After
watching the disheartening showing in London, the overused quote, "The
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting it
to come out different", kept ringing in my head. There is a debate (on
Wikipedia) whether Benjamin Franklin, or Albert Einstein, or a smattering of
professional athletes coined this well-known phrase. Despite the debate, whoever
said it must have been thinking of the dilemma that the Eagle 7’s now face.
During
the time that Alex Magleby was at the helm, U.S. rugby fans were able to bask
in the resplendent glow of progress, and improvement. Winning was not just
possible, it seemed probable. But apparently, “Nothing gold can stay….” When it
was announced that Matt Hawkins was chosen to fill the void that Alex Magleby
left, there was still a glimmer of hope because, without a doubt, Matt Hawkins
had been a big part of the success of the Eagle 7’s during Magleby’s reign.
Matt Hawkins was a tremendous player, and his leadership was certainly crucial
to much of the team’s success. Unfortunately, there is one immutable fact that
many people fail to recognize: great players, do not always make great coaches.
Simply stated, coaching and playing aren’t the same skill set. I’ve known
coaches with very limited amounts of playing experience that are tremendously
successful coaches. Conversely, I know coaches that have experienced rugby at
the top international stage, that are unable to adequately instruct their high
school team. Unfortunately, it seems that it’s the later, rather than the
former that are tasked with taking the reins of our National teams…, but I
digress.
I
started having real reservations about Hawkins’ ability to adequately continue
Magleby’s direction of the Eagle 7’s, when he started the season in the
player/coach roll. It showed a severe lack of sound judgment, and realistic dedication
to success. The player/coach thing never works, regardless of the level of
rugby, but especially at the International level. New Zealanders would call for
the immediate resignation of Gordon Tietjens, if he suggested assuming a
player/coach roll. It’s a comical suggestion for New Zealand rugby, and an
insane suggestion for the Eagle 7’s…. Fortunately a modicum amount of sanity
returned, and Hawkins found his spot on the sideline. For a while the team
showed sparks of their past resolve, in particular, the defense still carried
the lessons Alex taught in their hearts. But they made silly mistakes and have
(with a few notable exceptions) a hard time finding the try line. The bottom
line is inconsistency is the name of their game.
You
know things are bad, when you’d rather clean the garage than watch rugby. After
Samoa beat the Eagles in London, I’d had enough. Let me be clear, it was not
the players fault. In fact, they seemed to make less ball handling errors than
usual, and they seemed to have a cohesiveness that that U.S. fans have not seen
before. Arguably, the Eagle 7’s have amassed an impressive group of dedicated
athletes, and they have the capacity to win. However, like a ship without a
rudder, they are drowning in the tide of International teams that are improving
(one word: Canada). One of the biggest concerns is what will happen should the
Eagle 7’s fail to qualify for the re-launching of Olympic rugby in Rio? Maybe
American fan will be best-known for having meticulously clean garages, or
perhaps the exciting growth of the sport we’ve experienced here in the U.S. since
the announcement of its inclusion in the 2016 Olympics level off of will recede
to pre-rugby-in-the-Olympics days. One thing is certain, rugby in the U.S. will
miss this perfect wave of chance, and we will have a valid reason to be
mediocre.
Matt
Hawkins may be a great guy. He was certainly a good rugby player, and he has done
some positive things for the Eagle 7’s. But he is not the coach we need for the
U.S. to be successful in international 7’s rugby. Regardless of contracts,
regardless of cost, and regardless of politics 7’s rugby must make a drastic
change and now. If this were an optimal world, Matt Hawkins would recuse
himself as unable to effectively lead the Eagle 7’s, and he would release
U.S.A. Rugby from its contractual obligation so it would be possible to
fiscally find an adequate coach for the upcoming Olympics. However, I’m sure we
are not now living in an optimal world….
Maybe
Robert Frost, the Father of American poetry was right. Maybe it’s true that,
“nothing gold can stay….” Maybe. But, it’s as certain as the sun setting in the
West, that if things remain as they have been with the Eagle 7’s, the U.S. will
no longer hold Olympic gold. But the dreamer in me, the American in me believes
that anything is possible.
