciating these core values could help shape our schools Rugby culture, which is headed slightly astray at present.

Discipline

Most of the modern laws of Rugby have been devised and structured to protect and safeguard the Players, and sometimes harsh punishments are sanctioned to keep ‘life threatening’ or ‘dangerous’ plays at bay. Discipline is an integral part of Rugby, both on and off the field, and is reflected through adherence to the laws of the game and Rugby’s core values.

What this demands from the coaches and players is to train to play safe, especially during contact situations. Unless safety contact procedures are continuously monitored, prompted and assimilated, particularly during pressure situations, they will not be carried onto the tournaments.

The benefits of following the laws of the game are many.

•  One is less likely to cause injuries to oneself and others, and this enables all concerned players to play throughout the season, without having to miss crucial games due to injuries. Some Coaches suffer after losing key players before vital games, while they had options to minimise the occurrences.
• Fewer infringements mean that one doesn’t give away possession and territorial advantage to the opposition, hence a better chance of winning.
• A team can avoid losing players due to yellow or red Cards, and continue to be competitive with 15 players remaining on the field at all times. Many teams have suffered losses as a result of key players being sent out due to serious offenses, at crucial stages of the game.

All Coaches are entrusted to continuously and strictly nurture the safety culture and stress the importance of the laws that prevail to protect them. In case the internal expertise is insufficient, then it would be strongly recommended to obtain the expertise of consultant Coaches.

Integrity

A child’s character can be carved by teaching the value of Integrity, and is portrayed through ‘honesty’ and ‘fair play’. Coaches hold the sole discretion to produce either selfless aristocrats, or selfish cowards who become cancerous to the society. A child’s future personality can be determined by the measure of integrity that is instilled during the training sessions.

As stated above briefly, being honest and fair in all forms is key to integrity. One must coach, play and officiate the game to be fair by all, and with total honesty. All tactics and counter-tactics that are coached and executed should not only be within the laws of the game, but also within the spirit of the game. What was a norm 20-30 years ago, is frowned upon in the current age of rugby. Therefore, school administrations bear the responsibility of persuading their respective coaching staff to produce respected losers, over dishonest winners.

Moreover, if we strongly believe that our present leaders lack integrity, but yet we choose not to instil this value in our young ones, we can never expect our Country to come out of the quicksand it is sinking in.

Respect

‘Discipline’, acknowledges the obligation and intent to ensure the safety of the opponent; ‘integrity’, offers the opponent a fair and equal chance to compete; in combination, these virtues form a solid Bridge to mutual respect. In the absence of the first two values, it would be near-impossible to harness the value of ‘respect’, other than for pretense.

‘Respect’ is not only confined to the players, but extended to the coaching staff, match officials, spectators and social media as well. Luckily, we don’t have the problem of players not giving due respect to the match officials at the moment. However, the others are usually seen using abusive language and sometimes even resorting to physical violence. The coaching staff must always remember that some of their outcries or actions could agitate the players and their supporters to become aggressive. One is allowed to holler slogans at a game, or share thoughts of displeasure in social media, but should be mindful to use respectful language. Some spectators arriving at the arenas under the influence, have little or no control over themselves, and cause discomfort and irritation to the children and ladies, and ultimately tarnish the image of their schools that they came to cheer for. Thus, it is thoroughly advisable to attend all schools’ events sober, and defer the chaotic state to the post-match socialising sessions.

Respecting the opposition supporters is important as well. While cheering one’s team uplifts the spirits of the players and its supporters, putting down the opposition by yelling demeaning slogans or posting hateful comments in social media could anger its proponents, hence should be avoided at all times. Instead, encouraging and applauding talented plays by the opposition could help improve mutual respect between the Clans at the Stands.

Passion

This goes without saying, as the Srilankan Schools Rugby fraternity has no deficiency in their passion for Rugby. Our Rugby followers have a passionate enthusiasm for the game, as it generates excitement, emotional attachment and a sense of belonging to the local Rugby family.

However, each one of us should ensure that this passion has its boundary, and should not transform into rage at any point. The emotional attachment combined with passionate enthusiasm could take a negative turn when things don’t turn out as expected. One must attempt to remain civil by controlling emotions, whilst reminding oneself that these are games played between school kids.

Solidarity

This is the virtue that unifies the Rugby fraternity before, during, after and in-between the games. Rugby provides a unifying spirit that leads to lifelong friendships, camaraderie, and loyalty which transcends cultural, geographic, ethnic and religious differences. However, ‘mutual respect’ and ‘controlled passion’ are key elements to the pathway that leads to solidarity.

One could witness the fruitful outcome of solidarity at the Pavilions, where allies of both teams mingle, and later socialise post-game cheerfully in brotherhood. A perfect instance of solidarity can be recalled at the game between Peter’s and Royal, hosted by the former last year, where the seatings were segmented. Arriving Royal factions were ushered into the seating areas segregated for them, and one could clearly hear many Royalists being unhappy about this arrangement, thus complaining that they have Peterite friends whom they wish to join to enjoy the game with.

Let’s be inspired by moments like these, and in-turn inspire others with similar sentiments by learning, practicing and upholding the five pillars that hold Rugby and our future generations together.