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what psychological traits do you need to be a flanker?

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Matt DerbyshireCoach, England

Luke,

Preparing yourself psychologically is a positive step whatever position you play in (including the coaches). You can go a long way by preparing your mind for the match ahead. Flankers are often seen to be the fit, hard hitting all-rounders that possess a variety of skills. Psychologically flankers must be prepared to have a tough mentality that will allow them to often put themselves in positions prone to the highest exposure of physicality. You must mentally be able to push yourself through demanding fitness levels, play with your head up and eyes open so that you are able to read the game.

Flankers (psychologically) always look to out perform their opposite number and have confidence in their own ability. They must be highly competitive and look to achieve higher standards than their opposite man across the various zones of the game i.e. tackle counts,turnovers, rucks, breaking gain lines, supportive play.

I hope that this goes some way to answer your question. I would say that most importantly, you enjoy yourself, set yourself targets during games and training and then assess them afterwards so that you can build upon your own level of performance. If your strong physchologically then you will be a much more confident player.

Matt