The ‘Queensland spirit’ is often spoken about but has always been hard to define.
This year, the Maroons have gone global in their search for a way to explain what it means to represent their state in rugby league’s toughest arena – with Billy Slater’s men adopting the African word ‘Ubuntu’ as a team mantra.
“Yeah it’s just our team, I guess motto, that we started before game one,” centre Valentine Holmes told 9News Queensland.
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“We all bought into it. We will even say it out on the field. If there were good speakers out there (during training) you’d be able to hear us say it.”
Ubuntu is a Zulu word that roughly translates to “I am, because we are.”
It’s about the collective being more important than the individual.
“It’s all about team first. ‘I am, because we are.’ What we do for each other is most important,” said Reuben Cotter, man-of-the-match from the victory at Adelaide Oval.
“It means having your brothers’ back. It means a lot to us boys and we all want to be ‘Ubuntu’ these next couple of weeks,” Maroons forward Tino Fa’asuamaleaui explained.
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Ubuntu first came to prominence in a sporting context after the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA championship.
The team, coached by Doc Rivers and led by superstars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, would chant the term before every game on their way to a drought-breaking title for the storied basketball franchise.
Billy Slater showed the team a documentary called The Playbook about Rivers’ coaching style before the series opener this year where the veteran NBA mentor explains how Ubuntu galvanised the Celtics to achieve victory through personal sacrifice.
“It’s selflessness, really, in a nutshell,” said Lindsay Collins, whose spectacular leap and catch helped set up Cameron Munster’s game-sealing try two weeks ago.
“You don’t do something for yourself, you do it for this team.”
While some players were quick to embrace the concept, others didn’t fully appreciate what it meant until the side re-watched their Adelaide victory together.
“It was more meaningful after game one when we sort of reviewed and watched some of those selfless acts. You get a massive kick out of it. Knowing that someone is working for you as well as themselves,” Collins said.
Game-turning selfless acts singled out by the Maroons included Murray Taulagi’s back-to-back try-savers before half-time and Cotter, who was forced to play out of position for much of the game, slapping down and diving on an errant offload from Tevita Pangai Jr after the break.
That change of possession led to a try for winger Selwyn Cobbo on the very next set.
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“The way we see each other, the way we look at each other. We’re not all individuals. The only way we can be successful is if we play as a team. It’s a team sport,” Holmes said.
Slater’s hands-on coaching style is already paying dividends with his young squad but what has resonated most is the way the legendary Queensland fullback has instilled the values of Ubuntu.
“Yeah, bloody oath. Bill is so big on driving it. We all just gravitated towards it and it’s worked really well for us. There’s a lot of selfless people in this team,” Cotter said.
For Slater, Ubuntu is more than just sacrificing for your team, but putting your body on the line for your state.
Collins explained it best: “Origin football, that’s what it’s about. You represent everyone in Queensland and then it trickles down. It starts with the fans, family, friends and then your teammates.”
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