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‘Better Never Rests’: How the All Blacks are inspiring college football champions
By Finn Morton
The Georgia Bulldogs have been the best team in College Football over the last two years, and they’re preparing to begin their quest for a historic three-peat.
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But, with legendary coach Kirby Smart at the helm, the ‘Dawgs’ looked beyond American Football in order to get better.
The National Collegiate Champions “studied” the All Blacks for six weeks.
Looking to manage complacency during the upcoming season, Kirby and the Bulldogs adopted the All Blacks’ mantra of “Better Never Rests.”
“This year we studied the New Zealand All Blacks, the most successful sports team in the history of teams,” Smart top reporters at a recent media opportunity in Nashville.
“Over 100 years, they have had the highest winning percentage.
“We took a deep dive, we took six weeks. We took a title and a mantra from them and studied those things for six weeks because we don’t want complacency. They’ve done it better than anyone else.
“One of their big mantras is ‘Better Never Rests.’”
Georgia won their first of two National Collegiate Football Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium last year when they ended Alabama’s pursuit of consecutive crowns.
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The 33-18 win at the home of the Indianapolis Colts was the start of something special. The following year, the Bulldogs beat the TCU Horned Frogs by a staggering 58 points.
In front of more than 72,000 supporters, the Dawgs had etched their name into collegiate football history.
But they want more. Better Never Rests.
“We believe that. Those are strong words now when you think about them. Think deeply about it. Better Never Rests. Our kids understand it, our kids have learned it,” he added, as reported by allblacks.com.
“What drives us for this season is intrinsic motivation. We’re not going to be controlled by outside narratives and what people say, and who is going to be the quarterback.
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“The intrinsic motivation comes from within and what we decide we want to do. This team is still defining itself.”
This isn’t the first time that a successful American Football side has turned to the All Blacks for guidance, either.
Back in 2017, Super Bowl coach Dan Quinn – who had taken the Atlanta Falcons to one of the biggest games in team sports – revealed that he’d been inspired by the book “Legacy.”
Author James Kerr takes the reader deep into the ethos of the All Blacks – looking at various mantras including sweeping the sheds.
The benchmark that the All Blacks set during their dynastic period of success, clearly, goes well beyond the world of rugby union.
People might say different codes don't have much to learn from each other but I think it is smart to "unpack" success of groups/teams/organizations and learn what can be applied to your team. I don't know that "Better Never Rests" is the key to AB success though. Some of the ethos behind their success might be: no dickheads (egos subject to whats best for the team), acceptance that those selected are good enough to play, bone deep preparation including the willingness to get themselves physically and mentally ready for the game at hand, "stewardship" of the jersey - recognizing you are a custodian of the position for future players and wanting to leave a legacy for those future players, not wanting to fail the high expectations of the fan base who will dissect weaknesses and errors and (usually) accurately identify the problems, etc.