Henry says stars need more time off to survive
ByDuncan Johnstone over at Rugby Heaven has a very interesting article about Graham Henry joining the chorus calling for more time off for top players.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry, surveying an alarmingly large injury list, believes leading players need a three months break over the summer to better equip them for the demands of top rugby.
Won’t get any argument from me, I’ve thought the season has been too long for a long time now.
Henry made his case as evidence stacked up with virtually a team of All Blacks missing some or all of the opening two matches of the Super 14.
Richie McCaw, Ali Williams, Mils Muliaina, Richard Kahui, Leon MacDonald, Brad Thorn, Andrew Hore, Piri Weepu, Jimmy Cowan, Jamie Mackintosh, Rudi Wulf, Sione Lauaki, Conrad Smith, and Corey Flynn have all required medical attention. Keven Mealamu has been battling through the pain barrier to lead the Blues and, of course, superstar Dan Carter is out of action after surgery to an Achilles injury from his stint in France.
For those of you counting at home, that’s 15 All Blacks who would be unavailable if the side were selected today.
Henry took a fatalistic view on the current toll, admitting injuries were part of the game.
“It’s a concern, it’s an irritation quite frankly. But there’s nothing we can do about it. Thank goodness it’s not June,” said Henry as he addressed New Zealand media on Wednesday.
Uh, Graham, it could get a lot worse by June.
The situation isn’t new but little seems to change and that’s the worrying thing as administrators on both sides of the equator try to sort out a global season that will ease the pressures on the top players.
I don’t think the administrators are worried at all. We’ve heard this all before and nothing seems to be done about it. In fact, in “doing something” about player burnout SANZAR added a third round to the Tri-Nations and New Zealand and Australia seem destined to play a fourth Bledisloe Cup game in another exotic location to “promote the game”. How is adding to the already congested schedule addressing the issue of burnout?
Something similar was required for the stars to avoid burnout and an injury crisis like one that has hit the current Super 14.
“That’s the ideal situation really … if you could have a three month period where they have a preseason where they are in the best nick that they could be.
Like can the end of year tours? The northern unions have sent sub-standard teams down here for years but we continue to send our top players off to tour on a yearly basis then wonder why they can’t get ready for Super 14.
Conrad Smith, the premier All Blacks centre, suggested something similar as he missed the preseason and opening round of the Super 14 with an injury hangover from last year’s All Blacks season.
Does anyone else find it concerning that a first choice All Black is missing time in the Super 14 due to an injury he picked up on the end of year tour? Like I said, can the tour.
It appears the All Blacks will get some relief from the prolonged Air New Zealand Cup where Henry doesn’t expect them to feature “unless they have been injured and need to play to make sure they are right for rugby above that level”.
Which is just what the Air New Zealand Cup needs, no All Blacks playing at all and, with the addition of three more rounds this year, more money down the drain as fans stay away in droves.
Here’s where the administrators of the game don’t get it. The fans are staying away because we’ve seen it all before, what used to be a rare occurance, the All Blacks versus the Springboks, now happens three times a year. And by taxing our players to the level that a 10 month season does, the fans don’t get to see their favourite players in action.
Personally I blame these end of year tours which have gone from happening every so often to every single year. Shorten the Air New Zealand Cup season, something the NZRU could have done but didn’t in a grab for more money, and knock a round off the Tri-Nations. Then you can have these tours every couple of years, hold them earlier in the year and give the players some time off in between. That way we all get to see the best quality rugby.
And let me leave you with a final thought: Why was the Lions tour such a huge success? Because it was something fresh that we haven’t seen year after year.
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The Henry says stars need more time off to survive by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
