Managing players in the Rugby Championship

First of all, it has to be said, whoever came up with the inaugural fixtures list should be congratulated. The travel schedule looks to have been well thought out and evenly distributed. Everyone gets a one week break in between the 2 week fixtures that are geograhpically as close as possible.

That said, it's a tough schedule. Already there are injury problems and SA and Australia in particular have been dealt some cruel blows with serious injuries to top line players. So is a one week break after every two matches sufficient rest? Is it realistic to keep picking the best squad available or do you at some stage have to rest some of your key players.

In the 6N they have similar rest periods and play 5 matches. In the 4N you have six matches. That used to be the case with the old 3N format and I think the travel schedule was much worse then and in particular SA suffered as a result. With the introduction of Argentina, perhaps the number of kilometres travelled is more but I think it's done in a more well thought out way.

That said, playing the likes of Argentina and SA on two occasions leaves you pretty battered. The temptation is to rest players for the home match against Argentina as they are least likely to perform well there than they are at home. However, that's not good news for SA who lost their star hooker and after next weekend only face Australia and NZ in mixed combinations away and at home.

If I were Hansen & co though I'd look at the Argentina match at home to rest some key players and introduce someone like Savea for Gear, Cruden for Carter and maybe Ellison coming off the bench. Switch a few forwards like Hore and Retallick to start the game and maybe introduce someone like Cane to take the heat off McCaw. You certainly don't want to overdo it because Argentina can make you pay for complacency but if Australia and SA are playing and vital points are up for grabs for both sides, the temptation is to play your best team. Then when SA turns up to NZ, they might well be more fatigued and psychologically it might do some damage to think that the top NZ players are fresher. Australia, meanwhile, depending on their result against SA, face Argentina at home and might well have the temptation to rest some players after having played SA.

This is a tournament of attrition. Your players are going to have to put in a big effort regardless of the opposition. In the 6N, the teams are relatively even as well and you risk taking your opposition too lightly at your peril. But it'd be fair to say the game is played at more pace given the nature of the types of pitches they play on and the playing styles of the teams. In the 4N you have one more game and much bigger distances to travel. Recovery is therefore more difficult. Injuries sadly are part of the game and every side will be tested in terms of depth. But you can be smart about managing your players. Using your bench well to rest key players, especially if you feel comfortable with your lead. Continuity and combinations are certainly important but so too is knowing how much impact your players can take.

So early days yet but how much tinkering will go on with the starting squads as the tournament progresses?

I agree with your post and I think there should be more rotation at international level.

In Ireland we tend to play the same team whether it is the 6 Nations, the Autumn, the Summer or a Rugby World Cup.

There is a lot to be said for making the most of your entire international squad especially if you are flying from Wellington to Buenos Aires or J'Berg for matches regularly.

In time I could see the Rugby Championship become an event that is held entirely in one country each year as teams try to cut down on expensive flights and try to be "greener".

TO be honest I think Stags idea of hosting the tournamnet in one country has a lot of merit.

When you consider the Sharks players since the Play off match has travelled, Brisbaine, Capetown, Sydney, Wellington, SA, (two weeks preperation for Championship) Capetown, Mendoza (however route they take I don't know) back to SA.

That is a hell of a lot of travelling and just about every concieveable timezone you could imagine.

If you host the tournament in a different country every year, it could become a great touring destination and if marketed well with some good sponsors be a big attraction on the rugby calendar.

I don't think the "green" would be the priority, but the travel etc and recovery times will be harsh.

Besides what a tournament it will be, imgaine the festiveness in the host cities.

As for how to manage the players.

Firstly, if the tournament is hosted in one ccity, you don't need those two weeks inbetween for rest, you could start the Championship 2 weeks later which provides coaches more time to prepare their squads and time for players to heal.

I'd like to see the RC in one country. In the future Argentina should host a World Cup and this would be ideal to prepare them.

The Crusaders the year before knocked up more than 100 000 kilometres.

I'm not so sure the one country hosting it will happen which is not to say I don't think it's tempting. SA and Australia in particular are still big countries which require a lot of travel to fit in 8 matches. You will still need the rest periods and I don't think the players with families would be too happy about being three months away every year except one out of four.

Even if you host the city you'd still need rest breaks. No way you can have 8 games on the trot. Plus you'd hear a lot of complaints from the other regions. You'd probably have a call to have all the games in Auckland for example which I don't think the touring teams will be too happy about and the other regions of NZ will be equally miffed.

Kia, even though it is big, it isn't that hard to travel.

From Pretoria to Bloemfontein is a 5-6 hour bus ride.

From JHB to durban 6-7 hours.

Sa can easily rotate matches between their big stadiums without a massive amount of travel.


OZ may be more of an issue.

You could even host it like the OLympics, in one city.

One match on Friday and one on saturday.

I don't like one city as especially in NZ you'd go for the biggest stadium and a lot of fans wouldn't ever get to see their national team in their own region. It'd be one hell of a party atmosphere though and no doubt there would be a few players getting up to mischief with 100 players hitting the clubs and bars.

I just can't see it ever happening in one city. One country maybe but even then. Besides, with all due respect I think we're moving away from the intention of this thread: how do you manage 8 intense games (regardless of where it's played or if there are breaks or not )

I think that it's a huge ask, especially when you count the toll of so many matches in the Super 15 for the top players. Can you realistically expect your top starting squad to play 8 matches in a row, regardless of the rest periods?

It's not 8 matches, it is six matches and remember if you remove the two bye weeks for travel fatigue, you can start the tournamnet 2 weeks later, in essence giving a coach a full 4 weeks for preperation.

Yeah my bad. 6 matches though in a row is too many though regardless of how much preparation you have beforehand. Some AIs see 5 matches played but they are rotating the squads. How can you do that effectively when each team requires you to pick more or less your best pack at least?

Fine, you win.....

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