By Seamus Boyer
Too many times people are more than happy to deflect criticism of their own performances, blaming any number of factors rather than take responsibility.
For sporting coaches it always sounds awful, especially when they blame the players, although sometimes they have a point.
That’s why it’s great to hear the honest feedback from Wairarapa-Bush coach Josh Syms, reflecting in our pages today on the team’s Heartland season.
For Syms, fourth-place at the end of the round-robin and a loss in the semifinal wasn’t good enough.
“The aim was to win the Meads Cup and we didn’t so we fell short of where we wanted to be,” he said.
“Making the semis was good but it wasn’t good enough. And as a head coach the buck stops with you, that’s the nature of the job.”
Now that is an honest appraisal.
No buts, no ifs, just the fact that the goal was to win the Meads Cup and on that score they failed.
No doubt he will be disappointed, as will the players, but making excuses is never going to help, as it just masks where the problems lie, and as such makes it very difficult to improve where improvement is needed.
Going by Syms’ honesty, there is a real chance the team can improve next season, by identifying where they went wrong or fell short this season.
They also need to keep hold of their best players.
That seems unlikely in the case of former All Black Zac Guildford.
Guildford was just too good a player, according to Syms, and should be snapped up by a bigger union over the off-season.
For those that got the chance to see him play, it’s easy to see why.
While not always the best player on the paddock, his moments of brilliance were arguably more brilliant than all those around him.
In short, he’s still a class act.
And while it feels like he’s been around for ever, he’s still only 27 years old.
Who would be surprised if he wound up with a Super Rugby contract?
