Six Nations: takeaways from rugby union for building your startup team

The Six Nations starts tonight with Ireland facing France. Rugby Union is the game they play in heaven, yet a painstaking study of Old and New Testament is unlikely to reward the reader with any reference to St Peter, or Archangel Gabriel scrummaging hard. So, let me explain some of the history, rules, and etiquette of the game, and the lessons there are from the ultimate team sport for startup teams. 

There are two rugby codes. Rugby League is a 13-a-side game, in which large, square men run full pelt into each other. Union is a 15-a-side game containing amorphous huddles of large, oblong men who step on each other en masse. These differences are subtle, but essential.

The Union-League game split in 1895 at a meeting in The George Hotel, Huddersfield, driven by the authorities seeking to enforce the amateur principle, preventing ‘broken time payments’ to pay players who had taken time off work to play the game. Northern teams had more working-class players who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle (think Downton Abbey).

I love Rugby Union, and loved playing, but it’s a minority sport and doesn’t mean much to most people. To the casual viewer, utter confusion abounds over complex rules in what most see as men chasing each other, looking to knock each other over whilst wrestling for an egg-shaped ball that frequently bounces around randomly. If you weren't brought up on rugby, you don't get it, so here’s a brief explainer.

The Game A Rugby Union team consists of Forwards and Backs: 

Forwards the hearty muscle men, the positions are Props (2), Hooker, Second Row (2), Flankers (2) and Number Eight. These are the blokes who do all the work, have punch-ups, and taunt the backs (see below) in training, the dressing room and when out socialising. Forwards stick together as a ‘pack’ and are generally gargantuan beer drinkers. When I played, I was a forward, as was my son James.

Backs include Scrumhalf, Fly-Half, Centres (2), Wingers (2), and Full-Back. No scientific research has ever revealed what they do other than run with the ball, fall over with operatic drama, tryi to look good when tackled and give yet more work to the Forwards.

Backs are distinguishable from the Forwards by their obvious over-use of men’s beauty products and visits to the dental hygienist. Backs drink fresh coconut water in the bar, whilst the Forwards get stuck into the beer. And then get stuck into the Backs. You want your daughter to marry a Forward, not a Back.

Play The team in possession of the ball (egg-shaped, 15cm x 30cm) is seeking to score a ‘Try’, by putting the ball down across the opposition try-line (there’s the clue.)  A player runs with the ball until tackled, and then everyone gets giddy. Jumping in together in a spirited form of folk-dancing. Players attempt to get the ball and accidently make contact with opposition soft tissue. By the way, this is for the Forwards, the Backs stay well back for fear of getting a chipped fingernail in the melee.

A ruck is formed when at least one player from each team are in contact, on their feet and over the ball which is on the ground. Players involved in all stages of the ruck must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips. The aim of the ruck is for the players to roll the ball with their feet to their teammates behind them.

A maul begins when a player carrying the ball is held by an opponent, and the ball carrier's teammates bind on the ball carrier. A maul therefore consists, when it begins, of at least three players, all on their feet; the ball carrier and one player from each team. Hope that’s clear. 

A scrum is a means of restarting play after a stoppage which has been caused by a minor infringement (for example, a forward pass or knock-on) or the ball becoming unplayable in a ruck or maul. It is a vital attacking and psychological tool. The Forwards pack down as a unit, link arms and try to out-grunt and shove their counterparts and win the ball, using their feet only. 

The lineout takes place after the ball has left the field of play. Here Forwards from both teams stand in line opposite each other, the hooker throws the ball straight between them and they jump up to catch it, and then feed the ball to the scrumhalf. It is a combination of a ruck and ballet, in that players are allowed to propel their teammate by grabbing a fistful of crotch and/or buttock, launching him skywards at the incoming ball.

Scoring a try is worth five points, a conversion, which comes after a try is scored, two points. Three points for a penalty, which results from a successful drop-kick going over the cross bar. Usually, the team with the most tries wins.

Finally, every time the ref interrupts the general pandemonium by blowing his whistle for an infringement, he shouts out in a booming Brian Blessed-type voice his decision, and despite the testosterone physicality of rugby, you’ll see 100% respect for the referee and his decisions - no petulance, answering back or heckling like you do from footballers.

Refs have been fitted with microphones  for several seasons, used to relay to the crowd  their discussions with the Television Match Official (‘TMO’) - an off-field referee who reviews match footage in real-time to assist the on-field ref with key decisions -  then relaying and explaining their decision so the crowd and subsequent conversations with the players. It’s fascinating to join in with the transparency and democracy of how the rules are implemented, creating greater engagement with spectators compared to football and VAR.

Talking of football, rugby is a game played by men who spend 80 minutes trying not to look injured and play the game honestly; football is a game played by men who spend 90 minutes trying to look injured and not play the game honestly. Just my opinion…

So, that’s a quick guide to the game, lets reflect on the lessons from the ultimate team sport for startup teams.

Rugby is a team effort, and demands specialised skills and experience like any startup team. The parallels are striking—both require a blend of structure, skills and experience, clarity on roles and discipline combined with creative spontaneity.  So, drawing on my own time amid the mud, sweat and beers of the game, and with startups here are some takeaways that I think you’ll see in the weekend games.

1. Mental strength & emotional discipline: thinking correctly under pressure An international rugby player needs to remain focused and alert whilst under pressure, so they make the right decisions at the right time. Some decisions will not be clear-cut. It’s important to be lucid, but don’t immediately choose the first possibility that comes to mind.

 In the frenzy of competition, players must be emotionally disciplined. Fire in the belly, but ice in the brain is a useful maxim here. A loss of emotional control affects timing, co-ordination, and the ability to read a situation. Conviction based decision making is key – a good plan executed in a startup with controlled passion and cool heads moves the business forward.

2. A team should function as one. The leader ensures the right people are in the right seats on the bus. Leading the charge from the front is one aspect of leadership, but success is ultimately down to teamwork, and delegation – don’t hog the remote control!!

It’s a fine balance, but one that will have a huge impact on the success of your startup. The functioning of an organisation is like a rugby team, collaboration, individual performance, clear communication united by a single goal, everyone moving in the same direction.

3. Positive mind set and winning attitude. Morale is linked to success, and it’s the leader’s job to show positive energy and attitude. A leader is a dealer in hope, creating a winning team mindset and culture. There may be days where the future looks rough, and things aren’t going to plan with fires to put out – being 0-15 behind at half-time doesn’t mean the game is over, sales being 20% down in the month can still be recovered.

 A winning rugby team is about individuals coming together believing they can make a difference, with organisation, discipline, and efficiency to execute what they expect to be a winning game plan. both in the moment and also learning about what worked and what didn’t, and making changes for the next game.

4. Humility, honesty & integrity It’s vital you hold values as a team, setting the bar and displaying integrity, sincerity, and candour in individual and collective team actions.  For a rugby team, it’s about giving everything in the moment, and then going again, being honest with yourself – could I have done better? accepting fatigue and injury.

These three qualities play a critical role in both rugby and startups because it is the source of the meaning and significance people seek in what they do. A startup team’s purpose should guide their day-to-day actions. A shared purpose and direction anchor teams in time of growth with new members joining. The underlying philosophy sets the agenda.

5. Stay on your feet You’re no use on the rugby pitch if you’re frequently down on your backside, the team need you to be involved for the full eighty minutes, hands on, hands in.  Rugby is famous for its camaraderie, a bond of teamship means everyone strives harder not to let the side down, harnessing this tribal, collective mentality, ambition, and energy is key for startups too.

6. Balance A thriving team is mindful of the importance of balance, walking the line between team performance and individual learning, achieving results and maintaining well-being. Managing the tension between performance today and improving for the future is the key to success and sustainability of any organisation.

7. Mutual Trust In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni identifies ‘absence of trust’ as a root cause of team dysfunction. Without trust, team members may not buy into the team ethos. They may avoid sharing their ideas, taking risks, or giving feedback. This hurts the team’s performance and relationships. A thriving team is trusting, which builds the team’s capacity to innovate and achieve greater results.

8. The ‘Set Piece’ v ‘Open Play’ In rugby, the scrum and the lineout are choreographed set pieces. They require every player to know their exact position to secure possession. The startup parallel is your repeatable processes - sales processes and deployment pipelines. If these aren't disciplined, you’ll never get the ‘ball’ needed to play the game. However, once the ball is out, you must adapt to ‘open play’ where training and intuition takes over.

9. The ‘Try Line’ Philosophy The goal every phase of rugby is always to be moving toward your opponent’s try line. The startup lesson is not to get distracted by sideways movement (vanity metrics, over-engineering, endless pivoting). Focus on incremental progress that moves you closer to product-market fit. Small, messy wins are better than elegant stagnation.

10. Selection for roles, not just talent You need specific body types and temperaments for the roles in rugby, the Backs v Forwards. The parallel for startups is to hire for the stage of the company. A scale-up salesperson might have a great track record, but if you're in the pre-revenue stage, someone who thrives in the dirt, loves the chaos, and isn't afraid to get hit could be better suited. Told you it was more fun to be in the Forwards!

Summary Ahead of the weekend’s games, I’m minded by T E Lawrence’s words: All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.

Whoever wins the Six Nations- will be an outstanding team of individuals, not a team of outstanding individuals. Everyone will play their part as you need in a startup. And there’s always the underdog spirit of a startup. As Shakespeare said we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. Come on England!