The road to rebuilding a rugby team into the best in the world is bumpy. It may cause more grief for All Blacks fans in the short term, but fans should keep thinking positive, says a psychology expert.
New Zealand rugby fans came to the end of a disappointing loss on Saturday night, witness the The crushing defeat of all blacks to Ireland in Wellington.
Ireland became the fifth touring team ever to win a home victory over the All Blacks.
MindWorks director and registered psychologist, Sara Chatwin, said Kiwis defined themselves through our sport and achievements – so there would be a lot of fans feeling frustration, disappointment and anger.
READ MORE:
* Why NZ Rugby needs to win back the fans and get the All Blacks on tour
* All Blacks: Early feedback for Ian Foster ‘strong’ as the season review progresses
* Defiant Ian Foster assesses All Blacks campaign: ‘We’ve had significant growth’
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
New Zealand coach Ian Foster looks on after the test loss.
“It’s sobering and confrontational when we’re exposed to this kind of performance,” she said.
The reason New Zealanders cared so much about us when there was such a loss was because we tied part of our national identity to sport, she said, and rugby was at the very top.
One of the best ways to deal with this has been to maintain a positive mindset as the team enters a reform phase and looks at how to regain that top spot.
There will be a few more defeats in that process – but they come with the positivity of showing our flaws that gives an idea of what to do next.
“To denigrate the team or the coach, there is no need – [we need to] dust us off and look to the future,” Chatwin said.
SARA CHATWIN/Delivered
Registered psychologist Sara Chatwin said there will still be some bumps in the road for All Blacks fans, but people shouldn’t resort to taking it out on the team or the coaching staff
In terms of being a fan, stick with it, she said.
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘It’s not about how fast you run or how high you jump, it’s about how well you bounce’”.
Police in Wellington no significant incidents reported on Saturday night after more than 35,000 fans poured into the city after the game.
“We were satisfied with the behavior in the city after last night’s game and there were no major problems,” said a spokesperson.