Page 84 - All Shapes & Zebras From Treorchy

Mental health – it’s rightly no longer the taboo subject it once was and similar to wider society, it’s a pertinent and relevant discussion to be had within sport. Being well aware that it is only a game, the fanaticism rugby causes must beg the question, as in other sports, what is the link between mental health and sport? My answer would be that it’s a significant one. How many fans fall into foul stupors when their team falters or falls short, whatever the sport? How many of them can list sporting moments that are not out of place when positioned next to wedding days and the birth of their own children? So why should it be any different when those individuals actually play that sport – and are partly responsible for the outcome?
Some players cope better with setbacks than others. For many, the result on a late Saturday afternoon will help determine their disposition for the following week. The result will either exacerbate or temper the hangover on the Sunday – and decide whether the Monday walk into work will be a cocksure swagger or an introverted skulk. Training may offer some release mid-week, before the whole process is repeated once again as they take to the field on the Saturday, with another chance for glory on offer– or, if needed, atonement.
In the grand scheme of things, it is a game and compared to family and good health, many would question if it matters all that much. Yet many an existence is refracted through sport, with days measured and assessed by failure and success, by winning and losing. Try as some might to argue otherwise, thousands of players would argue emphatically that, yes, these games and this sport do matter...
“The result will either exacerbate or temper the hangover
on the Sunday – and decide whether the Monday walk into work will be a cocksure swagger or an introverted skulk. ”
82 ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY