Talking winning ways with RaboDirect PRO12 award winners

However, one aspect that stays the same across the rugby field regardless of position is having a particular mentality if one wishes to succeed.

This season's RaboDirect PRO12 Player's Player award winner Ospreys out-half Dan Biggar and Young Player of the Year Glasgow Warriors lock Jonny Gray have obviously both dazzled in different ways this season.
However, an important tie that binds both players and any player hitting the heights is getting prepared psychologically before stepping on the field.

An aspect of professional rugby that holds mystique for many observers is how place kickers keep their nerve during those moments when all eyes are on them.

Biggar sheds light on the processes a kicker must go through, "I try to put myself in match situations in training. Then when I am in match situations, I try to imagine that I am back on the training pitch just on my own and just kicking on my local pitch. Normally, that is the plan, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!"

Rather than swirling winds or a vocal crowd being the challenge for a place kicker to navigate, it is quiet and stillness in the stands that Biggar finds most difficult.

There is one RaboDirect PRO12 venue that more than anywhere else, the 24 year-old must step up his mental preparation for - Thomond Park.

Ironically, it would seem Biggar would not mind too much if the Munster faithful abandoned their legendary respect for the kicker, "I have always kicked fairly well there but at Thomond Park I have always found it very, very difficult because it is deathly silent. I would rather maybe even a bit of banter or anything from the crowd!"

He adds: "But when you go to Thomond Park, sometimes that dead silence puts a bit more pressure on you because you feel like everybody is watching you."

So, what goes through the mind of a player on the verge of taking a kick in front of a crowd of thousands?
With a good-natured chuckle, the Ospreys man says, "Most of it is hit and hope! But seriously a lot of it is to do with confidence.

"Once you get on a little bit of a run, your confidence is up and I always try and pick a point behind the posts, which is a bit of a smaller target and hopefully, even if I miss that, it still goes through the posts."

Continuing on the theme of self-belief, Biggar gives a great insight into how mental resilience is needed, "sometimes it is difficult if you have missed your first one or two. It can be hard to regroup and go again. But I think that is what makes the top kickers maybe a little bit different is they manage to put a miss out of their system."

It is actually a man that graced Thomond Park for many seasons that Biggar points out as exemplary around this mental toughness, "I think no one was better than Ronan O'Gara in his day. No matter how many he had missed, you would always back him to kick the important ones."

It is clear the Irishman has been a source of inspiration to Biggar, "How many times has Ronan O'Gara won games for Ireland and Munster? He has been unbelievable. He is an absolute legend of the game. He is definitely someone whose mental attitude people should applaud. I always would have looked at him and Jonny Wilkinson when I was younger."

Drawing inspiration and learning from others is something fellow RaboDirect PRO12 award winner Gray singles out as key to his stellar break thorough season.

The 20-year-old explains how Glasgow Warriors captain Alastair Kellock has guided him and shared his secrets to success as a lock, "a really big thank you to Al Kellock, who has been a mentor, helping me along. It has been huge to have him helping me; he did the same for my brother as well. Al is just a great all round guy. If there are any, problems, any issues or something that is not going well, I can always go to him. He is just an open guy like that."

The brother whom Gray mentions is of course British and Irish Lion, Richie. Gray the younger believes their close bond has also helped his as a rugby player, "I am very close to my brother and again I know if I ever have any problems, I could go to him and talk to him about my rugby. He has been my role model and to have seen him do so well has been inspirational for me."

The team spirit currently around the Glasgow Warriors camp is something that Gray highlights as being key in his club's success to date in the RaboDirect PRO12, "there is a lot of togetherness in this team, we spend lots of time together on and off the pitch and that has helped us a lot. Just the culture in the club, we are all pushing each other and trying to get better all the time.

"We just had to believe in each other, believe in the coaches and trust each other, so that togetherness came through."

Both players see the importance of getting away from rugby in their down time. Biggar and Gray as well as well as Try of the Season winner Glasgow Warriors' Tommy Seymour are all believers that a bit of canine company is the perfect counter to the stresses of professional rugby. They join the likes of Leinster's Jordi Murphy in the growing ranks of RaboDirect PRO12's dog owners!

Biggar laughs, that the names of his golden retrievers Millie and Daisy "don't make me sound very manly!" he continues, "but it is important just to get away from rugby. I play a fair bit of golf as well, there is a golf club just five minutes from my house, so I try and get up there as often as I can. Otherwise, it is feet up and watching any other sport on the telly other than rugby!"

One area in terms of psychological preparation that the Welshman notices differences between backs and their colleagues in the pack are their musical tastes when getting match ready, "I quite like songs that are rather relaxing, I think the forwards will more have your heavy dance or your hard metal! Where as I would probably prefer something a little bit softer, something to chill me out a little bit more rather than the other way around."

Whether it is the traditional values of camaraderie and drawing inspiration from your teammates, skills such as visualisation or even a spot of dog walking there are many varied facets to maintaining a winning attitude in rugby.

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