Greatness is still in you, it’s just a matter of bringing it out

Dear Editor,

Warning. This article is not to demean the efforts of the men in Blue jerseys, promise I’ll be nice. Rather, to rekindle the fighting giant in each of them because a week from now, they will face a giant of a team in England. 

Beat England then our hearts will completely forget all the heart-breaking losses we had for the past years period!

As for the niceties, I express my gladness, together with the rest of our Polynesian brothers; the Tongans and the Fijians, for playing like legendary warriors of the Pacific. 

Regardless of the rugby code, you showed that greatness is still in each of you.

Clap, clap, clap: A round of applause from us your Polynesian brothers!  

I am so thrilled to see that somehow, our Polynesian brothers in the Rugby League World Cup found the winning formulas to beat the odds. At the moment, they are playing according to, or at least, close to their potentials. While the Samoans are still wondering if we want to be in field or not. The Kangaroos beat us good, and frankly, was able to slaughter us in the field during the first half. And then, mummified as in the second half, as if we are dead Egyptians royals. 

Sorry guys, this is what happened last Friday, sugar coating it will not change what transpired in that lonely Friday night.

Lucky for us, we are Polynesians through and through, so fight we will, and hope, we will, no matter what the odds are.

In a not-so-sorry state of Samoan rugby, we are lucky to share similar physical attributes with the victorious Tongans and Fijians like; the raw power, the huge physique, the blistering speed, the tenacity of a legendary warrior, and self-belief. 

We all have these attributes but one, self-belief. Apparently, in the past few years, this invisible adversary called self-belief caused us visible frustrations; an opponent stronger than our real opponents. Self-belief is like an absentee student who fails to show up every time we have the National Exam.

As a result, all these super-human qualities look nothing against the opposing teams. Surely, without self-belief, the win will continue to elude us because our physical super-human qualities are inferior in the grand scheme of things. She will always kneel in the presence of self-belief.

Now that our Polynesian brothers showed us that impossible is just a word to munch. Right now is the right time to munch impossibility so that all of us can have a nice burp.

In one of my articles, I mentioned the power of One.

    It takes only one person named Michael Jordan to make Chicago Bulls a great team. Usain Bolt is only one person who made Jamaica sprinting’s a powerhouse team.

    While, “Closer to our homes, Jonah Lomu, Michael Jones, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are rugby’s finest…The influence of these players have on their contemporaries, as well as, the present rugby players go beyond rugby, to say the least.”

Most recently, the power of One is undeniable in the England rugby team. After their most embarrassing exit ever in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, England hired the bull-of-a-man in Eddie Jones.

This is a guy who takes no crap from no one and he gives plenty of it to everyone. But who cares when he can back up his crappiness with the performance of his team. 

So far, under his tutelage, the England rugby team have won 21 out of 22 outings. This is a confidence-building-invincible-making feat for his team. Look at them, they play like a real bully against Australia, good for them. The English media are already counting their game against us as a win--that is confidence. Or, maybe arrogance. Call it what you want, they keep on winning as of late.

Back to my point, the 7s, the 15s, and the 13s all need to find that One. Progress here and there are obvious but the speed with which our teams’ progress is painstakingly slow. 

It will not surprise me if, by the end of the year, an influx of Samoans admitted to the hospital will increase to unprecedented level because of cardiovascular problems.

We need the One who can help improve our fitness, refine our handling skills, bring oneness-mentality into the team, and insert more creativities in our plays. Above all, we need the One to restore self-belief in each player wearing the Blue jerseys!

Our players need to be reminded how to win games because they seemed to forget how to win as a team.

Every fiber of my fanatic rugby gene tells me that the formula of successful rugby campaign for our men in Blues lives within each of them.

They just need the Jordans, the Bolts, the McCaws, the Lomus, the Jones, and the Carters of this world to inspire them. With these kinds of men in their presence, snatching a win will become as easy a breathing.  

I still believe that each player in our teams has the greatness of a lion and the pureness of a gem within them waiting to burst into the scene! Our tasks are to find the One.

Boys in Blue, will you be the One?

As for the public, if you think you are the One please contact the S.R.U. Chairman for an appointment, wink wink.

 

Ryan Christian Flor Nemes

Samoa Observer

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