Rave or rest?
rugby365 columnist Steve Farrell takes a look at the big conundrum facing the various provincial coaches – whether to rest their Springboks or in the coming weeks.
With the penultimate round of Currie Cup action set to kick off this weekend, the race for a semifinal berth is well and truly on, after results this past weekend opened the door for the resurgent Western Province to sneak into Currie Cup contention.
The reason for Western Province’s late charge is down to one thing and one thing only – the return of their Springboks. Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Brian Mujati, Conrad Jantjes, and Ricky Januarie have all made a massive impact since returning from international duties. Add Percy Montgomery into the mix and you have a core of players who are all world class in their own right. Besides their obvious abilities, their mere presence must have rubbed off on the other members of the team, especially with so many youngsters in their ranks.
Province were terrible early on in the season, suffering rather embarrassing losses the Griquas and the Falcons – whom they smashed 92-15 last weekend. They were all but written off at the halfway stage of the competition, but if they can manage to squeeze into the play-offs, they have a real chance of going all the way. The men from the Cape have suffered a barren spell in the Currie Cup of late, having not won the sought after trophy since 2001. But with the number of quality Boks at their disposal, they will fancy their chances of holding off the Cheetahs and contesting a Currie Cup semi-final away from home.
The big conundrum facing the various provincial coaches is whether to rest their Boks or in the coming weeks. Peter de Villiers had asked the Cheetahs to rest Juan Smith as per the agreement that they ‘supposable’ have. Naka Drotské is prepared the rest Smith, but only if Allister Coetzee, coach of Western Province, rests his Boks. Early indications are that Coetzee plans to play his Boks against Boland, which I find very puzzling indeed. Boland do not have the firepower at their disposal to beat Province on Saturday, with or without their Springboks. They need a rest now before it’s too late. They went straight from the Tri-Nations into the Currie Cup and have an end-of-year tour on the horizon. Then it’s into the Super 14 and then the Lions arrive in South Africa – a series that is held in high regard by players and fans alike. That is too much rugby as far as I’m concerned. Smith needs a break, Burger needs a break, De Villiers needs a break, as do many other Springbok stars.
The problem is that the unions pay these players a lot of money and want to get something back in return. Both Province and the Cheetahs are fighting it out for a semi-final berth, so you can see where Coetzee and Drotské are coming from. But as far as I’m concerned, there is no need to play them on Saturday against Boland and the Falcons respectively. Juan Smith looks tired. He alone is not going to be the difference between winning or losing against the hapless Falcons. If he is, then the Cheetahs have a problem.
Let’s assume Province sneak into the semis and go on to play in the Currie Cup Final. Let’s also assume that the likes of De Villiers and co play all four remaining fixtures. That equates to seven consecutive Currie Cup games – and that’s on the back of a Tri-Nations campaign where they played six matches in total as well as playing Argentina in a meaningless Test in between. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that a player cannot perform at his peak for that amount of time. No athlete can, regardless of what sport they are playing. You don’t see Usain Bolt running in every European meeting do you? The topic of player burnout always comes up at this time of year, and more often than not, those in the know shout themselves blue in the face before something is done.
The problem facing rugby, and Springbok rugby in particular, is that the public demand results. Jake White rested some key men on the European tour in 2006 and almost lost his job because of it. He then took a ‘second string’ team with him on the overseas leg of the Tri-Nations only a few months before the World Cup and got crucified by sections of the media. A few months later, he had the William Webb Ellis trophy in his hands. Coincidence? No. He sought the advice of world renowned sports physicist, Professor Tim Noakes, who advised him on how to get the best out of his players at the World Cup. The players were fresh heading to France and White was vindicated when John Smit held aloft the William Webb Ellis trophy.
If the Boks want to avenge their Lions series defeat of 1997, the powers that be need to reach some sort of compromise. Rugby players are not machines, therefore they cannot be treated as such.
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