Talent, Character, Love

Robbie Deans has picked a lot of teams.

He began coaching in 1997, going on to win five Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, before becoming the first foreigner to coach Australia. For the past ten years, he’s been in charge of Saitama Wild Knights in Japanese League One.

Recently, as part of the Crusaders Leadership Progamme, Deans outlined his three-step process when considering players for selection (or staff to hire):

1. Talent

2. Character

3. Love

Step 1: Talent

“Obviously, you've got to have talent, but [at the top level] everyone's got talent,” Deans says.

To account for the small differences in talent (particularly among rugby players in New Zealand) Deans breaks his criteria down even further.

• Mix: “By mix I mean their ability to cover positionally, it might be off the bench if we get injuries.”

• Merit: “You’ve got to be prepared to start them. If you’re not prepared to start them, they’ll know, and their teammates will know, and they’ll sink as a result.”

Step 2: Character

If further tiebreakers are required, Deans says he’ll look at character.

“By character, I mean: Will someone continue to give, even if their own needs aren't being met? They may not be getting selected, maybe they're injured, but they'll keep turning up for the team and for their teammates,” he explains.

Step 3: Love

If still deadlocked at the selection table, Deans has one final criteria that he uses.

“The third quality is what I call love: they love what they do!” he says matter-of-factly.

Continuing, Deans adds why he believes love can be a defining characteristic: “If they don't love what they do, then they won't take initiative, they won't master their own destiny.”

Robbie’s framework gives us some insight into his craft, but it also brings forth a number of questions that are worth considering for any coach:

• Do you have a well-defined framework for selecting players and staff?

• And does it line up to both performance goals and cultural expectations?

And even if you do have your own existing framework, Deans’ criteria are valuable reflection points that can also be used to assess your organization:

1. Do we have a good mix? Can they cover each other?

2. Am I prepared to start this player? Am I prepared to promote this staff member?

3. Will they continue to give, even if their needs aren’t being met?

4. Do they love what they do? Will they master their own destiny?