Roar Rookie
Joined May 2019
107k
Views
38
Published
15.2k
Comments
Published
Comments
While Scott Robertson has had plenty of judgement since taking over as All Blacks coach, it's time to rate the players in his first year in charge.
Since the 1890s, the story of English rugby has been one of great underlying potential, limited by the long term consequences of a zealous…
Recency bias in strategic planning is dangerous. All of us tend to use our short term memories to understand what’s going on and what…
Three defeats to Argentina in a few short years. A national game under threat from wealthy Northern Hemisphere clubs and recalcitrant provincial unions. A…
Fans call it Evergreen and it was one of the greatest chess matches played during the “romantic” era of the game in the 19th…
For many years the myrtle green jersey of the Springboks was a sight to be feared, worn by huge, granite hard warriors who loved…
Let’s face it, us All Blacks fans are notorious for our stratospheric expectations. We’re used to winning – certainly at home to a country…
We’ve finally reached that moment of truth when the top Super Rugby teams need to find their best form for the playoffs, and Test…
New coach, new World Cup cycle, new players. With plenty of scope for change and three months of Super Rugby behind us, possibilities abound…
They used to be the laughing stock of the Six Nations. Winners of the wooden spoon 18 times in 24 years. Never escaping from…
It was the was the ultimate mix of old and new; and the greatest display of wet weather rugby we’re ever likely to see.…
So many predictions, so many expectations. The game’s greatest stage, to be graced by perhaps the greatest golden generations of its two greatest nations.…
This World Cup is a once in a generation opportunity for a mid-tier rugby nation, ranked sixth or lower in the world. First, it’s…
Rugby nations can’t truly peak for every World Cup. In any country some generations will be better than others and when those generations reach…
Gimli the dwarf and Legolas the elf assess the prospects of their their army ahead of the climactic, existential battle in JRR Tolkien’s The…
First, a burning question. Has Eddie Jones transformed his whole selection strategy based on these golden generation articles? OK that’s pretty far-fetched, but equally…
Centre Court, Wimbledon, Monday 9 July 2001. The gentlemen’s singles final between Aussie Pat Rafter and Croat Goran Ivanisevic is being held a day…
Yokohama, Japan. 7pm Saturday 26 October to 6pm Saturday 2 November 2019. For almost exactly a week, England and their charismatic Australian coach Eddie…
The “golden generation” label was made for the shiny new France team that burst onto the world stage in 2020. A decade of underachievement…
For decades the naming of the All Blacks followed the same format. In the deep dark caverns under the main grandstand of Athletic Park…
A few of those statements aren’t true Phil. Of course they rest players in France, often they play B teams away from home. And no first choice springbok played more than 25 in RWC season (I haven’t checked this year) same goes for Ireland, Wales etc. It is true that France players play more games but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do – you only need to listen to the likes of Ntmack to realise that.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
I’ve long advocate for separate SRAU/SRA with a crossover comp
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Anaerobic was the wrong word but there simply isn’t the same load shifting/resistance work in league. It’s a different sport. Just like basketballers can play more games than footballers who can play more than league players. It’s irrelevant to compare codes.
Also the second bye didn’t exist before this year and it’s not just a 14 game season, you also have to factor in tests and the NPC.
I’m not just defending NZ rugby, I’m putting up the evidence that pretty much every country limit their top players to around 25 games with not too many in a row. NZ, Australia, Ireland, SA, Wales, Scotland, Italy all the same. That’s not just because they feel like it, obviously they’d sweat the assets as much as possible if they didn’t have sound evidence that it would be counterproductive.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
So what you’re saying is that the URC – the main pro comp for Ireland, SA etc for most of the year – isn’t a big fish. You’re right – some Ireland internationals hardly play in it. But a lot of people (not necessarily yourself) moan about SR not being taken prioritised enough when the phenomenally successful URC has even more rest and rotation.
I totally get your point on the length of season but you can’t just blame NZR. Australia is free to organise SRAU or whatever while we have our NPC.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
That’s a very misleading statement scrum. First, there’s only ever been one bye in SRP before this year and as I said below this morning, with two there will be less need for other rests. Second, it’s fourteen matches plus the possibility of three more. Third, as I’ve said so many times, it’s not just the total number of matches, it’s the consecutive weeks without rest. That’s why the likes of Vern and Clayton voluntarily rest non internationals. Fourth, league is a different sport with less load shifting/pushing against resistance (anaerobic is the wrong word, my mistake.)
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
I’m not saying the clubs should move, I’m saying they won’t. Which means we have to have the test season on one block.
Clearly the SS is too low a standard but the NPC is a great way to bridge the gap between club/U20 and Super. And the likes of Lakai show that it’s decent prep for tests without causing too much fatigue.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
It’s not me saying it, it’s the sports science. It’s too many games in a row.
The 10m up and back is aerobic – no resistance. Anaerobic is a totally different effort long term.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
If it’s all about the All Blacks why are others also rested? Because the sports science says so.
We’ve already discussed how rugby is different to league, not sure why you keep making the same irrelevant argument.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Isn’t five games greater or equal to “several”?
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
We’d love to have some proper competition.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Definitely games in a row is more of a problem for the best URC teams with lots of internationals, but everyone has to rest players during the December/January block for example. We don’t really have much choice in the structure of our season- we can’t start the season with the Rugby Championship and northern clubs wouldn’t agree a shift to another slot. In any case, it probably helps not having players go back and forth between clubs and country all the time.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
You mean plus byes & plus play offs. The second byes are new – presumably there will be less need for other rests.
I don’t know how often I have to repeat myself, but it’s games in a row as well as total games that ruin you for the play offs. That’s what the sports science tells us and you keep on ignoring.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Sorry mate, but you don’t have a clue about the sports science. It’s the anaerobic that limits your workload – aerobic games like soccer allow you to play a game or two every week for months on end. Rugby is at the other end of the scale, league somewhere in between. Likewise, it’s not just total games, it’s games in a row that ruin you for the play offs. Coaches like Clayton and Vern don’t rest non internationals on a whim.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Now you’re setting up straw men to knock over. Nobody is saying everything is rosy – it hasn’t been since Australia stopped being uncompetitive. Blaming RnR is just the lame excuse of losers. There’s nothing stopping teams from resting blokes a week early to be full strength for a big one and there’s no RnR in the play offs.
Ignoring the lessons from other leagues is real head in the sand stuff. The French league doesn’t care about test rugby but they still rest players because they know it’s in their own best interest. It’s the reason why smart coaches like Clayton voluntarily rest non internationals – it doesn’t make sense to exhaust players before the playoffs.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Obviously it wouldn’t work if Australia dominated either. SR was great before Australia lost the plot. Now there’s still good crowds for kiwi derbies but people are less likely to fork out to watch an easy win against weak Aussie opponents. We need Australia to improve and change the narrative. Nobody wants to watch a turkey shoot.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
You seem to have forgotten two things.
1. Rugby league is a totally different sport with totally different laws. For example they have WWF style tag team interchanges so players can go off, have a rest, come back on again and have another rest later. They don’t have proper scrums or mauls either.
2. All the leagues who actually play the same sport rest players for more games than in SR. That includes the French league, which most definitely does not prioritise test rugby! If players get fatigued or injured the clubs suffer at play offs time and like RA they understand that.
time
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
That’s real pie in the sky stuff Phil. Club rugby is a money pit the world over so the only people who would buy it are people happy to throw away huge sums.
France for example have huge advantages over Australia. Just the South West by itself has the combined population of NSW and Queensland and rugby is the top sport there, not a poor second fiddle like in Australia’s two main rugby states. That’s before you add the almost as strong and big South East. They have a great tv channel which is nothing like the rapacious Fox or weak Stan. And even they keep making huge losses.
When that’s the reality in France where everything’s in their favour, how can you expect the Australian private sector to take on the risk of bankrolling a minority sport that has to compete with Japan and the NRL for players? It’s not going to happen.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
So there must be huge contempt for the comps in Europe where they rest players for a larger percentage of their season!
Player welfare is important for both club and country. Even the French clubs recognise that.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Dion, you can suggest that resting players every five weeks is detrimental all you like, but until you post up your sports science qualifications I’d rather trust the experts if you don’t mind!
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Hi Bren, the problem is that Europe can require five knockout matches in succession if you go deep in both comps and you can’t be at your best for that many. Teams in that situation simply have to prioritise or they’ll not give their best in the final.
Likewise, in Super Rugby you can’t expect players to go from mid Feb to late June with just one week off for the bye. It should be patently obvious that there will be fatigue related injuries and poor performance, affecting both the SR playoffs and the international season, with shorter careers the likely result. Taking one or two weeks off is good in the long run for SR as well as the test team, that’s why most coaches rest non test players too.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
I agree that expansion was the problem – but that includes the extra Saffer and Aussie teams. Not a single one ever made the playoffs and they badly diluted the comp.
The Saffers made no secret of their desire to play in Europe, NZR just forced them to make the leap earlier than they’d planned. I agree with you that NZR shouldn’t have tried to dictate to Australia, although subsequently RA have chosen to supply the 2 to 4 teams that the Aritipu Report wanted.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Yes you should hear the moaning from my English mates about the African teams playing in the European Champions Cup. They haven’t managed to get a single team into the last 16 of a 24 team comp, that’s how seriously the saffers haven’t taken it. Yet the European teams need to take two overnight journeys just for one game when they have matches in Europe the week before and after. It’s not worth it for them.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
It’s not a lack of effort so much as decades of poor governance from RA.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
It’s one or two matches a year. Far fewer than overseas leagues. The problem is that it’s not been well explained so losers and axe grinders have been allowed to create the narrative.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out
Great way to ignore everything I said about France’s advantages over Australia. They have always had a huge base of players since the 40s and 50s, nothing to do with the ten month soap opera.
League has long been the main sport in Queensland and NSW and Aussie rules has long been the main sport everywhere else so they have a huge advantage over rugby in your country. Expecting a minority sport to be able to compete by throwing money at a limp impersonation of their leagues is unrealistic.
'We switch off': All Blacks great says Super Rugby's future depends on Australia pulling its finger out