Sam Whitelock opens up in new webinar

Module Overview

Farmstrong Ambassador Sam Whitleock has opened up about his stellar rugby career, returning to farming and how he looks after his wellbeing in a new webinar.

The live webinar was held last month for Farmstrong Scotland and hosted by Farmstrong Scotland chairman John Scott.

Farmers and crofters from around Scotland jumped online to join the webinar and had a chance to ask some fantastic questions.

In the webinar, Sam talks about how his world has “changed completely” since retiring from professional rugby earlier this year.

However, he’s loving the transition from rugby to farming, especially being able to spend more time with his wife and three kids on their Hawke’s Bay farm.

He also revealed at the end of the webinar the name of the hardest rugby player he’s ever played against – and you might be surprised at his answer.

Goal setting always important

Sam began the webinar by introducing himself and talking about growing up on his parents’ farm in the Manawatu and being rugby-mad from a young age.

“The [farming] lifestyle can really set you up to succeed in life no matter if you stay in the rural world or do something different. It’s a cool way to spend your life.”

He talked about the importance of setting goals – something that was nurtured at school and that he still does to this day.

“I was and still am a big goal setter… I had an outstanding teacher who challenged us, but at the same time didn’t challenge us too much and made those goals realistic because they wanted us to improve slightly, little bit by little bit, rather than trying to change who you are completely,” Sam says.

“It was about small continuous growth and that compounding growth from day to day, which over the space of a month, two months, a year, as a school kid is massive.”

Taking a break and finding balance

Sam says taking regular breaks, big or small, and finding balance is hugely important in both rugby and farming.

“There’s no way I would’ve achieved anything I did in rugby without farming, but it’s also about having that balance.”

“When I first got into rugby I tried to live and breathe rugby the whole time… but I found the best thing for my rugby was to get away from it and stop thinking about it and that’s where farming came in.”

Sam says he would take a break from rugby and head back to the family farm or a friend’s farm or go hunting and do something different.

“Now the roles have completely reversed, and I can’t be on the farm the whole time because I’m like everybody else, there’s a thousand things that need to be done… and getting off the farm gives me time to think.”

He also talked about the similarities, and differences, between rugby and farming and transferring skills learnt in rugby to farming and vice versa.

Understanding yourself is key

Sam says the biggest lesson he’s learnt is to understand yourself.

“Normally my wife picks up on it quicker than I can. She knows when I’m stressed, when I’m not taking enough time away from whatever I’m doing and not taking a break.”

He says sometimes the solution is as simple as having a cup of tea.

“Sometimes it’s just a cup of tea, stopping for five minutes to collect your thoughts, take a breath, get your energy back and then you can dive straight back into it.”

Sam says he clears his mind at the end of the day by taking a few minutes to write down everything that’s in his head.

“As soon as I put it on a piece of paper, it’s so much easier to put that to the side and deal with the kids and be present at home and talk to my wife about whatever she’s been doing that day.”

“I can then go back to that bit of paper and hit the re-set button.”

You can watch Sam’s webinar here.