NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sedrick Van Pran, Brock Bowers and their Georgia teammates might not know a fly-half from a hooker, but they still can recite the story of the New Zealand men’s rugby team.
“They do this thing called ‘sweeping the sheds’ and that means no job is too small to do right,” Bowers, the uber-talented tight end, said Tuesday as the Bulldogs took their turn behind the microphones at SEC Media Days. “That was kind of the main takeaway that we took from it.”
The All Blacks, the Kiwis’ world-dominating rugby squad, became a source of study for coach Kirby Smart and his team this offseason as they sought to glean lessons from a team that has defined consistent excellence in its sport. Part of their success, the Bulldogs learned, stemmed from having the humility and accountability to keep their locker room spotless – “sweeping the sheds.”
