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Yesterday, England beat Australia in the second test in Melbourne, winning the series – a historic first for English rugby union. We’re told that defence coach Paul Gustard used the poem ‘The Guy in the Glass’ by Dale Wimbrow as part of his attempt at motivating an English team which had won the previous week’s test in Brisbane. It’s an antidote to hubris. Here it is, in its entirety.

When you get what you want in your struggle for gain; And the world makes you king for a day; Just go to the mirror and look at yourself; And see what that man has to say!

It isn’t your father or mother or wife; Whose judgment upon you must pass; The one whose verdict counts most in your life; Is the man staring back in the glass.

He’s the one you must satisfy beyond all the rest; For he’s with you right up to the end; And you will have passed the most difficult test; If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may be the one who got a good break; And you think you’re a wonderful guy; But the man in the glass says you’re only a fake; If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years; And get pats on the back as you pass; But your final reward will be heartache and tears; If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Peter ‘Dale’ Wimbrow, 1895 – 1954