Tell Me Why Not

About thirty minutes into a Test against Wales, we won a penalty.

It was kickable. The kind of shot your kicker knocks over 9 out of 10 times.

But me and the kicker looked at each other and thought, we’re going to the corner.

Ultimately, it was my call.

So we kicked for touch and got a lineout five metres out, but lost it.

Wales then ran 70 metres into our end. From there, we lost all of our momentum and in a low-scoring game, those three points may have been the difference.

After the game a reporter asked if I wished I had taken the points.

Of course I did.

It was that moment which taught me I needed more than a feeling to make big decisions in game.

Because sometimes the feeling comes from a good place.

You believe in your team. You feel like you have momentum. You back yourselves to go and get the full reward.

So you go to the corner and roll the dice.

And sometimes that is exactly the right call.

But sometimes the better decision is to take your medicine. Take the three. Build scoreboard pressure. Trust that three points now can matter across the full 80.

That is why I built one question I could come back to.

If we are in a kickable part of the field in a Test match, tell me why we would not take the points.

And the answer had to be strong enough to change the decision. So strong it was obvious.

If it wasn’t, the answer was simple. Take the points.

That does not mean you always take the safe option.

Against a quality attacking side, three points might not be enough. The scoreboard might demand more. The momentum might be with you. The plan might be to put the opposition under a different kind of pressure.

In those moments, going to the corner is not emotion. It is the right risk.

You won’t always get it right. I didn’t against Wales.

But a good question means you are choosing on purpose, not just reacting to a feeling.