“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,
Application
Give me wisdom and good sense, I trust your commands Psalm 119:66Jonathan Webb played rugby 33 times for England. He played in 2 World Cups as full-back and goal-kicker. He kicked several crucial goals as England reached the 1991 World Cup final. The pressure of international rugby was more than he could handle on his own.
"The pressure of playing international rugby made me search for answers, ways to withstand the pressure. There is great pressure to succeed and my own fear of failure was very real. As a place-kicker you are very exposed. The fear of failure is a terrible inhibitor and if you haven't taken account of it or try to ignore it, it will find you out.
I couldn't find any easy answers. Friends saying 'good luck' or 'you will be okay' was great but not really helpful when the crunch comes and you are standing over the vital kick.
"I started to read the Bible. Some of what I read was not initially very helpful. Jesus did not promise me that I would be a successful rugby player. He promised, rather, that if I had disaster it would be the best thing for me and that he would give me comfort in hard times. It was a great comfort to know that the worst thing that could happen could be the best thing for me and that he was in control. Now I would say that my relationship with Jesus underpins or overarches everything I do."