Written by Stephen Ellingham - Head of Tech Ops
As I turn 40, and now that my body doesn't really allow me to play the sport I used to love so much, I wanted to share some thoughts on how my experiences playing Rugby, particularly while with Eastbourne RFC, have shaped my approach to work and life in general.
I grew up playing football (the round-ball kind, not the American one), which instilled some core values like teamwork and discipline. However it was while playing Rugby Union, which I picked up in my early twenties, where I felt like I started to understand them and able to apply them to my career.
One of the first things Rugby taught me is the importance of looking past first impressions. In rugby, especially Rugby Union, there's a position for everyone. The massive prop, who at first glance is a giant beer drinking meathead, could surprise you with their intelligence and even agility, while the quiet, unassuming fly-half commits to tackles like nobody told him how small he is. It's a reminder that in our work environment, just like on the pitch, we shouldn't judge people too harshly by our initial impression. We all bring unique strengths to the table, and that diversity makes a strong team.
A great example of this was when I (a fairly large prop) found myself less than 10 metres away from the try line with only a very small, very young player (maybe 3/5ths my size), between me and scoring. I was totally confident I was going to score, so instead of trying to run for the corner away from them, I just ran straight at them. They didn’t flinch, stood firm, picked me and dumped tackled a metre short of the try line, which brought an almighty cheer from both their fans and my own teammates, who found it hilarious. An immediate lesson was learned about underestimating people.
Another key lesson I learned from Rugby is the absolute necessity of trusting your teammates. In rugby, everyone has a specific role to play, and success depends on each person executing their part while having complete faith in their teammates to do the same. You make that blind pass knowing that the person on your inside is supposed to be there to catch it, if you take the time to look and check on what they’re doing it’s too late and you’re going into contact and the opportunity will be lost.
It's no different in a company, where each department and individual has a unique function that contributes to the bigger picture but it’s critical, even if you sometimes have your doubts, to trust them to do their job, support them if needed and otherwise focus on your own role.
Rugby is often a game of intense emotions. Frustration can easily boil over when things don't go as planned, especially in the times when someone wasn’t in the place where you’d hoped they’d be. However, the key was always to remain calm, save any "feedback" for training the following week and channel any energy into something positive. We lost games where we were the better team, because frustrations boiled over and small mistakes cascaded into a loss through a breakdown of trust. On the field, that means focusing on winning the game; in the workplace, it means relentlessly pursuing our company goals and supporting the team.
And then there's the role of the referee in Rugby, which is quite different from other sports I've played. In rugby, the referee's decisions are rarely contested. It's a testament to the respect players have for authority and the understanding that even in high-pressure situations, we need to not only trust the process but accept that some things aren’t going to go our way and it’s out of our control.
Ultimately, my time on the Rugby pitch has taught me so much more than just how to tackle and score tries (though, I didn’t score many tries to be honest). I like to think it’s instilled in me the values of teamwork, trust, focus, respect, and perseverance, which I feel continue to guide me in my career today. I'm incredibly grateful for the lessons I've learned as well as the friendships I've made through this sport and the same is true of the many companies I’ve worked in over the years and the colleagues I've worked with.
Scrums and tackles,
Stephen