Nineteen chaplains are in attendance at the Rugby World Cup to offer pastoral care, a quiet prayer or simply a cup of coffee
Some people think Rugby World Cups are simply about the power and the glory. Get it right on the field and everything else will be fine. The truth is much more complex. There are 20 squads of 30 players in New Zealand, plus another few hundred coaches, medics, bottle-washers, referees and assistants. Collect up all those competitive spirits, fragile egos and homesick travellers and you have a recipe for individual misery and vulnerability on a grand scale, regardless of which side lifts the trophy.
Just as well, then, that some sympathetic ears are on hand to listen if necessary. They never get a mention but 19 chaplains are in attendance at RWC 2011 to offer pastoral care, confidential advice, a quiet prayer or simply a cup of coffee to those in need. Everyone knows rugby players can handle themselves physically, but touring does not bring out the best in everyone.
Talk to David Chawner, a former baptist minister in Ealing who is among those helping out at this tournament, and you begin to appreciate a little more about the hidden pressures lurking beneath the skin of professional sport. How difficult it must be, for example, to be playing in a World Cup for your country when your partner is expecting a child on the other side of the world (several of the England squad are currently in this position). Maybe a close relative is ill or dying or your relationship is in trouble. Maybe, like Scotland's Euan Murray, you do not believe in playing rugby on Sundays. Whatever it is, a team-room full of alpha males is not always the ideal place to find sympathy.
It is Chawner's view, having spent 10 years as chaplain at London Wasps and also been involved with SCORE, the UK's national sports chaplaincy charity, that the provision of pastoral and, if required, spiritual support is an increasingly vital area in any professional sport. Some teams even bring their own chaplains; in Australian rugby league, among other places, it is commonplace. "We're a long way off that but we're working towards it," says Chawner.
He does not need to add that there are as many, if not more, personal issues to be dealt with in the average rugby team as in any other sector of the population. Chaplains have been called in to help employees cope when a club is suddenly relegated, or to offer a soothing word to those whose careers have just flashed before their eyes. "In rugby you're only ever one tackle away from serious injury," says Chawner, who has worked with the Rugby Players' Association and is particularly conscious of the strain on youngsters trying to make their way in various academies.
"In football around 85% of academy kids don't make it into the pro game. We want parents to know that rugby cares. We don't see their sons or daughters as fodder for rugby. We see them as young people who we care for and have a responsibility for. If there is a concern it is that we want to produce balanced guys, so that when rugby spits them out because of injury or something else, they can still thrive in the real world."
Does he not see a conflict, though, between the increasingly ruthless cut-throat world of professional sport and spiritual well-being? Chawner insists not, stressing that chaplains are trained to be "pastorally proactive and spiritually reactive" and that people often ask him to say a comforting prayer.
To settle the debate he quotes a member of the All Blacks World Cup winning side of 1987, on the ethics of God-fearing men smashing the hell out of their opponents. "Michael Jones used to say: 'God has taught us it is more blessed to give than to receive.'" It is a good line whether you happen to believe in spiritual nourishment or not.
PUTTING THE 'GO' IN OTAGO
Spending the first half of September in the deep south of New Zealand has been a revelation. The weather has been cool but mostly fine, the welcome to visitors unfailingly warm and the surroundings beautiful. Dunedin and the Otago peninsula must be among the better-kept secrets anywhere in the world if you happen to like laid-back cities which nestle between beach-fronted ocean and spectacular hills. This column is not meant to be a travel-advice service ? and the destination is a mere 12,000 miles from the UK ? but maybe even Kiwis from up north underestimate the jewel on their doorstep.
WORTH WATCHING THIS WEEK
New Zealand v France. Judging by the team they have selected, the French seem inclined to give it a whirl and see what happens. It may actually suit them to lose to ensure they avoid playing any of the Tri-Nations teams again until the final, should they get there. But what a shock it would be to the Kiwi system if the All Blacks were to be upset in the pool stages. Regardless of the outcome, this contest will tell us a lot about New Zealand's composure under pressure.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/sep/20/rugby-world-cup-2011-chaplains
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