BEYOND THE SCORE: SUPPORT
In rugby, a player can make an extraordinary run towards the try line.
They can break through the defence, find space and carry the ball further than anyone expected.
But eventually, the player looks around.
They are looking for support.
If nobody is there, that run can end very differently.
The player may have created the opportunity, but without someone coming alongside, there may be nowhere to go.
That was one of the moments that stayed with me this weekend.
The commentator described a Pumas player moving towards the try line and looking for support — but there wasn’t enough support there.
It made me think about what support actually means.
Support is not simply standing behind someone.
It is moving with them.
In another game, the commentator made a similar observation: when a player runs towards the try line, they need to keep their support with them.
If the player gets too far ahead of the people supporting them, they may actually reduce their chances of succeeding.
The strongest position is not necessarily the person furthest ahead.
Sometimes it is the person who can move forward while keeping others alongside them.
That is support.
But support is more complicated than simply being there.
We also saw supporters leave a game early when their team was playing badly.
At first glance, it can look like a simple statement:
“We don’t want to watch our team lose.”
But perhaps there is something more behind it.
Supporters invest something in their team.
They spend money. They travel. They give their time. They bring their voices, their energy and their expectations. They may travel into places where they do not necessarily feel comfortable or safe because they believe their team is worth showing up for.
They do not necessarily expect their team to win.
They expect their team to show up.
There is a difference.
A team can lose while playing brilliantly.
It can lose while fighting for every ball.
It can lose because the opposition was simply better.
Those losses can still leave supporters proud.
But when supporters feel that the players are not giving the same commitment that they have given, the relationship changes.
The message of leaving can become:
“We came here for you. We showed up. We expected you to show up too.”
And perhaps there is another layer.
Players are not only playing for their own team. They are playing against another team that also came prepared to compete.
Giving less than your best can therefore be more than disappointing your own supporters.
It can diminish the contest itself.
It can feel like a lack of respect for the opposition, for the game and for the people who came to watch it.
Support is not a reward for winning.
But support is not an unlimited obligation either.
Support is a relationship.
And relationships require some form of reciprocity.
The supporters carry the players.
The players carry the supporters.
A full stadium can give a team energy when it needs it most. The noise, encouragement and belief from the stands can become part of what carries players through difficult moments.
But that support has to be respected.
If supporters repeatedly feel that their commitment is not being respected, they may eventually stop investing.
They may not buy the ticket.
They may not travel.
They may not watch.
They may decide that next time, there are better things to do with their time and money.
And that means losing support is not only about the people who leave today.
It can affect who comes back tomorrow.
This matters far beyond rugby.
In DeafBlindness, support is often spoken about as though it is something that one person simply provides to another.
But good support is not about taking over.
It is not about doing everything for someone.
It is not about deciding where someone should go.
Good support creates options.
It gives the person space to move.
It stays close enough to respond.
It communicates.
It adapts.
And it respects the person receiving the support.
Independence does not mean doing everything alone.
Good support makes participation possible without taking away agency.
Sometimes support means communication.
Sometimes it means orientation.
Sometimes it means describing what is happening.
Sometimes it means providing information before a decision has to be made.
Sometimes it means simply being there — close enough that when the person reaches out, someone is there to respond.
And sometimes the best support is knowing when not to intervene.
The person carrying the ball is still the person carrying the ball.
The supporting player does not take it away and say, “I’ll do this for you.”
They run alongside.
They create an option.
They are ready when they are needed.
And when the opportunity comes, the team moves forward together.
Perhaps that is what good support really looks like.
Not standing behind someone.
Not pulling them forward.
Not running ahead and expecting them to catch up.
Running with them.
Because support is not simply about being there.
It is about showing up for each other.
And sometimes the difference between getting to the try line and losing the ball isn’t the person carrying it.
It is whether anyone was there when they needed support.