Matt Peat hoping Wigan go with the flow at Wembley

They face rivals Wolves in the Challenge Cup final tomorrow

Matt Peet will rely on his interest in Beat poetry in a bid to give his Wigan side an edge as they head into Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup final against Warrington at Wembley.

Peet is convinced that some of the psychological methods favored by 1960s counterculture icons Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg can be successfully applied to the cutting-and-pushing action of the 13-a-side code.

Breathing and meditation have become key elements of Peet’s coaching philosophy as he encourages his players to achieve their “flow state” – a central doctrine of Zen Buddhism in which a person becomes completely absorbed in a specific, singular activity.

“Finding your flow is something we talk about a lot and this week will be no different,” said Peet, a poetry fan who earned a 2:1 degree in English from Manchester Metropolitan University before pursuing his career in increasingly successful in rugby. league.

“We have an open-minded team and the guys practice breathing, meditation and yoga every day. It’s about letting go, and all the work that they do, the visualizations, is to try to get them into that flow. state come game day.”

Peet marked his first full season as Wigan’s head coach in 2022 by lifting the Challenge Cup from Tottenham and subsequently guided them to a Grand Final victory and a pre-season World Club Challenge victory over Australian champions Penrith.

But as the silverware gathers at the DW Stadium, Peet, 41, intends to heed the example of some of his literary heroes and implore his players to prioritize the moment rather than projecting constant potential future successes.

“A lot of this great work by Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg comes from Eastern philosophy and Buddhist religion, and it’s about being in the moment and not being caught up in chasing certain things,” Peet added.

“It’s something we try to instill in our team and our coaching staff. Breath work is getting guys back in the center, not getting too high or too low, not getting too excited or lethargic, but finding that perfect flow is something we talk about a lot.”