“Another great example is the Scottish rugby team. They have
never beaten the All Blacks and I
genuinely wonder if – deep down – they really do want to. If they do, then
perhaps they talk themselves out of it before they even go out onto the pitch.
They have lost games by 30 points and talked about playing well. It seems to me
that the players are just happy to have played against the All Blacks, and that
their focus is more on playing well than getting the result. I have a peer from
my playing days – a highly respected Scottish international – who still talks about the time that they
played the All Blacks in 1990 and lost. He tells me that they should have
beaten us. My answer is simple: maybe so but you didn’t. Even 20 or so years
later, he is still bringing it up; in fact I heard him speak at a rugby
function a few weeks ago and he said – I kid you not – ‘one of my greatest
memories was when we almost beat the All Blacks.’” Sean Fitzpatrick, Former All Black Captain