By Greg Mumm

As the pitches are mown in anticipation of the first weekend of World Cup action, notions of honour and expectation will start filtering into the collective minds of the 20 nations.

In a tournament such as this, used wisely, these concepts can motivate individuals, teams and countries alike, used poorly they can become a heavy weight around ones neck.

Honour can be viewed in a number of ways – honouring those that have gone before you, honour your country, family and fans, honour your brothers in battle standing next to you, and honour the sweat and blood you have spilled for this opportunity.

Used in these ways it can inspire, raise the hair on your neck and lift teams and individuals to feats not seen outside the confines of a World Cup. Think Jonah Lomu v England 1995, Dusautoir v New Zealand 1999, a heavily underestimated Australia pushing England all the way in 2003 at home, and the supremely lead South African and New Zealand teams on 2007 & 2011.

However, honour your opposite number more than elite competition warrants, and he becomes your better and you risk watching him play rather than playing back. For many of the smaller nations this can be a common issue at big tournaments like this, and one that Fiji will need to manage in the pool stages, although their experience will help.

Honouring those teams that have been victorious before is a humble and well-respected trait of all good teams, but idolise them too much, look back once too often and you risk losing your team identity. You could argue that all World Cup winning teams have had to overcome this in their own way, and many of them did so after respective teams had disappointing performances in the preceding tournaments, breaking this weight of respect.

This bodes well for Michael Cheika’s Wallabies who have been very quick to break from perceptions of past teams. Furthermore, his use of the 1999 winning team to contact players on their selection night suggests that these subtle touches will bring a balance that reminds their current crew of their roots.

Which brings us to expectation, a factor England will no doubt be feeling right about now, as will the Welsh.

Expectation is best described as honour dressed in overalls. It is the hard work, the physical and mental effort and discipline that honour demands, the expectations of yourself and your teammates, the expectations of coaches and countrymen, family and friends alike.

It can drive a man to despair as quickly as it can raise him up depending how it’s managed, and for any of the top 8 nations in the world their standards will be no lower than the Cup itself.

For the teams that make the business end, it is hard to avoid. They will have lived with each other, day and night, for close to three months by the time the trophy is raised. They will have signed countless autographs and had hundreds of conversations with coaches, media and each other on what is needed to win.

Many studies in rugby and other elite sports have linked results based expectations with decreases in decision-making abilities. With the stakes so high for the major nations, it is these turns of the mind that can cause upsets.

Much has been made of the islands teams’ ability to cause upsets in these competitions, teams of men that value and use honour as a key motivator, but without the crippling effects of public or private expectation.

They are expected only to try their hardest and represent their countries with pride.

Fijian Captain Akapusi Qera has been working publically and privately to create this link with the current Fijian team. A recent video, seen below,  which he personally funded, links the history of the game in Fiji and the heritage of his rugby descendants.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4N_htuJTg#t=443[/youtube]

The video quotes the following lines in relation to the players mindsets.

“My name is not my own…it is borrowed from my ancestors and I must return it unstained.

“My honour is not my own… it is on loan from my decedents and I must give it to them unbroken.

“And our blood is not our own…it is a gift to generations yet unborn, we should carry it with responsibility.”

It mentions nothing of results or great victories, but of respect and responsibility. And whilst the team will still have an identity of its own, its quiet guys and its jokers, tight workers unseen and shining ‘Serevi’s’, they will fight to keep the flying Fijian name pristine, maintaining the jerseys on loan from their decedents in a manner that inspires the next generation.

They will balance the honour associated with the position they have, not with expectations of individual brilliance or team results, but more of making those they represent proud of their effort and persistence.

Whilst it is story told so eloquently through the culture and tradition of the islands, it is a script that if followed will serve any team in the coming weeks.

Greg Mumm is a former assistant coach of Fiji and the Waratahs