MISTAKES - it does not matter what your pedigree in the sporting arena, you are bound to make a few in your career.
Whether it is the Hawke's Bay Magpies, the Kiwis, the Black Caps or the Hawke's Bay United soccer franchise beginning their campaign this Sunday, mistakes are entrenched in stoneas howlers only if you learn nothing from them.
Okay, so linesman Bruce Dockary's split second, naked-eye judgement wasn't correct. It led to a few nail-biting days before the Magpies booked this Friday night's Air New Zealand Cup semifinal match against Canterbury in Christchurch.
It should never have come down to others' errors to secure your future. Astute teams do not leave their destiny in the hands of others.
No doubt coach Peter Russell will impress on his troops the relevance of doing the basics well. It's vital that hooker Hika Elliot throws the ball straight into the lineout. It's equally imperative that halfback Jason Eaton fires quality balls out from the base of the scrum to Matt Berquist because there's no room for errors if the Magpies are to create history in the country's premier domestic rugby arena.
What separates quality players from those in waiting is their ability to learn from those mistakes. It's not the first time passes have gone begging or touch finders have gone horribly wrong. It's when the flaws start recurring that coaches pull out their hatchets.
The referee and his assistants controlling the Four Nations match between the Kangaroos and the Kiwis at Twickenham on Sunday will, if they have seen footage of their performance, probably agree they didn't have their best day at the office.
Neither will the Kiwis and coach Stephen Kearney, if they are brutally honest and wish to dispel the flash-in-the-pan world champions tag.
Yes, Greg Inglis' off-load to Cameron Smith for that runaway try was a touch forward. Yes, some of the refs' calls were inconsistent and very northern hemisphere like.
But the Kiwis need to iron out their basic errors too.
Lance Hohaia cannot let a Kangaroo strip the ball from his hands to dive over for a soft try any more than kickers can afford to miss do-able conversions or players running in the backline claim they were not expecting a pass.
Like the Magpies' defence last Friday night, the Kiwis were equally resolute.
English referees are not going to change habits of a lifetime so the solution is a no-brainer - adapt or suffer the consequences.
As Bay United soccer head coach Matt Chandler will try to make the cut for a play-off berth in the New Zealand Football Champion this season, his new-look outfit will have to be equally adept.
Bay soccer fans will have worthy players in the mix to identify with and, hopefully, will turn out with the same zest that Magpies fans have done this season.
Conversely, with predominantly new players in the franchise, Chandler has made it clear everyone is fighting for a position, thus the team will be under pressure to give the Park Island faithful something to cheer.
Chandler expects professionalism and will compensate for errors, as any coach would, especially in a team that is trying to build a rapport.
However, if the mistakes are repetitive then those on the bench will fancy their chances and those on the field will find it hard to justify their inadequacies.
Of course, unless you are senior Black Caps then you can simply collude with fellow players to deflect your shortcomings by passing off the coach as inept.
SOCCER:Astute teams architects of own destiny in sport
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