‘Getting the top two inches ready’ - How important is sports psychology to breaking a losing habit?

With performance coach and former All-Ireland winner Enda McNulty

Listen | 45:01
Former Armagh footballer Enda McNulty played a part in Leinster's first three Champions Cup successes in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Former Armagh footballer Enda McNulty played a part in Leinster's first three Champions Cup successes in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Inevitably, plenty of public commentary in the last few weeks has focused on Leinster’s inability to get over the line in big games. Clearly, they have the talent. Is the problem instead to be found in the top two inches?

Enda McNulty, a former All-Ireland winner with Armagh, worked with both Leinster and Ireland as a sports psychologist.

He joins Gordon D’Arcy - with whom he worked during his playing days - to look at the importance of sports psychology in winning environments. Does sport psychology work? How do you get players to buy in? Why did Leinster and Ireland under Joe Schmidt embrace training the mind so readily? To what extent can previous success be attributed to training the mind?

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Produced by John Casey.

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