Declan Rice, by his own admission, is not the biggest rugby fan. And yet the England midfielder could not help but be drawn in by the World Cup quarter-finals over the weekend, their do-or-die drama – particularly New Zealand’s epic win over Ireland.
“It’s that mindset of getting over the line,” Rice says although, in New Zealand’s case, it technically came down to keeping Ireland from crossing theirs, defending through 37 phases of pressure at the very end to seal the 28-24 success.
The matches were on at Spurs Lodge where Rice and his team-mates stayed as they prepared for Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy at Wembley; England would win 3-1 to seal their place at the finals in Germany next summer. It was easy for Rice to draw parallels between the sports, certainly in terms of the missions at hand.
Ireland had entered the World Cup as the No 1-ranked team. They had beaten New Zealand in New Zealand in the summer of last year, a historic series triumph. But when it mattered the most, the All Blacks found a way.
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The England football team have cleared many obstacles during Gareth Southgate’s seven-year tenure. Winning away against Spain and Italy, ending decades-long sequences without such victories. They have beaten pretty much everyone in Europe – apart from France. They have advanced to the later stages of the past three tournaments. But they have never been able to get over the line to win something. When it mattered the most at the 2022 World Cup, to cite the latest example, France found a way to edge the quarter-final.
“We know in the end we will be judged on the tournaments,” Southgate says. “We know ultimately there’s only one prize in international football – unlike club football with how many shots each year? We are in the mix to go there to Germany and do well.”
Rice says: “We have all the talent but it is about that mindset and the drive to be the best and to win. You saw in the rugby that Ireland had, like, 35 attacks in the last wave and New Zealand were on the line. We can take lessons from the fact that it’s about leaving everything out there. If you want to win, you’ve got to do everything mentally and physically.”
Southgate, who is always open to taking things from other sports, has drawn on the philosophy of the All Blacks, going so far as to use a Kiwi performance coach, Owen Eastwood, to instil core principles – mainly in the lead-up to the 2018 World Cup. Eastwood, who has worked with the All Blacks, came into the England camp before the last European Championship finals.
“Gareth has met them [the All Blacks] a few times,” Rice says. “He speaks about them. We’ve had some people in before to do some talks – not only the All Blacks, England [rugby] as well, South Africa. How to have that mindset of ‘We ain’t getting beaten, no matter what’.”
The All Blacks’ famous “no dickheads” policy also resonates in the Southgate era, according to Rice. “You maybe get one or two [in dressingrooms] ... we’ve not gone one,” the Arsenal player says.
“I played against Man City on the weekend before the international break and I probably spent most of my time this trip with the City boys. It shows what it’s like. We don’t really want to go home. The next camp is in three weeks and we are all buzzing to get here again.”
As at the last World Cup, England will see France, the No 1-ranked team in Europe, as the one to beat next summer. But it is not just the culture and spirit that Southgate has instilled that gives them the conviction they are finally primed to make the breakthrough.
Rice is one of the big-name players who is going from strength to strength, his confidence sky-high after his summer move to Arsenal. Ditto Harry Kane, who went to Bayern Munich and Jude Bellingham, of course, with Real Madrid. Southgate has other players to count on, to quicken the pulse – Kyle Walker, John Stones, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden. Moreover, it is how they have grown as a collective through shared experiences, good and bad, that is notable.
“We can do big things,” Rice says. “The reaction since the World Cup has been amazing. We have to be level-headed but there is one objective and that is to win [a tournament] on foreign soil ... something no English team has ever done. It’s a big desire for us. We’re ready, mentally. We know as players it is time to step up.
“I’ve always noticed one thing with the other nations ... Germany, Italy, who have won it before ... and we are starting to become it now. It’s being more savvy in terms of doing the dirty things, taking a bit more time, knowing how to win games and see them out.
“The prime example is the Euro final [which England lost to Italy two years ago]. We didn’t manage that game well enough at all. Since then we’ve kicked on and managed games so much better. That’s another major step for us in terms of winning in Germany.”
Southgate says that he wants to win the final qualifying ties next month against Malta (home) and North Macedonia (away) as he strives to secure top-seed status for the group phase draw. “With the seeding, we probably need six points ... it is not just winning the qualifying group, it’s others as well,” he says. Really, though, everyone knows it has gone far beyond that. – Guardian
